The Schoolfundr fundraiser kicked off on Thursday, Oct. 23, and will run through Nov. 5. Students will set up their own fundraising page during class on Thursday. Your student will also be able to share the link via text. Students are asked to send 20 emails to potential supporters or send texts using the Schoolfundr platform. Students/parents can register for the Schoolfundr platform to participate in the fundraiser at: https://app.schoolfundr.org/participant/harrisonorchestra/join
95% of the funds a student collects on their individual fundraising page will be credited to that student’s orchestra account. (The other 5% will cover credit card fees and incentives.) Funds can be used for enrichment fees, the NYC trip, the banquet, orchestra field trips, and other orchestra fees, and any unused student funds will roll over to next year for all but seniors.
Another option is that your student can share the main orchestra page via text with those donors who may prefer to donate to the orchestra FANS (Financial Assistance for Needy Students) fund by supporting here: https://app.schoolfundr.org/fund/harrisonorchestra
The Harrison Tour Orchestra will be traveling to New York City on March 26-29, 2026. An important part of a student’s Music Education includes cultural experiences and educational opportunities that will provide both personal and musical growth. We are making plans to travel to New York City in order to observe the New York Philharmonic, the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States founded in 1842, and is considered to be one of the world’s best symphony orchestras. In addition to observing their performance of Enigma Variations and the Bruch Violin Concerto, our Harrison Orchestra students will have the opportunity to participate in a workshop with a member of the New York Philharmonic. In addition, students will have the opportunity to experience and explore some of the great culture of New York City.
The Trip Includes:
New York City, NY
Depart on March 26th for New York City. Return Saturday Night March 29th.
Workshop with a member of the New York Philharmonic
Ticket to the New York Philharmonic – Performing Enigma Variations and the Bruch Violin Concerto
Ticket to a Broadway Show
Tour Lincoln Center Performing Arts
Visit/explore the 9/11 Memorial Park, Trinity Church, The Wall Street Bull
3 Nights at the A-Loft Meadowlands hotel (Student rooms will consist of 4 per hotel room).
Walking/Riding City Tour with Guide (Rockefeller Center, Central Park, 5th Avenue, Grand Central Terminal, Chinatown)
Admission to Summit One Vanderbilt
Dinner at Johns Pizza, House of Joy, and Havannas
Group Photo in Time Square
Charter Transportation while in New York
Roundtrip Airfare from Atlanta, GA to New York, NY
Bus Transportation from Harrison HS to Atlanta Airport
Who is eligible to participate in the trip? Any student enrolled in the full-year of orchestra class is eligible. Students must be currently active in the program when the trip occurs and must be in good standing with the school and organization. Should an incident occur deemed by the director severe enough that it warrants sending a student home, the parent/guardian is responsible for all transportation (including airfare) for the student and a chaperone. NO REFUND will be given if a student is removed due to a Cobb County School Board policy being broken. This unique educational opportunity will be a memorable experience for all involved. Students must maintain exemplary grades and conduct throughout the school year to be permitted to participate in this event. It is imperative that the students maintain excellent discipline and grades throughout the year. Priority will be given by seniority and in the order payments are made. Enrichment Fees are expected to be paid prior to making trip payments.
How to Register:
Registration will open in order of seniority:
Monday 10/6 – Seniors
Tuesday 10/7 – Juniors
Wednesday 10/8 – Sophomores
Thursday 10/9 – Freshman
Event: 2026 Spring Trip to NYC
Location: New York City, NY
Date: March 26-29, 2026
Cost: Approx. $1,898/person
We will plan on departing early in the morning from Harrison HS on 3/26 via charter bus and traveling together to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
March 26, 2026 (Thurs):
-Bus from Harrison HS to ATL Airport
-Fly and Depart in early morning from ATL to NYC (JFK)
-Arrive and sight-see
March 27, 2026 (Fri):
-Participate in Workshop with Musician from New York Philharmonic
-Sight-see
-Observe New York Philharmonic Concert
March 28, 2026 (Sat):
-Sight-see
March 29, 2026 (Sun):
-Fly and Depart in early morning from NYC (JFK) to ATL
-Bus to Harrison HS
-Go Home
Van Driver Since we are planning on flying to New York City, we are looking for a volunteer(s) who may be able to drive up and meet us there to transport our large double basses and cellos. If you are interested in traveling to New York City, please let me know if you may be interested in transporting some of our large instruments for us in a van that our travel company will provide.
NYC Spring Trip Payment Schedule The first deposit for the trip is due at registration.
