Bancroft Update, 2/27/14

Another very encouraging morning…

As I told the kids, I'm glad the concert isn't this week.  We aren't quite ready, but we will be next week.  They played very well today.  They can get through the music, and we will have a successful concert.  Now, we need to keep up our level of preparation so that next week, it's almost second nature, and they show up feeling comfortable and confident.  We are well on the road to that.  I am very much looking forward!

Let's give it one more week where we focus on that concert music!  We'll get back to progressing through the book on March 13th!

West El. Update, 2/26/14

Hello everyone!

Being the last time I saw them as a group before the concert, we did devote the morning to making sure we felt good and ready.  I am confident that we will be in very good shape on March 11.  I sent out an e-mail yesterday with details about the evening, and it is posted on the blog as well.  If you are having trouble accessing either of those resources, let me know, and I'll resend it to you.

A reminder that next week, due to WERAWC, we have been asked not to hold our regular Wednesday morning rehearsal.  I am inviting any of you to bring your kids to the band class at Sanborn on Monday morning, March 3.  It meets at the same timeframe as West (7:45-8:30), and of course they would then need a ride down the street to school once it was over.  I realize this could be logistically challenging, but I offer it as an option.  Please let me know ahead of time if you plan to come, so I can properly prepare the room, etc.  As always, you are welcome to stay and listen.  The class is held in the music room which is on the left down the hallway coming straight from the main entrance, almost all the way to the rear or the building.

After the concert, we will resume work on the book, and our band class on March 12 will be devoted to playing page 24.

As always, thank you for your support!

All Bands Night! Important Information!

Andover All-Bands Night

Tuesday, March 11, 7:00pm-8:30pm

The J. Everett Collins Center for the Performing Arts, Andover High School

Groups to perform:

The Andover High School Golden Warrior Marching Band

The Andover Combined Elementary School Bands 

The Andover Combined Middle School Bands

The Andover Jazz Bands (Level 1-4)

The Andover High School Concert Band

Students from the middle school bands should plan to arrive at the Collins Center at 5:00pm to be ready for a run-thru on stage at 5:15pm

Students from the elementary school bands should plan to arrive at the Collins Center at 5:45 to be ready for a run-thru on stage at 6:00pm

Please plan to stay for the entire concert.  This is as much of an opportunity for the groups to hear each other as it is to play for the audience.  As a member of a performing group in Andover, it is an expectation that members of an performing ensemble are also learning to be an excellent audience.  Thank you for understanding.

Concert dress for bands in Andover is black (top, bottom, shoes, socks, etc.)  Please do your best to avoid other colors such as logos, stripes, etc.

Let's hope we have Mother Nature's cooperation both on the day of the concert, and for any remaining rehearsals!

All the best,

Joe Wright

Joseph Wright

Instrumental Music, Andover Public Schools

Andover, MA

Band and class updates:

http://whatsnewinband.blogspot.com

Thoughts, stories, opinions:

http://www.adifferentkindofbeautiful.com

 

Sanborn Update, 2/24/14

It was a VERY encouraging rehearsal this morning.  We spent time almost all the time on the concert music, but there were some very concrete signs of preparation and growth.  We were able to get through all of the music, and with two more meetings before our March 11 concert, I have a lot of faith in our being able to really enjoy playing together, and sounding really good.

We will indeed be able to move work on Page 23 next week, and I will run through the concert music again.  Please continue to encourage their work at home.

There will be an e-mail with all of the details about March 11 sent out by the middle of the week!

South Update, 2/14/14

Mother Nature has dealt yet another cruel blow.

First, I feel badly that I did not get to your e-mail inquiries about this morning in time, and I am sorry I had not been clear about this ahead of time.  Whenever there is a school cancellation or a delay, you can assume that before school band is suspended for that day.  It is certainly logical to imagine that the band, like everything else, would just move two hours later, but I am going to give the schools the full delay time to prepare the grounds and buildings for the students' safe arrival.

We will only have two more meetings after vacation before our March 11 concert, but I feel comfortable that this will be enough time to prepare and be comfortable.  Let's keep working on pages 21 and 23 for February 28, and be sure we feel good and ready.

Have a wonderful and restful vacation!  Happy Valentines Day.

Bancroft Update, 2/13/14

No School…No Band….

We will have two more band classes before our March 11 concert.  Our focus for yesterday was to have been page 21, and get ourselves ready and comfortable.  I do want to stick with this, but when one is comfortable with "Montego Bay" and "Regal March", I'd certainly encourage work on page 23 or even 24.  We'll take stock in this when we get together again on February 27.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and restful vacation.  Happy Valentines Day!

West El. Update, 2/12/14

Sorry this a little later than my routine,

I am quite confident that we will be in great shape for March 11.  I will continue to work on the repertoire, but I feel like we can also move forward in the book.  We are starting work on page 24. Ms. Roos has asked that we cancel our usual band class on Wednesday, March 5, as the school enjoys WERAWC.  It's unfortunate that this is just a little less than a week before the concert, but I think if we have a good session with page 21 on Feb 26, we ought to be fine.  If all goes well that morning with the concert repertoire, we'll spend time with page 24 as well.

