Hello everyone:

The band boosters are participating in the plant sale. Flyers are available in C135.

The Lagunitas Music Foundation is once again offering scholarship money to attend summer camps in honor of my teacher and mentor Bill Carroll. If you want to be considered for a scholarship, please send in a note with the following information:

1. The name of the camp, including cost and place.
2.  A short (one page) essay on how attending this camp will benefit the band program.

I need all materials by Friday, April 13th so we can release the money to the selected recipients.

Bill Carroll was an enormous influence on my life, and it is gratifying to see my classmate, Tony Magee, founder of Lagunitas Brewery, put funds toward helping students achieve the same musical goals that Mr. Carroll set for us. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Enjoy your weekend!

Happy week before Spring Break everyone-lots to talk about this week!

Congratulations to our band students for winning awards at the Regional Science Olympiad. Austin Born, James McAdams, Iva Gramatikov, and Ankit Rastogi all did very well at the competition. Also, james McAdams competed on the Scholastic Bowl team this year, and helped them to a very successful season.

Our Wind Ensemble completed a whirlwind tour to New York City on Saturday. The trip highlight was most definitely the outstanding performance the group gave at Carnegie Hall on Thursday, March 15th. Composers Jonathan Newman, Ryan George and Timothy Broege were all in attendance for the concert, which was one of the best any group from this band program has ever given. Many thanks go to our parent chaperones: Jennie Kull, Kim Graves, Cheryl Binetti, Laura Paterno, Deb Engler, Denise Dykstra, Jane Gaffney, Kevin Engler, Bob Gradle, Kevin Morency, Brad Kahle, Tim Currell, and Bob Dubbert. While in New York we also visited Chinatown/Little Italy, Times Square, Central Park, the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center, the 9/11 visitors center, attended a fabulous New York Philharmonic concert and Memphis on Broadway. All of us can be proud of the way the group represented our program at all times. It was truly the trip of a lifetime!

Congratulations also to the Jazz Band and Jazz Workshop for their excellent concert on March 13th. Both groups were outstanding, and we thank the Band Boosters for their support in getting our guest performers/clinicians Ted Chubb and Mike Lee, who always do wonderful work with our students. We look forward to our last concert of the year on May 21st.

Summer Camp Scholarships
Once again the Lagunitas Music Foundation will be sponsoring summer camp scholarships for our students in honor of my high school band director during my junior and senior years, Bill Carroll. Mr. Carroll was a mentor, friend, and inspiration to me and countless others fortunate enough to be in his bands. He was one of the finest trumpet players I have ever heard, and one of the most humble and dedicated individuals I have ever met. Bill always gave of himself for the advancement of us, and every day I consider myself blessed to be on the same profession as him. He was a man of tremendous energy, boundless enthusiasm and infinite patience-a really rare combination.

My high school classmate (and fellow saxophone section member) Tony Magee is the founder and owner of Lagunitas Brewery in Petaluma, California, and he is graciously giving $10,000 to our school, Wheeling High School and Hanna High School in Brownsville, TX for these scholarships. If you want to apply for one, please give a letter to Mr. Kull stating the camp you want to attend and the reason why the band program will benefit from your attendance at the camp. I would like to have these letters by Thursday, April 5th.

Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Good Morning everyone-lots of stuff today!

Congratulations to all the bands for their performances at our concerts the last 2 weeks. Some incredible music was brought to life by our talented students, and I enjoyed every minute of it. It was great to see big, supportive crowds at all of the concerts., and I always enjoy getting to hear the bands I don’t get to conduct.

I would also like to thank the parents of the Wind Ensemble members who gave so much time to raise money for our upcoming trip to Carnegie Hall. These people went above and beyond helping, and it is greatly appreciated. Also, thank you all for the e-mails and messages about the concerts-it was very nice of you to take the time to express your appreciation of our student performances.

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade is Saturday, with a 9:15 AM call time and a step-off time of 11:00 AM. We are #7 in the parade, so we should be back at school by 11:40 at the absolute latest. The parade starts near Thompson Middle School, and ends at the Baker church.  We expect that students will make arrangements to be at this performance, as this is the only parade we have until Memorial Day. Dress will be our marching band uniforms-please remember your black shoes and socks.

I would like to close this message with a quote from my high school orchestra teacher, Bruce Fowler, who took the time to come to the Wind Symphony/Wind Ensemble concert last Tuesday. He wrote: ” The band has such a magnificent quality of sound, dynamics, intonation, musicianship and your soloists were outstanding. The band plays with so much vitality and excitement”. I am extremely fortunate to get to work every day with students who work hard, have fun, and put their hearts and souls into performing with passion. Of course, none of this would be possible without the encouragement and support they get at home. Thanks to all of you for that!