Note: The registration page says the first payment was due 9/26 but it will be due at the time you register this week.
Payment Plan:
$340 9/26
$340 10/26
$340 11/26
$340 12/26
$340 1/26
Balance Due on 2/26
Fundraising We are looking at doing a donation drive fundraiser where supporters can directly support our students for orchestra related fees including the spring trip through a donation so that we can raise funds to support students to go to New York City. More details will be coming soon.
The annual DoubleGood popcorn fundraiser will take place the day after our orchestra concert on November 13. 25% of sales will go to student’s orchestra related fees.
The sponsorship program is where student’s can get support from local businesses in return for advertisement space on our concert programs, recognition at our concerts and website. 50% of the sponsorship will go to a student’s orchestra related fees.
We are looking forward to this wonderful opportunity for our orchestra students to travel to New York City!
Location: Harrison Orchestra Room Date: August 12, 2025
Time: 7:00pm
If you were not able to attend our All Parent Meeting, please see below for important orchestra information including: the Harrison Orchestra Boosters (HOB), enrichment fees, fundraising, uniforms, and events for the year.
Please see below for the information/PDFs:
Uniforms (Order ASAP) – Fall Concert is on September 16.
The turn-around time to receive the uniform can take up to 4 weeks so it is recommended to order the uniform as soon as possible in order to have time to make any alterations before the first concert. All students have a “Uniform Assignment” which will entail them wearing their full uniform with black shoes and holding their instrument in their correct playing posture. Please help them take their photo (on their device will work fine) and they should bring it to class for their uniform assignment. Hair should be pulled away from the face. Returning orchestra students should check the status of their uniform to ensure that they have located all parts of their uniform and to ensure that their uniform still fits. Information on How to Order the uniform (and specific parts) can be found below. Once your uniform arrives, please have your student try it on and move in it as though they are playing their instrument. It may need to be adjusted/hemmed by a tailor.
Shoes/Undergarments: All students should wear appropriate black undergarments under their uniform. Black, closed toed dress shoes and long black socks are the standard uniform. Black, close toed flats are highly recommended for the ladies.
Enrichment Fees
Enrichment Fees are a huge portion of enriching our orchestra students and support our student’s education for orchestra camp, regular sectional coaches (violin, viola, cello, bass) who come and work with our students to give our students a smaller teacher to student ratio and much more.
Details about Orchestra Enrichment Fees and how to pay can be found here: https://harrisonorchestra.org/enrichment-fees/
Promotional Items included if paid by 8/31/25!
CutTime
Although we will be using CTLS for class information, the Harrison Orchestra Boosters will be using a management system called CutTime in order to communicate with families as needed. CutTime also allow you to see financial information regarding fundraisers and status updates on any orchestra related fees.More info about CutTime: https://harrisonorchestra.org/cuttime/
For those new to Harrison, please fill out this form so that we can get our data base updated with your correct contact information:
Fall Orchestra Camp
The Fall Orchestra Camp will take place on August 15-16, 2025.
See our detailed schedule here:
All students are expected to attend as this is an important weekend of growth for our orchestras as we bring in several professional clinicians to work with our students. The HOB will provide pizza on Friday evening. For Saturday, we will need snack donations as the students will have a mid-morning snack. Bananas and prepackaged snacks such as granola bars with NO nuts would be greatly appreciated! Students should plan on bringing their own sack lunch for Saturday.
Volunteers & Help Needed for Fall Orchestra Camp!
The Harrison Orchestra Boosters would love to have you join us in Helping Orchestra Youth Achieve Success! Whether you would like to donate your time or items of need, we would love to have your help this year! We would love to have your help with snack donations for the students and/or chaperoning our orchestra camp on August 15-16. If you are able to donate your time or a snack item, please visit:
Sponsorship Program
The Harrison Orchestra Boosters would like to invite community businesses for our Community Partners Sponsorship program. If you would like to market your advertisement in our concert programs and featured on the displays prior to our concerts, please consider joining us as a community partner. This is a 50/50 fundraiser which means that 50% will go towards the orchestra general fund and 50% will go towards student credits that can be used towards anything orchestra related including enrichment fees, spirit wear, field trips, etc. The Harrison Orchestra Boosters, Inc are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. If you would like to become a sponsor or know someone who would like to sponsor our wonderful orchestra program, we invite you to fill out the form below and send to: president@harrisonorchestra.org
Harrison String Conservatory
We highly encourage taking private lessons as students are able to grow at a faster rate with one-on-one instruction. The HOB has created a private lesson program as a convenience for students to take private lessons after school on campus. More details can be found here: https://harrisonorchestra.org/lessons
Orchestra Calendar
You can download the Orchestra Calendar on CTLS under the “class board” or click below:
The Harrison Orchestra Boosters (HOB)
The Harrison Orchestra Boosters (HOB) are made up of all parents who have a current student in the Harrison Orchestra program. Orchestra parents are part of the Harrison Orchestra Boosters through your child’s participation in the Harrison Orchestra. The HOB Executive Board is a small group of wonderful parent volunteers who help with the logistics and operations of our Harrison Orchestra Boosters.
