Toledo Jazz Youth Orchestra is meant to enhance, not replace, school music instruction. TJYO students are required to participate in their school orchestra/band if one is available in their school. Music students benefit from daily ensemble instruction and rehearsal. Please discuss any scheduling conflicts with your school’s music director. We will verify all members’ participation in their school’s music program in early February. TJYO meets for rehearsal only once each week. School music programs provide the essential daily instruction required for a serious student’s musical progress.
Homeschooled students and students attending schools without music programs should email Sarah Schaefer at sschaefer@artstoledo.com to complete this form.
All students will be required to turn in the School Music Ensemble Verification Form after the first week of rehearsal. Failure to turn in the required forms will result in removal from the ensemble. Tuition will not be reimbursed for this.
Staff will mainly use email to contact parents and students with updates and important announcements. It is important that you provide your most up to date email and check it regularly. Please make sure all information is up to date in Jackrabbit, our online registration platform. We will often send emails through this platform; occasionally these are marked as spam. If you believe that you aren’t receiving emails through Jackrabbit, please contact TJYO staff as soon as possible. Keep an eye out for emails from Live Arts Toledo.
Rehearsals will follow the schedule provided to you upon enrollment. Plan to arrive 10-15 minutes early for tuning, warm-up, and set-up. You must be in your seats ready to play by the time rehearsal is scheduled to begin. Toledo Jazz Youth Orchestra rehearses from 6:30pm-8:30pm. Rehearsals will include a short break.
Each student will be issued a folder and the music selected by the conductor for rehearsal and performance. Each student must bring their music and a pencil for marking music to each rehearsal. Markings may be made in pencil only and must be musical in nature; obscenities written in music will be considered against student conduct. The student is responsible for bringing the music to rehearsal each week.
Attendance will be taken at every rehearsal. Sign in sheets will be available before rehearsal starts. Students should sign in at the front desk when they arrive at rehearsal, not during their break. All TJYO members are expected to attend all rehearsals and scheduled events on their Season Calendar. Regular attendance is required to maintain membership in the ensemble.
All absences must be reported through the Parent Portal in Jackrabbit. When reporting your absence via the parent portal, you must include the reason for your student’s absence for it to be eligible for consideration as an excused absence. Submissions with a blank note field will be unexcused. A parent email to the Education Director may also be accepted and eligible for consideration for an excused absence. Emails from students will not be accepted and will be considered unexcused.
Only two excused absences or one unexcused absence will be permitted for the spring semester. Excessive problems with attendance and punctuality are grounds for dismissal from the ensemble, without refund.
An Excused Absence is an absence reported at the proper time in the proper way fully explaining the school (academic, not extracurricular) or illness related absence. “Extra-curricular” shall be considered anything that is not graded at school.
Non-academic, non-emergency, or non-illness related absences will be considered unexcused. Students may have only one unexcused absence per semester.
Due to inclement weather, rehearsals may be cancelled. If Toledo Public Schools are closed or all afterschool activities are cancelled, there will NOT be a rehearsal. Please watch the News Channel 13 crawl for the latest information. As always, if the conditions are dangerous, please make a choice based on safety.