I will send out detail for March 11 over vacation, but please note that we will not be meeting at our usual time on March 5.

Sanborn Update, 2/10/14

Sorry that this update is a little behind schedule!

It was a very encouraging morning yesterday.  They were all there, which is always nice, and It felt as though the overall preparation was strong.  We made it through "Montego Bay" with lots of good sounds and lots of great questions.  It left us enough time to get through a good chunk of "Regal March" as well!  We are on a good trajectory for the March 11 concert.

With vacation next week, that gives us two weeks between classes.  I asked them to have a look at page 19, and that we would see how it goes when we get back, but that we would also touch again on the music for the concert.  I don't want to halt progression on the book entirely in the next month, but as I said last week, I want them to feel comfortable on stage when the big day comes around.

I hope the week off is a restful and refreshing break.  Looking forward to seeing them all back on 2/24.

South Update, 2/7/14

The group continues to make steady and impressive progress.  They did great work preparing for our work on Page 24 today.  Evidence of this is not only how well they play, but what great questions they ask.

The concert is coming soon, in just over a month.  I am confident they will sound great, but my goal is to get them ready enough to really enjoy playing it!  I want them comfortable and confident in their chairs on March 11 that this indeed will go well.  I have no doubt that this will be the case, but it will be all the better if I can have them remove doubt themselves.  They will be joined by about 60 other fourth and fifth grade musicians, and there is strength in numbers.  They are going to be great.  They will be all the better if they go into it believing just that.

At this point, on Friday mornings, I want to be working on smooth transitions, and pulse control, and dynamics, and a good sound.  It is absolutely up to them at this point to come into each rehearsal as prepared as possible with correct notes and rhythms.  If they can manage that, we will be in great shape.  As always, they are allowed and encouraged to show up with lots of questions.

I told them that Page 21 would be the priority for next week.  I assigned page 25, and said that we'd touch on it next week as time allowed, but that it can easily wait until after vacation if they need the time to feel confident in the concert music.

As always, thank you for your role in their wonderful musical growth!

Jazz Band Update, 2/6/14

Lots of progress on Tuesday, and a lot of fun.

For next week, I will introduce a third tune into our repertoire, and they have been asked to keep working on the two we have, and this week's YouTube artist is "The Manhattan Transfer".  

Here is the calendar of performances for the jazz band this year:

Monday, March 3 – Jazz Band Café Night. (details below)

Tuesday, March 11 – All Bands Night – All of the elementary, middle, and high school bands will before in our "vertical" band concert at the Collins Center.  They will all be there anyway to perform in their school concert bands, and each of the four jazz bands will perform one piece. (7:00pm)

Wednesday, April 16 – Jazz Night – Just the jazz bands will perform their repertoire on the Collins Center Stage. (7:00pm)

Sunday, June 1 – Jazz Banquet – Ryles Jazz Club, Inman Square, Cambridge (Time TBA, but typically the middle of the afternoon)

Below is an excerpt from an e-mail you should have received from Jeff Buckridge, coordinator of the jazz program.  If you indeed do not receive it, please let me know, and I will make sure you are on his list, which I believe he would have taken from your on-line registration.

________________________________________________________________

The Jazz Band is announcing its first concert of the year: 
The Jazz Band Café Night!

Monday, March 3, 2014 at 6:30 pm 
in the High School Cafeteria

Our first concert of the year will once again be Jazz Band Café Night, on Monday March 3 at 6:30 pm.  This concert will be a bit of a more casual affair: the concert itself will take place in the cafeteria and we will set up chairs and tables for a cabaret-style event.  We will be asking for volunteers to bring in snacks and drinks to add to the festivities.  Each of the groups will perform a short program (2-3 songs) and there will be some other features such as a faculty/student jam session.  Students are encouraged to invite family and friends!  The program will be over before 8:00.

This concert will be in place of the normally scheduled rehearsals for that day.  All jazz band members are asked to show up by 6:15.  Parents/students that are interested in contributing some sort of refreshments, please email me to let me know what you intend to bring.  I’ll try to be organized enough to make sure we don’t end up with 5 gallons of guacamole and no chips. Because of new health department standards food must be limited to pre-packaged store bought food that has ingredients listed.  The food must be able to be served at room temperature as well. Please limit the refreshments to drinks and hors d’oeuvres/ snack type food and finger food (chips/dips/veggies/cookies, etc.)  Of course- please no nuts.  There will be limited table space- so feel free to keep it simple.

Bancroft Update, 2/6/14

It was an all-male group this morning!

As I have been saying right along, this group is coming along nicely and making good progress.  That said, we are at a point were our first performance is not far away, and I think for at least this week, we all need to concentrate on that material, which is Page 21.

I have a goal for this group.  It's not just to learn it enough to sound good in the concert, but to learn it well enough so that we enjoy playing it!  I want them comfortable and confident in their chairs on March 11 that this indeed will go well.  I have no doubt that this will be the case, but it will be all the better if I can have them remove doubt themselves.  They will be joined by about 60 other fourth and fifth grade musicians, and there is strength in numbers.  They are going to be great.  They will be all the better if they go into it believing just that.