Have a great day, and don’t forget our jazz band concert next Tuesday, March 13th.

Good Morning everybody:

We start our February concert series tonight with our two Concert Bands, with the concert beginning at 7:30 PM. Call time for band members is 6:00 PM on stage, as we have a combined piece to practice. Students should bring $5 today or tonight for pizza at 6:45. I could use a couple of parents to help get the pizza set up for kids. The bands have been working hard, and I am really looking forward to their performance this eveing.

The Symphonic Bands play Monday, with the concert starting at 7:30 PM. Mr. Oswalt will give call times. Finally, the Wind Symphony and Wind Ensemble have their concert Tuesday, again starting at 7:30 PM.

A friendly reminder to everyone to bring some extra money to participate in the raffle baskets supporting the Wind Ensemble’s trip to Carnegie Hall next month. Parent volunteers have put together some wonderful baskets for you to try to win. Unlike the Illinois Lottery, every penny raised goes right back to our students!

Please review proper concert dress with your child, in particular, the length of skirts worn by the ladies.

We look forward to seeing you at the concerts, and thank you for your help and support!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Lots to share, so here goes:

Congratulations to all of our band students who received Human Relations Awards last week. These students are:

Sydney Andersen
Clayton Davis
Claire Davis
Ashley Domeracki
Griffin Graves
Jessica Kathe
Katie Kull
Duncan Losacco
Annie Martines
Kevin McGough
Amanda Mueller
Grover Neville
Kelly Schaffer
Cate Strahl
Meghan Zbinden

Congratulations also to our Jazz Workshop Combo students who represented us so well at the Greater St. Charles Education Fundraiser last Saturday. This group will also be playing at the College of DuPage on Thursday night as part of their winter jazz festival. These students are:

Zach Nunnery, guitar
Elliot Welter, bass
Jake Samuels, drums
Griffin Graves, baritone saxophone
Nick Novotny, tenor saxophone
Mary Snyder, alto saxophone
Clayton Davis, trumpet
Tom Currell, trumpet
Jared Engler, trombone

Upcoming Events:

Thursday, February 23, Concert Bands at the NCAC, 7:30 PM start. Call time will be 6 PM, as we have a combined piece to practice.
Monday, February 27, Symphonic Bands at the NCAC, 7:30 PM start
Tuesday, February 28, Wind Symphony and Wind Ensemble at the NCAC, 7:30 PM start

At each of these concerts our band boosters will be selling raffle tickets for baskets to support the Wind Ensemble’s trip to New York to perform at Carnegie Hall on March 15th. Please bring some extra money for a chance to win some great items!

The St. Patrick’s Day Parade is on Saturday, March 10th. Call time is 9:15 AM, with the step-off of the parade at 11 AM. We should be finished back at school by 12:15 at the latest.

Happy Second Semester everyone!

Here we go:

Congratulations to the Chorale, Chamber Orchestra and Vocal Jazz Workshop for their clinic concerts at the IMEA state convention last week. I was very proud of everyone, and especially the band members that contributed so greatly to those concerts. Junior percussionist Jessica Palmisano sang a beautiful solo, and Elliot Welter and Jake Samuels did a great job with the vocal jazz group. The wind and percussion sections played wonderfully with the orchestra. Bravo!

At the same convention, senior trombonist Jared Engler was the lead trombone in the All-State Jazz Band, where he got a featured solo, and senior baritone saxophonist Griffin Graves played in the Honors Jazz Band, where he had a solo and played under the direction of jazz trombone legend Wycliffe Gordon. It was great to see and hear all of our students in Peoria!

Our last two pep band assignments are coming up. The Wasabi Band plays Friday, with a 6:35 call time. It is an “Orange Out” night, so wear your orange. The Tamarind band plays next Wednesday, February 8th, with a 6:20 call time. Game time Friday is 7:30, and Wednesday 7:15.

Audition results for the 2012/2013 Wind Symphony, Wind Ensemble and Jazz Workshop will be posted on Friday. Mr. Wukitsch and I have had the pleasure of hearing many great auditions over the last few days, and before the results are posted, I want to take this opportunity to give some thoughts on this matter. Decisions are very difficult to make with the amount of talented students we have, especially due to instrumentation limitations and making sure that every ensemble (wind ensemble, wind symphony and symphonic bands) is set up for success. Please also realize that while we would love to take every student that auditioned, we cannot.

