Introduction

WASC visitors, welcome to the William C. Overfelt High School Department of Music!

The schedule for music classes is:

  • Period 2: Piano 1
  • Period 3: Guitar 1
  • Period 4: Symphonic Band (Adv. Band 2-4)
  • Period 5: Piano 2 & Percussion Ensemble (Adv. Band 2-4)
  • Period 6: Concert Band (Adv. Band 1)
  • Period 7: Piano 1

Feel free to walk about the entire "I building" to see the various locations for our daily music lessons and activities. 

  • I-1: Band Room
  • I-2: Music Dept. Office
  • I-3: Piano/Guitar Lab
  • I-4: Percussion Storage & Rehearsal Room
  • 1-5: "Green Room" Recording Studio

The music classes at WCO are split into 2 main categories: Performing Ensembles Classroom Music.

  • Performing Ensembles are classes that involve collaborative music making like band. We currently offer 3 unique experiences in this category, and we are planning to add a fourth option for the 2018-2019 school year. All 3 of the current performing ensembles collaborate together to form "The Royal Pep Band" and perform for our school sporting events and community parades.
    • Concert Band (Adv Band 1) is the more introductory of the 2 wind band classes at WCO. All incoming Freshman are placed in Concert Band along with upperclassmen that may be joining a band class for the first time and some sophomores and juniors that did not make it into Symphonic Band.  The Concert Band performs at the 4 concerts held on the WCO campus per year in addition to the East Side District Band Festival at nearby Evergreen Valley High School in April.  The  goals of the Concert Band curriculum are to allow students to grow as musicians by introducing the skills and processes needed to excel as a musician, to prepare students for the future rigors of Symphonic Band, and to provide memorable experiences for students through the performance of music.
    • Symphonic Band (Adv. Band 2-4) is the advanced wind band at WCO. Students must audition to earn their spot in the Symphonic Band, and the class consists strictly of sophomores-seniors. In addition to the 4 concerts held on the WCO campus, the Symphonic Band performs at the East Side District Band Festival at nearby Evergreen Valley High School in April and one of the CMEA (California Music Educators Association) Festivals in March for adjudication. 
    • Percussion Ensemble (Adv. Band 2-4) consists of students who specialize in playing drums and percussion instruments. Students in this class perform as the drumline for The Royal Pep Band, as the percussion section for The Concert Band & The Symphonic Band, and they rehearse and prepare their own repertoire to perform as The Percussion Ensemble. No experience is required to join this class, though all participants will be expected to learn to read and play mallet percussion instruments in addition to the fundamentals of drumming. 
    • The Royal Jazz Ensemble is a voluntary club of students that meets before school every Wednesday morning. In addition to the 4 annual concerts, The Royal Jazz Ensemble also performs at the East Side Jazz Festival held at nearby Oak Grove High School in February, the annual Overfelt Scholarship Luncheon in December, and many other community events such as library and district functions. 
    • Orchestra is a class we are planning to add for the 2018-2019 school year, allowing students to pursue a new avenue of instrumental music. Students will learn to play violin, viola, cello, or bass and perform several times throughout the year. No experience is required to join this class.
  • Classroom Music are classes that are aimed at students with little or no musical experience. These classes allow students to fullfill their A-G requirement for art in the course of 1 year, while learning the fundamentals of rhythm, melody, musical notation, and performance
    • Guitar 1 is offered for students wishing to begin learning music through the medium of the 6 string guitar. Students learn treble-cleff musical notation as it related to the fretboard of the guitar, basic rhythmic notation, pop/rock/jazz chord symbols, and tablature. Students prepare excerpts and songs to perform for evaluation. 
    • Piano 1 is offered in 2 sections. In this class, students learn the fundamentals of music and musical notation through the medium of the piano keyboard. Students learn treble-clef and bass-clef musical notation, basic rhythmic notation, multiple key signatures and time signatures, basic chord theory, and more. Students prepare excerpts and songs to prepare for evaluation. 
    • Piano 2 is the next level of piano performance. Students taking this class are expected to have successfully completed the Piano 1 course or demonstrate piano proficiency acquired outside of the classroom. Students are pushed to higher levels of musical performance through increased difficulty of repertoire selection.