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Time & Place:
Angelos Mission Ensemble is a 8 week long annual program that typically runs during the fall semester between October and December. Sessions are held on Saturdays in the local Palisades Park - Fort Lee New Jersey area. Currently, our sessions are held at the Annex of PCNJ Church, 500 Broad Avenue Palisades Park, NJ
Each Saturday session is 3.5 hours long, and a typical day's schedule would look like:
- 12:00pm AME Session start
- 12:00 - 12:30 - Fellowship, Discussion & Snack time
- 12:30 - 1:00pm -Theme Discussion & Special activities
- 1:00 - 2:00pm - Ensemble coaching time
- 2:00 - 2:45pm - Group piece coaching time
- 2:45 - 3:10pm - Care Group prayer time
- 3:10 - 3:30pm - Secret Santa gift exchange, closing prayer time
Spiritual Focus:
Character building
Weekly exercises led by AME staff are designed to be thought provoking to each student. Each exercise is tailored to expound on a facet of the season's theme; for example, the 5th term's theme was "Understanding Heart". One particular week, the exercise was to find all the words that might be related to the word "understanding". Words such as 'Loving', 'Listening', 'Friend' and many more were listed. Each student then had to expound how he or she might learn how to better become 'Loving', 'Listening' or a 'Friend'.
Discussion
Every week there is dedicated discussion time, also focused around the season's theme. It is during this time frequently that student's faiths are stretched, and they carefully consider how God can be involved in every part of their lives. For example, one week the discussion was focused on the student's frank opinion about the level of understanding that is found between parent and child. In many cases, the students expressed doubts about how much their parents truly understood or trusted them. The students were then challenged to offer their own Christian solution to this difficulty, and one student for example suggested to pray for God to grant him patience, and to pray that his parents would be more patient in listening to him.
Prayer
AME recognizes that prayer is a vital part of any Christian endeavor. Students are encouraged to pray corporately in a group setting during each session. Frequently, prayer time is provided immediately following discussion or spiritual exercise.
Operation Christmas Child
Each year, AME participates in Operation Christmas Child. Collections are taken, and each student participates in the personalization of the packages that are prepared to be sent out. This is an important exercise for the students to participate in the act of giving to another child in need.
Secret Santa
AME also has the tradition of weekly gift exchange. Students draw names in secret and prepare a gift for their secret recipient every week (names are redrawn every week). It gives the students a positive and enjoyable means to practice giving.
Games
In the first few weeks of AME, games are moderated by staff for icebreaker purposes and also to introduce the theme of that year's season. For example for the 5th season of "Understanding Heart" one of the games was "Telephone game", where all students are assembled in a large circle. One student will initiate with a sentence and whisper it to the next student, and in succession until finally the last student will whisper that sentence back to the first student. Many times, the words are changed and garbled, distorting the original. This demonstrates that in order to understand better, one must also listen better. Meanwhile, the students enjoy a game to play to break the ice and are comfortable to begin to build relationships with one another.
Parent Meetings
At least once per season, a parent meeting will be held as an open forum to discuss any comments the parents have regarding the progress of their child. Also at this time faculty and staff updates on the progress of the students in overall.
Musical Virtuosity:
Ensemble formation
At the beginning of the year, students are grouped into ensembles according to instrument and level. Duets, Trios and Quartets are formed accordingly, and each student will be a member of this ensemble for the 9 week duration of the AME season. The students are encouraged to take ownership of their ensemble by naming their respective groups. This also encourages a spirit of friendly competition between each group. For example, 7 Violins and 2 Cellos can be split into 3 ensembles: The "Cannonball Quartet" of 3 Violins and 1 cello, The "Dynamic Trio" of 2 Violins and 1 Cello, and the "Dialogue Duet" of 2 Violins.
One on One Coaching
During the 'Ensemble coaching time', each ensemble will hold practices led by an AME staff member, and each student will be given the opportunitiy to demonstrate his or her progress from the previous week. Specific focus is given to coaching to encourage students to listen to the other parts.
Competition
Near the end of the season, each ensemble is given the opportunity to compete for the honor to play in an additional concert. For the 5th term for example the winning ensemble was featured in the Joy Benefit Concert, December 16th in Tenafly NJ.
Master Classes
To prepare the students for the final concert, master classes are given where all students are required to participate. This encompasses the musical piece the student is preparing, and a short talk each student is required to prepare. Constructive and encouraging criticism is carefully given to each student in order to sharpen his or her musical skills and
Concerts:
Family Concert
At the conclusion of every season, there is a public family concert showcasing each ensemble's prepared pieces. Typically this concert is held at PCNJ Church, 500 Broad Ave Palisades Park NJ. During the concert, each student will be required to prepare a memorized Bible Verse pertaining to the season's theme, and a short talk expounding what the Bible Verse means to him or her. Each student in a given ensemble will speak, then they will perform their pieces.
Outreach Concert
AME arranges for an outreach concert at the end of the season, usually at a local venue such as a hospital, nursing home or rehabilitiation center. The students are encouraged to interact with the audience shortly after the concert.
Extra Concert
The winning ensemble from the AME competition will have the privilege of performing in one extra concert. For example, for the 5th season, the winning ensemble was featured in the Joy Benefit Concert, held in December 16th, Tenafly NJ.
Scholarship:
The tuition will cover expenses and fees for the entire season. We are taking every effort to keep the cost of the program to a minimum without sacrificing the high caliber training the student will receive.
$350 Season Fee
$35 Application Fee
* A scholarship is available for families experiencing difficulty in meeting the tuition requirements for this program. Above all else we want to make this experience accessible to all students. Please submit a written request within 2 weeks of the beginning of the season if you would like to request assistance. Your request will be carefully reviewed and you will receive a response prior to the start of the first session.
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Time & Place