The HOB Executive Board: President: Karen Widner ~ president@harrisonorchestra.org Vice President: Michelle Holland ~ vp@harrisonorchestra.org Conservatory Administrator: Michelle Holland ~ conservatory@harrisonorchestra.org Co-Treasurers: Ginger Frazier & Adam Kiernan ~ treasurer@harrisonorchestra.org Secretary: Kari Larsen ~ secretary@harrisonorchestra.org
Spring Trip 2026
We have 2 great options for traveling in March 2026.
Option 1: Orlando, Florida to Universal Studios – Performance on the City Walk (Approx. $1250)
Option 2: New York City, New York to see the New York Philharmonic and participate in a workshop with a member from the New York Philharmonic (Approx. $1850)
The Harrison Orchestra banquet will take place at Burnt Hickory Baptist Church on May 9, 2024 @ 5:30pm.
The annual Spring Orchestra Banquet is a special event for all students and families as we celebrate the year and recognize student achievements with an awards ceremony, dinner, and recognition of our senior class.
The banquet will include dinner which will be catered by Burnt Hickory Baptist Church.
Price for Dinner
The price per person is: $ 0 Harrison Orchestra Senior $11 Student/Child Meal (Children 10 and under + Harrison Orchestra Students – subsidized by enrichment fees) $22 Adult Meal (11 and older)
$ 0 No Meal. Attendance Only.
Reserve Your Spot here:
All orchestra students and their families are invited to attend this special year-end celebration!
Orchestra America National Festival Performances Center for the Performing Arts – The Palladium 8:00 AM – Noblesville High School Symphony Orchestra, IN 9:00 AM – Herbert Hoover Middle School Advanced Orchestra, MD 10:00 AM – Lake Travis Middle School Philharmonic Orchestra, TX 11:00 AM – Kleb Intermediate Chamber Orchestra, TX 12:00 PM – Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestra Symphonette, PA 2:30 PM – Lakewood High School Chamber Orchestra, CO 3:30 PM – Newbury Park High School Chamber Orchestra, CA 4:30 PM – Hanford High School Premier Strings, WA 5:30 PM – Harrison High School Chamber Orchestra, GA All times Eastern The 2025 Music for All National Festival, presented by Yamaha, will take place Thursday-Saturday, March 13-15 in Indianapolis, with outstanding high school and middle school instrumental ensembles in concert. Congratulations to the ensembles invited to perform at the 2025 Festival! All 2025 concerts will be livestreamed at no cost to viewers by BOX5 Media on box5tv.com. Directors: concerts are all day Friday – share them in your classrooms with your students! Enjoy some of the finest high school concert bands, orchestras, percussion ensembles, and chamber ensembles – all livestreamed along with the national Honor Band of America and Jazz Band of America concerts.
Location: Harrison Orchestra Room
Date/Time: January 14, 2025 @ 7pm
The All Parent Booster Meeting on January 4 covered orchestra information including: the Harrison Orchestra Boosters (HOB), enrichment fees, an updated budget, and calendar highlights for the spring semester.
If you were not able to attend the meeting or were not able to get a hard copy of all of the documents at the meeting, please see below for the information/PDFs:
Enrichment Fees
Details about Orchestra Enrichment Fees and how to pay can be found below. If you aren’t sure if you’ve already made a payment, click “Check Payment Status” below.
Although we will be using CTLS for class information, the Harrison Orchestra Boosters will be using a management system called CutTime in order to communicate with families as needed. CutTime allows you to see financial information regarding fundraisers and status updates on enrichment fees and all orchestra related fees. All students are already registered in CutTime. If you would like to check the status of your orchestra related fees, click here: https://app.gocuttime.com/guardian/resend-magic-link
Possible Trip Opportunities
We are looking at potentially going on a couple of field trips this spring. These are open to all current Harrison Orchestra students in good standing but priority will be given by seniority.
