• Want to learn something NEW and UNIQUE?
    Want to make FRIENDS and FUN MEMORIES?
    Want to join an award winning TEAM?
    Being in orchestra is not just about learning a new instrument and making awesome music together - read below to see how much fun orchestra is and all the opportunities available!
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  • Welcome to Bay Creek Middle School Orchestra!  
    BCMS Orchestra offers students the chance to join the string family. Students learn to play violin, viola, cello, or bass while learning fundamentals of music.
    No audition or experience is necessary to join! (Students that do have experience on one of these instruments are encouraged to join and will be given additional performance opportunities).  Orchestra offers the chance to learn a new instrument and how to read music as well as forming lifelong friendships!
    • Perform 3-4 concerts per year
    • Take a field trip downtown to see the Atlanta Symphony.​
    • Earn Orchestra Karate belts as we move through our method book.
    • Top 25% of beginning students invited to attend 6th grade honor orchestra
    • enjoy social time after school at the annual fundraiser party
    • earn scholarships to music camps for the summer.  
orchestra grows talent
    • Performing at Solo & Ensemble and earning medals
    • Auditioning for local, county, and statewide honor orchestras
    • Attending Large Group Performance Evaluation, where they have consistently earned superior ratings
    • Playing at community venues such as Christmas in Grayson and even the Governor's Mansion
    • 8th graders play their first concert with  Grayson HS students in Halloween costumes while performing spooky music!

  • Other Benefits to Joining Orchestra

    • Brain Power - Research has shown that students who are involved in Orchestra receive higher SAT/ACT scores and average overall higher grades than other students in school.  Skilled musicians have an area of the brain that is up to 25% larger than those who have never played an instrument, and music is one of the few activities proven to use both sides of your brain all at once!
    • College & Scholarship Appeal - it is a fact that universities select students who are committed to an activity throughout middle school and high school, including students involved in a music program. You can even get college scholarships for music and you don’t even have to major in it!   College orchestras are often in need of viola and bass players.
    • Time Management & Organization Skills
      By learning how to organize all your Orchestra supplies throughout the year and how to manage your practice time every week, you will be able to stay organized in your other classes too!
    • Goal-Setting & Achievement
      You will learn how to set goals in your practice to make the most of your time, and if you practice consistently you will see yourself improve every day. By the end of the year you will be amazed by all your achievements and all the songs you will know how to play!
    • Coordination & Motor Skills
      Playing a string instrument requires simultaneous use of both hands, so you will improve your coordination, flexibility, and motor skills. We start with posture and instrument position, before plucking the instrument and slowly adding in the bow. By doing everything in small steps, you will see yourself improve every day!
    • Self-Discipline & Responsibility
      Learning an instrument takes patience and perseverance. You will learn how to be responsible and you will practice self-discipline which you will also need in your other classes, at home, and for the rest of your life!
    • Involves Higher Thinking & Problem Solving Skills
      When you read music and play an instrument, your brain is doing several things at once: you are reading symbols, interpreting the symbols into fingerings/bowings/sounds, performing the music, and analyzing your performance all at the same time! You will learn how to solve problems in your own practice at home and you will be able to teach yourself new music all on your own!
    • Improves Memorization, Cognition, Concentration, & Focus
      Do you ever hum along to a song you've heard before? By playing in class every day, some tunes will become familiar to you because of a special skill we have called muscle memory! This is only one of the ways Orchestra helps improve your memorization and cognition. Practicing an instrument daily also helps improve your concentration and focus on details in your music!
    • Builds Performance Skills & Self-Confidence
      Whether you're playing at a concert or you're giving a presentation in Social Studies, performance is a part of life! Being in Orchestra gives you TONS of performance opportunities and will help you get rid of stage fright because you are performing in front of others in large groups, and small ones too if you choose!
    • Teamwork & Cooperation
      Being in ORCHESTRA means being on a TEAM - we practice together, we work hard, and we have fun! Students from different grades get to know each other through morning and after school activities, and the high school orchestra students come over to help coach middle school students.  You can make life-long friends in orchestra because you are joining a family!