At this point, on Thursday mornings, I want to be working on smooth transitions, and pulse control, and dynamics, and a good sound.  It is absolutely up to them at this point to come into each rehearsal as prepared as possible with correct notes and rhythms.  If they can manage that, we will be in great shape.  They are allowed and encouraged to show up with lots of questions.

I feel like we are not very far from this point.  Let's have a great week of practice, focusing on "Montego Bay" and "Regal March".  

West El. Update, 2/5/14

Mother Nature has robbed us of TWO band classes since the new year!

As I have been saying right along, this group is coming along nicely and making good progress.  That said, we are at a point were our first performance is not far away, and I think for at least this week, we all need to concentrate on that material, which is Page 21.

I have a goal for this group.  It's not just to learn it enough to sound good in the concert, but to learn it well enough so that we enjoy playing it!  I want them comfortable and confident in their chairs on March 11 that this indeed will go well.  I have no doubt that this will be the case, but it will be all the better if I can have them remove doubt themselves.  They will be joined by about 60 other fourth and fifth grade musicians, and there is strength in numbers.  They are going to be great.  They will be all the better if they go into it believing just that.

At this point, on Wednesday mornings, I want to be working on smooth transitions, and pulse control, and dynamics, and a good sound.  It is absolutely up to them at this point to come into each rehearsal as prepared as possible with correct notes and rhythms.  If they can manage that, we will be in great shape.  They are allowed and encouraged to show up with lots of questions.

I feel like we are not very far from this point.  Let's have a great week of practice, focusing on "Montego Bay" and "Regal March".  We'll see how it goes next Wednesday, and how much we can keep progressing in the book after that.

See you all next week, weather permitting!

West MS Grade 6 Update, 2/4/14

Hello West MS Band Families,

I am announcing that I am going to try a new initiative designed to help motivate students to meet expectations in band, in particular in the realm of responsibility.  This is a great group of kids, and I love working with them.  That said, I find myself in a regular quest to reunite them with books, instrument parts, etc., and I am frankly growing a little weary of begging them to have pencils at the ready.

Today, I reinforced the following expectations:

1. Students are expected to attend all band classes, and do so with instrument, all necessary books and music, and a pencil on the music stand.
2. Students are expected to practice at home regularly, and should always have a pencil on the stand while doing so.
3. Instruments need to go home with students on Tuesday and Friday after school.
4. If there is some reason that an instrument is left over night at school, it must be kept back stage left in the auditorium, or in a locked locker. (The student's regular locker is acceptable if indeed the instrument fits.)

We discussed that the consequences for not meeting these guidelines.  I explained to them that I will send home an e-mail notifying you if there was a problem, and that they would be subject to an extra household chore, at your discretion.  If you get an e-mail from me reporting a transgression, and see a set of sliver candlesticks that could use a good polish, you have your solution.  They have been prepared for this eventuality.  I will not hold anyone accountable for anything after the e-mail.  That is entirely up to you.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.  I wanted to find a way to positively encourage them to take the next step towards responsible citizenship in a lighthearted yet effective way.

All the best,

Joe Wright

Joseph Wright

Instrumental Music, Andover Public Schools

Andover, MA

Band and class updates:

http://whatsnewinband.blogspot.com

Thoughts, stories, opinions:

http://www.adifferentkindofbeautiful.com

Wood Hill Grade 6 Update, 2/3/14

Hello Wood Hill Band Families,

I am announcing that I am going to try a new initiative designed to help motivate students to meet expectations in band, in particular in the realm of responsibility.  This is a great group of kids, and I love working with them.  That said, I find myself in a regular quest to reunite them with books, instrument parts, etc., and I am frankly growing a little weary of begging them to have pencils at the ready.

Today, I reinforced the following expectations, and added a new one:

1. Students are expected to attend all band classes, and do so with instrument, all necessary books and music, and a pencil on the music stand.
2. Students are expected to practice at home regularly, and should always have a pencil on the stand while doing so.
3. Instruments need to go home with students on Monday and Wednesday after school.
4. If there is some reason that an instrument is left over night at school, it must be kept in an assigned locker in the band room. (The student's regular locker is acceptable if indeed the instrument fits.)  Instruments are never to be left over night in the hallway. (new rule)

We discussed that the consequences for not meeting these guidelines.  I explained to them that I will send home an e-mail notifying you if there was a problem, and that they would be subject to an extra household chore, at your discretion.  If you get an e-mail from me reporting a transgression, and see a set of sliver candlesticks that could use a good polish, you have your solution.  They have been prepared for this eventuality.  I will not hold anyone accountable for anything after the e-mail.  That is entirely up to you.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.  I wanted to find a way to positively encourage them to take the next step towards responsible citizenship in a lighthearted yet effective way.

Sanborn Update, 2/3/14

Hey there!

We move on to page 18 this week.  I made a big deal about pencils today again.  Any reinforcement you might be able to provide at home would be a big help!  

Hope everything is OK with Nikita, Simran, and Shubam.  Missed them!

We will start to focus a little more on the Page 21 stuff as a band next week, in preparation for March 11!