February 26: Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) Rehearsal Trip – Students will have the opportunity to observe a rehearsal of the ASO during the school day on February 26.
Due to restrictions from the ASO, there will be a limit of approximately 60 students who can attend this field trip.
April 25-26: Six Flags Music Festival – Students interested will have the opportunity to perform as an orchestra and receive commentary from a master music educator and tickets to Six Flags.
If you are interested (or not interested) in having your child participate in one, both, or neither of these potential field trips, please complete the interest form here to help us with the planning process:
The Harrison Orchestra Boosters would love to have you join us in Helping Orchestra Youth Achieve Success! We will be hosting the annual Large Group Performance Evaluations (LGPE) at Harrison this year and will need many parent volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering for LGPE or potential other orchestra events, please send an email to: president@harrisonorchestra.org.
Harrison String Conservatory
We highly encourage taking private lessons as students are able to grow at a faster rate with one-on-one instruction. The HOB has created a private lesson program as a convenience for students to take private lessons after school on campus. More details can be found here: https://harrisonorchestra.org/lessons
Winter Orchestra LGPE Prep Camp
The Winter Orchestra LGPE Prep Camp will take place on January 25, 2025.
See our detailed schedule here:
All students are expected to attend as this is an important weekend of growth for our orchestras as we bring in several professional clinicians to work with our students. We will need snack donations as the students will have a mid-morning snack. Bananas and prepackaged snacks such as granola bars with NO nuts would be greatly appreciated! Sign-up genius link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E4AAEA92DABF9C70-54466990-bottled#/
The Harrison Orchestra Boosters (HOB)
The Harrison Orchestra Boosters (HOB) are made up of all parents who have a current student in the Harrison Orchestra program. Orchestra parents are part of the Harrison Orchestra Boosters through your child’s participation in the Harrison Orchestra. The HOB Executive Board is a small group of wonderful parent volunteers who help with the logistics and operations of our Harrison Orchestra Boosters.
The HOB Executive Board: Co-Presidents: Kim Long & Karen Widner ~ president@harrisonorchestra.org Vice President: Michelle Holland ~ vp@harrisonorchestra.org Conservatory Administrator: Michelle Holland ~ conservatory@harrisonorchestra.org Co-Treasurers: Virginia Smith & Jennifer Sanders ~ treasurer@harrisonorchestra.org Secretary: Tracy Zoblisein ~ secretary@harrisonorchestra.org
Winter Extravaganza Rehearsal – December 11 In order to prepare for the Winter Extravaganza Concert, we will have one afternoon to rehearse with all of the fine arts groups after school. Rehearsal times will take place after school at the following times.
Rehearsal Times on 12/11: 3:45 – 4:30pm Freshman Philharmonic 4:30 – 5:15pm Classic Orchestra 5:15 – 6:00pm Chamber Orchestra
Winter Extravaganza Concert – December 12 (Hoya Center) The Winter Extravaganza is an annual collaboration concert that will feature holiday music with the Harrison Fine Arts department and will include combined/joint performances of the band, chorus, orchestra, and theater programs along with a visual display from our visual arts program. This will be a ticketed event and proceeds will benefit the Harrison Fine Arts programs. Tom’s Coffee/Hot Chocolate, DonutNV, Santa Clause and more will be available before the performance begins. Doors open at 6:00pm and performances begin at 7:00pm.
Call Times on 12/12: 5:45pm Chamber Orchestra 6:00pm Classic Orchestra & Freshman Philharmonic
Volunteers Needed to Help with Decorations for the Winter Extravaganza Concert We are in need of some volunteers for our upcoming Winter Extravaganza. If you have a tree, lights or other items that you might be able to bring and set-up/breakdown for the Thursday December 12, we would very much appreciate it!
Proceeds from the fundraiser will help with the general orchestra budget, which includes the ability for us to continue bringing in our wonderful professional clinicians. We are also raising money so that we can be represented on the national stage at the Music for All National Festival in Indianapolis, IN. Each student will receive 80% of the profits they bring in for the fundraiser. At the end of the fundraiser, the HOB will send an email letting each individual know how much they earned, which they can use towards enrichment fees, spirit wear, any orchestra trips, or any other orchestra related fees. For non-seniors, these funds can carry over to the next school year. There will also be gift card prizes for the overall top three sellers.
Timeline:
This fundraiser is running from today and will end on Tuesday November 19 at 8:00AM.
