About Us

Text Box: Meet the Conductor Professional Musician. Orchestra Conductor, Dr. Karen Gordy, played violin professionally while working full time as a classroom teacher in Indianapolis. In local and union orchestras, she played for Henri Mancini, Andy Williams, Liberace, Robert Preston, Juliet Prowse, Ann Miller, Ray Bolger, Harry Belafonte, Don Ho and many others at Clowes Hall in Indianapolis while associated with Footlight Musicals and Starlight Musicals. Teaching Background. She taught general music, choir, beginning band, talent education, beginning string music, and orchestra Grades 5—12 in public schools in Indiana, Michigan, Florida and Louisiana for over thirty years. As a part of her doctoral studies, she taught university courses in music methods and piano fundamentals and undergraduate violin tutorials in Indiana. Current Activities. Dr. Gordy currently has a studio called Sizzlin’ Strings with over sixty students, ages ten through seventy-plus. She accepts students ten years old and older for instruction in violin, viola, cello and string bass. Besides being a private music teacher, volunteer conductor and music director of VPCO, Dr. Gordy also directs a youth orchestra, and she is a fiddler in the Back Porch Band of Natchitoches, Louisiana. Education. Karen Gordy holds a Doctor of Music Education degree from Ball State University, a Master’s Degree in Music plus thirty more graduate hours from Butler University in Indianapolis and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Butler. Support Staff J. J. Minion serves as volunteer music librarian and sheet music distributor. She is archivist, still and video photographer, she designs and prints the programs, and she burns CDs of the concerts. J. J.’s son Caleb is principal cellist in VPCO. Her daughter Lillie plays second violin in the orchestra. Susan Gautreaux is stage manager and handles logistics of furniture, stands, electrical power, stand lights and related needs for concerts. Her daughter Elizabeth plays first violin in the orchestra. Susan’s son Nathan plays cello in the youth orchestra. Marilyn Barry is volunteer webmaster and plays second violin. Ron Yule, research historian, plays first violin.

Transition Orchestras

The Vernon Parish Community Serenade String Orchestra serves as a developmental stage for musicians to learn, utilize and integrate skills required for playing in an ensemble. This orchestra level is a stepping stone group, not a beginner group. These players are growing musicians who will eventually move into the community orchestra.

Vernon Parish Presto Orchestra is a platform for beginning players to learn to work together in a string ensemble. These young players are developing skills that will take them into more advanced performance levels and increase their confidence.

2 Measure Up

String Quartet

2 Measure Up is a quartet of young musicians from Evans, Louisiana. Isaac Riley and Eden Bonner are on violin; Jenae’ Riley plays viola, and Caleb Minion is on cello. 2 Measure Up is popular for weddings and small parties and entertains for receptions and other events. They performed on May 3 before the VPCO concert and provided entertainment on May 16 for a catered lawn party to celebrate the completion of the new DeRidder home of Dr. Tony, M.D. and Sheila Noya, Folk Polk registered nurse.

Please call their manager, Kathy Bonner at 337-286-5907 for more information.

Silver and Gold

Silver and Gold, an adult string quartet, is available for receptions, holidays and other events. Members are Dr. Karen Gordy, first violin; Marilyn Barry, second violin; Connie Hughes, third violin, and Elaine Kelley, cello. Silver and Gold provided music for an outdoor wedding in Natchitoches on May 30 and played at a Tri-Chapter meeting of Delta Kappa Gamma on May 2 in Silsbee, TX. The ensemble has played prelude, interlude, and background music for various meetings and for the opening of a museum in Oakdale. Call 409-397-4437 or contact us for information.

Text Box: Dr. Karen Gordy plays fiddle in a ballad and folk music group called the Back Porch Band. They have made three CD’s, “Take It Outside, “All Day Sunday” and “Sandy River.” Recently the band played in Leesville at Gallery One Eleven where band member Dr. Bill Bryant had a showing of his artwork. . The band played on West Stage of the Coliseum at Northwestern State University for the annual Folk Festival celebration, and they performed at various events in Natchitoches on several weekends in May.

Music Information and Instructional Aids

For information about composers, music, instruments of the orchestra and more, click on Classics for Kids.

