QACHS’s Band Blog

Tuesday – The Jazz Band will begin its rehearsals for the Winter Concert.  Rehearsals will rehearse Tuesdays and Thursdays after school.

Wednesday – The Freshman Concert Band will travel downtown to the Courthouse lawn for the Veteran’s Day Ceremony.  The band will play beginning at 10:45 AM while everyone arives.  They will also perform a patriotic piece with the Concert Choir during the ceremony.  All students are to be dressed in black pants/skirt, white dress shirt/blouse, and black dress shoes.  Students are to report to the band room at the end of 1st period.

Thursday – Jazz Band Rehearsal after school.

The Queen Anne’s County High School Band Group on Facebook is the newest medium in technology for the band program at QACHS. First came the Band Website. Second came the Band Blog. Third was the concession stand Wiki. Fourth was the podcast series “From the Director’s Desk”. Now is the Facebook Group. I hope this will become an active place where everyone past and present can collaborate, stay up to date, and reminisce everything about the band program at QACHS.

Monday – Jazz Ensemble will travel to Kent County High School for Part 2 of the Exchange Concert Program.  We will leave from QACHS at 11AM.  Students will report to the band room at the end of second period.  KCHS band will be providing Pizza for lunch.  We should return to QACHS by 3:00PM.  There will be Marching Band after school!

Tuesday – Dress Rehearsal for the Spring Concert will be held during 1st Period.  All students are to report to the Band Room right away 7:40.  We will need everyone to help get the stage set for rehearsal.  There will be Jazz Band rehearsal after school!

Wednesday – The Spring Concert will be at 7:30PM in the John F. Andrews Performing Arts Center.  The Combined Concert Band along with the Marching Band will perform.  Students are to report at 6:45PM to get dressed and ready for warm-up.

Thursday – The 6th Annual QACHS NIght of Jazz will begin at 7:00PM in the QACHS Cafeteria.  It is a Cafe style concert that will have refreshments available.  The students are responsible for the various items.  The Saxes will bring the Baked Goods, the Brass will bring in a bottle of soda, and the rhythm section will bring paper products (plates, napkins, and forks).

Next Wednesday – The Music Awards Ceremony will begin at 7:00PM.

Next Thursday – Sunday – We will be traveling to and participating in the Hersheypark 2 Festival hosted by North American Music Festivals.  We will leave at 2:00PM on Thursday and return about 1:00PM on Sunday.  The final details packet is to go out in the mail tomorrow.

Beginning this week (April 13th), we will be moving Jazz rehearsals from Tuesdays and Thursdays to Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  Several members are taking part in A.P. study sessions and we want to provide them with this opportunity so that they may do well.

Upcoming performance dates for the Jazz Ensemble are as follows:

Tuesday, April 28th – Exchange Program Concert at QACHS w/KCHS Jazz Band
1:00 PM in the John F. Andrews Performing Arts Center

Monday, May 4th – Exchange Program Concert at KCHS w/KCHS Jazz Band
1:00 PM in the Kent County High School Auditorium

Thursday, May 7th – The 6th Annual QACHS Night of Jazz w/CMS Jazz Band
7:00 PM in the QACHS Cafeteria.

There are three things that every good musician should do……

1. Always have a pencil.

2. Have a regular practice schedule.

3. Listen to recordings of artists on their instrument.

In the Spring Edition of the Maryland Music Educator that I just finished reading today, there was an article that talked about ways of improving your program.  One part of the article mentioned playing music by various artists on various instruments while students entered the rehearsal room.  They then provided a list of artists to consider.  I want to share this list so that you can have a reference of who you can listen to.  You can find recordings of just about every one of these individuals on Amazon.com and those listed in BOLD are also available with downloadable mp3 albums.