As a parent of kids involved in club sports and school athletic teams, I know that sometimes we get caught up in our own kid being on the “best” team or in the “best” group. I can tell you, honestly and sincerely, that every student we heard audition deserves admiration and respect. The material is difficult to prepare, and we are so grateful that we have the interest we do in being part of these outstanding groups. No matter what happens, I am proud of each and every one that auditioned. As parents, you should also be very proud of your kids.

Lastly, the Wind Ensemble is preparing for a concert at Carnegie Hall on March 15th. As part of our fundraising efforts, we will be raffling off gift baskets at our concerts at the end of February. Please bring a few extra dollars to buy some chances on these!

Thank you for reading, and thank you for all your help and support!

Happy snowy day everyone:

I want to congratulate the concert band members for their fine performances on our final exams, both playing and written. It is very exciting to hear the improvement in playing, and I am really looking forward to getting back to playing on Monday. Bravo!

The Jazz Workshop had an excellent recording session in their final exam period. I am looking forward to hearing the results!

The Wind Ensemble read our newest commission, Riff Raff on Wednesday. It is a fantastic piece, and you can look forward to hearing it on February 28th at the world premiere. We will also perform it at Carnegie Hall on March 15th!

Now for the important information:

The Tamarind band brings their brand of heat to the basketball game on Saturday night. Call time is 5:05, and students should be finished at 7:30 PM.

Class registration will be starting soon. Please follow these instructions when signing up for classes for the 2012/2013 school year.
• All freshmen should sign up for Symphonic Band.
• All current Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band students should sign up for their current class.
• All Jazz Workshop and Jazz Band students should sign up for their current class as well.
• Any interested current band member can add Jazz Band to their schedule for next year if they would like to without an audition.

Auditions will be held on January 30, 31 and February 1 for the 2012/2013 Wind Symphony, Wind Ensemble and Jazz Workshop. Jazz Workshop auditions will be held during the Jazz Band and Jazz Workshop class periods. There will be a sign-up sheet posted by Tuesday for the Wind Symphony and Wind Ensemble auditions.
When auditions are completed, Mr. Wukitsch and I will give the lists for Wind Symphony, Wind Ensemble and Jazz Workshop to the administration and students will be scheduled into these groups. YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO CONTACT YOUR COUNSELOR-we will take care of that for you.

Enjoy your day and weekend!

Happy snowy day everyone!

Great job last night by the Jazz Band and Jazz Workshop at their concert. I think it was one of the most exciting jazz concerts we have had in quite some time, and both bands played very, very well. We are really proud of you! It was also great to see so mnay alumni at the concert, including Jeff Johnson and Ian Scales, who graduated 6 years ago. It was really wonderful to see the big crowd and have the support of so many friends, alumni, and families at the concert. It was a tremendous end to the 2nd quarter performances!

There will be no make-up pep band tomorrow night. We will make arrangements for students who may need to make up one game. These grades will be posted third quarter.

I am also happy to announce that our commissioned piece, Riff Raff, by Texas based composer Ryan George is finished! The Wind Ensemble will read the piece during final exams, and premiere it on February 28th and at Carnegie Hall on March 15th.

Enjoy your weekend!

Happy Monday!

This week we have a Jazz Band Concert on Thursday at 7:30 PM in the Norris Cultural Arts Center. Both bands have worked on a very entertaining program, including music by Thad Jones, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Radiohead. The concert is $3 for adults and $2 for students and senior citizens.

The Wasabi Band heats up the basketball game on Friday. Call time is 6:35 PM.

We are hoping to have volunteers and students who need a make-up game for a game on Saturday. Please sign up in the band room TOMORROW if you can play. Call time is 5:10 PM.

Have a great week and hope to see you on Thursday night!

Welcome to the first “Feel Good Friday” of 2012!

Here’s what’s worth celebrating this weekend:

Griffin Graves, Jared Engler and Maria Paterno were honored by me at Breakfast of Champions Thursday for being selected to participate in the Illinois Music Educators All-State Conference in Peoria. Griffin and Jared will be playing in jazz band, while Maria will be taking part in the Future Music Educators Seminar.Other band members honored at Breakfast of Champions were freshmen tuba player Drew Sanders, honored for his work in Latin, and jazz band member AJ Schmid, honored for his work in the READY program.

Many of our students will also be performing at the All-State convention as members of the Chamber Orchestra, Chorale or Vocal Jazz Workshop. Good luck to all of these students in their preparation.

Look for good news every Friday, and have a great weekend!