Click on PlayMusic.org for answers to frequently asked questions, information on playing technique, tips on composing your own music, and more.

A useful web site for information on the violin, viola or cello, playing positions, techniques of playing the instruments and music basics is: violinonline.com

About Us

This free on-line metronome is ideal for quick and easy use while practicing. Click here: Metronome It helps with rhythm and tempo selections. Try it!

Learning to read music? Practice on line at this site: Click on Notes The Note Trainer lets you test yourself, setting your own range of notes on the clef of your choice. For more advanced help, click here for theory lessons, ear training and various utilities.

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Text Box: Dr. Karen Gordy, conductor of Vernon Parish Community Orchestra and private string instructor, also plays violin with the Back Porch in Natchitoches and first violin in the Silver and Gold Quartet.

Text Box: With staunch support from husband, family, friends, civic, business and church leaders, Dr. Karen Gordy provided the driving force to channel energy and enthusiasm for more performing arts in the West Louisiana and East Texas area, including beginning work in 2004 toward a full orchestra. Starting small, providing music instruction to just a few string students in studio space donated by Leesville Music Center, Dr. Gordy set a movement in motion. Very quickly the number of students grew, and she led students beyond music instruction into community performances in string ensembles and string orchestra. Now the dream has come to pass with the development of the Vernon Parish Community Orchestra. The orchestra attracts members from all over Vernon Parish in Louisiana and even from across the Sabine River in Texas. It has grown to include brass, woodwinds and percussion instruments in its spring concerts. A youth orchestra provides developmental experiences for young musicians, and a youth ensemble and adult string ensemble enrich community events. Vernon Parish Community Orchestra, founded in 2004, is based in Leesville, Louisiana. Rehearsals are regularly scheduled from 5:25 to 6:45 p.m. every Tuesday evening during the concert season.

Text Box: VPCO Mission Statement Vernon Parish Community Orchestra serves the local Louisiana community and Southeast Texas area by providing opportunities for music education, development of performance, teamwork and leadership skills and by adding to the community’s cultural experience. VPCO teaches the value of teamwork and hard work through rehearsals and performances and develops leadership skills through encouraging responsibility, dependability, and cooperation. VPCO promotes developing new audiences through live performances that showcase various genres of music.

Vernon Parish Community Orchestra provides…

1. Opportunities for music education.

Instrumental instruction (knowing, understanding, application levels):

· Tone production

· Bowing skills

· Advanced music reading skills

Instrumental performance:

· Programming concerns

· Concert protocol

· Application of listening skills

· Application of advanced music reading skills

Music theory (knowing, understanding and application levels):

· Elements of music-melody, rhythm, dynamics, form, texture, timbre and tempo (MR DFT3)

· Application of music elements

· Development of listening skills

Music appreciation:

· Acknowledging music periods

· Becoming aware of various composers and their writing styles

· Realizing the historical influence of bowing technique

Scholarship auditions:

· Special orchestra auditions

· Special string camp auditions

· Rapides Symphony Youth auditions

· College scholarship auditions

2. Development of skills and performance

· Higher standards in preparation

· Intrapersonal skills

· Interpersonal skills

· Audiation skills

· Interpretation skills

3. Development of teamwork, responsibility and leadership skills

· As a section player

· As a section leader

· As a large ensemble player

· As a small ensemble player

· With motivation of others through constructive comments and home practice

4. Additions to the community’s cultural experience

· Live performances in Leesville, DeRidder and Jasper

· Variety of music genres including Baroque, classical, Romantic, Twentieth Century popular and light classics

· Spin-offs: Gospel orchestra; ballroom dancing orchestra (early fall); Celtic music; string quartets

5. Future development

Ideas in the planning state include:

· Brass and woodwind small ensembles

· More involvement with the school district to interest school children in our beginning program

· Expansion of VPCO Youth Orchestra

· Performing Youth Orchestra

· Conductor contest

· Courthouse square concert

www.vpco.net

Need to identify intervals? Want to know more about natural, melodic, and harmonic scales? Need to review the Circle of Fifths or major and minor key signatures? Click here for basic Music Theory information including note reading, (pitch, values, meter), intervals and scales, chords and expression marks. Also read about instruments, music professions and more.

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Vernon Parish

Community Orchestra