Flute

Rampal, Galway

Oboe

Elaine Dubois, John Mack, Richard Woodhelms

Bassoon

Laurence Perkins, Benjamin Coelho, Ezequiel Faniguersch

Clarinet

Mitchell Lurie, Richard Stolzman

Saxophone

Harvey Pittel, Marcel Mule, Sighurd Rasher, Arno Borncamp

Trumpet

Allen Vizzutti, Philip Smith, Tommy Stevens, Wynton Marsalis

Horn

Dale Clevenger

Trombone

Christian Lindberg, Eugene Watts

Tuba

Roger Bobo, Sam Pilafian

Percussion

Nexus Percussion Ensemble, Black Earth Percussion Ensemble, Nancy Zeltsman (mallets), Stuart Mars

Ensemble

*U.S. Marine Band or other good service bands*, Canadian Brass, Empire Brass, Eastman Wind Ensemble, Cincinnati Wind Symphony, North Texas State Wind Ensemble, North Texas State Jazz Ensemble.

* We have a growing library of CD’s of the various Military Bands at school that you may check out to take home.  You can also download some individual files from the following websites.*

United States Marine Band

United States Navy Band

United States Army Band

United States Air Force Band

Woodwind/Brasswind is offering FREE SHIPPING on EVERYTHING until the end of the day on APRIL 3, 2009.  So, if you have been thinking about getting some new music accessories, reeds, and such, now is a great time to do so.  Follow the following link: www.wwbw.com.

Tune in to PBS on Thursday, March 26 at 8:00 p.m. EST for Live from Lincoln Center featuring a concert by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis at Frederick P. Rose Hall following an extensive and highly acclaimed national tour.

The band will perform specially selected music that they’ve played through the ages and the world over: favorite tunes from the band’s expansive repertoire including original compositions by members of the band.

We will resume our rehearsal schedule this week, March 17th,  for Jazz Band after school (2:40 – 4:45).  They will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Marching Band rehearsals will not begin until after Spring Break and will be held on Mondays after school (2:40 – 4:45).

This coming week will be a very busy one.  Here is what we have going on:

Monday

Marching Band Rehearsal after school.

Tuesday

Concert Dress Rehearsal during 4th Period.  Concert/Symphonic Band members should report to the band room for set up at 12:25 (beginning of D Lunch).  If you eat on D Lunch you need to eat on C Lunch.

Jazz Band Rehearsal after school only until 3:30.

Wednesday

Winter Concert – Students should report at 6:30PM.  Everyone will bring the necessary items (guys = white shirt, black socks, and black shoes, ladies = black shoes) for their Tuxes and Gowns.  The Jazz Band will need to set up their chairs and be ready for warm-up at 6:50PM.  Everyone else will need to be totally ready by 7:00PM.  We will warm up after the Jazz Band’s Performance.

Jazz Band Performance in the Lobby at 7:00PM

Formal Concert in Performing Arts Center at 7:30PM.

DON’T FORGET TO BRING YOUR BAKED GOOD ITEMS FOR THE RECEPTION IN THE LOBBY!

Thursday

Marching Band Rehearsal after school.

Friday

Marching Band Rehearsal after school.

Dinner Break: 4:45PM – 6:00PM

Report: 6:00PM

Dress: 6:00PM – 6:30PM

Warm-up: 6:30PM – 6:45PM

Parade Step Off from QACHS: 6:45PM

The parade will travel through town to the Board of Education.

I want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving.

I just want to take a brief moment to share some of the things that I am thankful for within and around the band program at QACHS.

1. The Members of the Band Program.  It is each member that works very hard and dedicates many tireless hours to the program that allows it to be successful.

2. The Parents.  If it were not for the work, dedication, and support that is given to the program by the parents, we would not be able to accomplish the things that we do.

3. The Alumni.  You are the ones that keep coming back and volunteering your time to help train the new members and keep the current members encouraged.  I could not do the job I do alone, so you are a real help in many different capacities.

4. School and Community Support.  The QACHS Band Program has been a very important part of Queen Anne’s County High School and the Community.  It is through the school and community support we receive that allows us to provide such wonderful and wide range of opportunities for our students.

Thank You to all of you!!!

It is a short week this week and there aren’t any rehearsals after school.  However next week will be a different story.  So check back later this week for all of next week’s details for Dress Rehearsal, Winter Concert, and the Centreville Christmas Parade.