Latin and orchestra available at any Minneapolis area high schools? (Edina: fit in, job transfer)

[gingercandy123]

My husband and I are considering a move to the Minneapolis area this summer due to a job transfer. We have two sons (just finishing 9th and 8th grade). Both are very involved in orchestra - one plays violin the other cello. They also both take Latin and run cross country. Are there any public school districts in the Minneapolis area that have all these programs? Which would you recommend? Thanks!

[Minnehahapolitan]

I know Edina does.

[oconnorcm3]

You could also consider doing what we did. When we learned that the school that our two daughters would attend (there was no choice, we live overseas so had fairly narrow choices in English language schools) didn't have an orchestra, we started one. It was a wonderful learning experience for our daughters. We first talked to the Music Director (who taught band) and asked him if there had ever been others who might be interested. It turns out that there had been interest but no one wanted to do the leg work. My daughters and I found a string instructor, willing to teach the orchestra class, which was offered 45 minutes before school started. We let the other parents know, the string instructor let his students know, and then we collected money from the players' parents. Basically we paid the instructor an hourly wage, one morning per week and for concert time. If the experiment worked for one year the school promised to pick up the cost of the program for the next year, eventually putting it in their regular school offerings if there was enough interest.

A great thing about this is it allowed my daughters to play their instruments with a group AND had time for another elective course. One was a keen singer so was able to join choir and the other a keen artist, so able to take an advanced art class that would not have fit in to her schedule. A win/win situation.

[ozzie679]

I thought Latin was a dead language and useless?

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by ozzie679

I thought Latin was a dead language and useless?

Not useless ... there are certainly many documents around written in Latin, and I suspect the Catholic Church has an opinion on the matter as well.

[oconnorcm3]

Not to mention medical terms are frequently in Latin. Studying it also gives you a leg up on studying other languages.

[alliea]

To quote a nationally traveling guest conductor at the 2009 annual all-city concert with hundreds of kids playing, "Edina is the gold standard of orchestra programs in the United States." Edina is a Grammy award winning school for 2005, 2007, and is up for 2009. In addition to band - which most american schools have, each Edina elementary has a 5th grade orchestra, both middle-schools have orchestras in 6, 7, 8, 9 with Valley View having a much better conductor with the 8th or 9th orchestra being in the state finals every year. Edina High School has a world class program with a large symphony, a philharmonic, and a chamber orchestra. Many students with titles in state and nationally, a few have gone on to professional careers and a few have become stars. There are annual trips with every other year abroad. All students are accepted. It is a class. While there are auditions they are for placement, not participation. It is just that the teachers bring the best out of everyone without being oppressive.

[alliea]

Re: Latin.
Edina also has latin. Edina High School Profile - Counseling - Edina High School - Edina Public Schools (http://www.edina.k12.mn.us/edinahigh/counseling/profile.html - broken link)

[alliea]

Re: Cross Country.
Of course. In athletics, in the last 50 years they have won twice as many athletic titles as any one else in Minnesota even those schools over 100 years of trying and much larger. Sports Illustrated puts it in the top 10 in the US for athletics.

[alliea]

You did not ask about academics in general, however Edina has been in the top 100 high schools in the US, Newsweek, US News, Business Week, for the last few decades. Top ranked by Schoolmatch.com