Donation 101: Why?

McAuliffe Middle School is very lucky to have a dedicated professional choir director, choir elective options during the regular school day, and the general support of the school and the district. Other choir programs across the county, state, and nation, are not as lucky as ours. Even with this incredible support, the McAuliffe Middle School Choir needs additional support for the following:

McAuliffe Choir T-shirts

Each student will receive a McAuliffe Choir T-shirt. This T-shirt is very much like a team jersey or uniform and is worn many times throughout the school year. These T-shirts belong to the students and are not returned.

Costuming Rentals

Each student receives a formal outfit—sometimes more than one—to wear for performances and competitions. Minor alterations will be the responsibility of the student; however, costumes needing major or expensive alterations should be brought to the attention of the director. These costumes are rented so that overall costs can be kept low and so that students are not wearing the same costumes for seven years. At the end of the year, students must return their costumes.

Music and Arranging

In addition to royalties, students require sheet music and accompaniment tracks. Live bands require band charts and musicians. In fact, some of our middle school choirs are so diverse in voice that custom arrangements must be created to generate a richer, more balanced, overall sound. Care is taken to hire qualified arrangers at cost-efficient rates. Music remains the property of the choir program and will be returned after each concert.

Choreography

Choreography enhances the look of our shows greatly and gives our choirs a strong advantage at competitions. Care is taken to hire qualified choreographers at cost-efficient rates.  
Music Assistant: There are lots of students in the choirs at McAuliffe Middle School. A music assistant helps the director with organization, literature choices, cleaning choreography, and song preparation. Care is taken to hire qualified music assistants at cost-efficient rates.

Travel

Buses aren't free anymore! Everything that requires a bus (competitions, shows, special events), requires payment for that bus.

Booster Organization Support

All of the people who work with the McAuliffe Choir Boosters volunteer their time! Even with that incredible commitment to all of our students' success, there are many more additional support costs, including but not limited to chair rentals for the concerts, printing concert programs, concert videography and DVD production, expenses related to managing fundraisers, website software fees, accounting, bank fees, and tax preparation. Care is always taken to be cost efficient.