Hi everyone:

I hope everyone had a nice, restful holiday break. It has been great to see all of the students and get back to work this week. They look a little sleep deprived, as many of them told me they slept in until the crack of noon each day during their break. A little coffee may help….

The Tamarind band will rock the gymnasium on Friday night. Call time is 6:35 PM, and we will be finished by 9 PM. Please be prompt in picking up your band member. The next performance for the Wasabi band is on January 13th, with a 6:35 PM call time.

There will be a ONE TIME only make-up opportunity for pep band on Saturday, January 14th. Sign up sheets will be posted tomorrow, and we will only be able to do this if we have enough interest. This would take the place of one of the assigned games for the students. Call time would be 5:05, and we would be finished by 7:45 PM.

Audition dates for the 2012/2013 groups are being finalized now, but they will be NO EARLIER than January 23rd. Jazz Workshop material will be ready on Friday of this week.

I plan to post information on our website every Monday, and I will be inaugurating a special Friday edition that will be designed to give you good news as we head into the weekend, so check back on Friday!

Have a great week, and welcome back!

Happy Friday everyone:

Congratulations to all the bands for their great performances at the Holiday Concerts last week. We were very pleased with how all the bands played, and we look forward to our concerts at the end of February. Also, our two outstanding jazz bands will perform a concert on January 12th at 7:30 in the NCAC.

I would like to encourage all students, especially those planning to audition for the 2012/2013 auditioned groups to use these 2 weeks to get your auditions in good shape. The earliest those auditions will occur is the week of January 23rd, but we are hoping to be able to do them the week of the 30th. I will have a definite answer when we get back from break. Music for the Jazz Workshop auditions will be ready right after break.

In closing, thank you all for a wonderful 2011, and we look forward to some fun and memorable music-making in 2012!

Mr. Kull

PS I know I am biased, but click on the link following to see why volleyball is simply the greatest sport to watch. The video is match point from the Illinois-USC National Semi-Final game last night. Amazing point: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pBxKPzAluc

Good Afternoon:

A few quick things for a busy week:

Concerts are tonight and Thursday. The call time for each band is different, so your child needs to check with their director for specifics. The concerts begin at 7:30 pm. Please adhere to our concert dress code, especially as it pertains to the length of skirts for the ladies.

The Wasabi Band heats up the basketball game on Saturday night. Call time is 5:05 PM, and students should be done by 7:30 PM.

Lastly, congratulations to Griffin Graves and Jared Engler for being selected to perform in one of the All-State jazz ensembles this January in Peoria. We are very proud of you!

Good Morning everyone:

I have a great deal of information to share, so here goes:

PEP BAND

After convening the Pep Band Super-Committee (consisting of Mr. Kull and Mr. Wukitsch), we have come to agreement on the names of the pep bands for this year. We, as always, have picked a food theme. The Super-Committee, both lovers of all kinds of spices, have picked an Asian spice theme for this year’s bands. Band A is now known as the Wasabi Band, and Band B is now the Tamarind Band. Please make note of this.

Pep Bands do start this week, with the Wasabi Band playing tonight. Call time is 6:20, and students will be finished between 8:30 and 8:45. The Tamarind Band makes their debut on Friday, with a 6:35 call time. The Tamarind Band should be finished between 8:45 and 9 PM.

HOLIDAY CONCERTS

Concerts are next Tuesday, December 6th, featuring the 3rd Hour Concert and Symphonic Bands and Wind Symphony, and Thursday, December 8th, featuring the 1st Hour Concert and Symphonic Bands and Wind Ensemble. Both concerts begin at 7:30 pm in the Norris Cultural Arts Center.

Concert dress is black and white. Ladies need to have a skirt that is AT LEAST mid-calf in length or pants. Gentleman need to wear ties with their white shirts. Black shoes (Ladies need to have closed toes) are also required. Parents, please make sure your daughters have the proper length skirt if they choose to wear one.

I also want to take a minute to review proper audience behavior at a formal concert. Band members have taken a great deal of time to prepare their music for you, and deserve an audience that is respectful and attentive. Texting or talking on a cell phone is not appropriate behavior, and nor is carrying on conversations during the performance. These behaviors will be reviewed with our students, and we expect everyone to adhere to proper concert etiquette. Thank you in advance for following these guidelines.

INSTRUMENT RENTAL FORMS

Forms will be given to students this week to bring home if they are using a school owned instrument. Please send payment in before December 15th if at all possible. The fee is $65 for wind and brass players, and $30 for percussionists.

WIND ENSEMBLE CARNEGIE HALL TRIP

All participating students and parents should be signed up for our SaintsPlayCarnegie Google Group. If you haven’t, please do so ASAP. The Wind Ensemble will be performing at Carnegie Hall on March 15, 2012, so stay tuned for more information!

BLACKBOARD

All of the directors are working on Blackboard pages for you to utilize. My Blackboard page, featuring information for the concert bands, wind ensemble and jazz workshop, is under the name Mr. Kull. Students in my groups (and any interested parents) need to self-enroll. I will keep everyone posted about the status of the pages for Mr. Wukitsch and Mr. Oswalt.

I think that is enough for one day. As always, thank you for your help and support, and we look forward to seeing you at our upcoming performances.

Good Morning everyone:

A couple of quick reminders about the holiday parade on Saturday, November 26th:

Call time is 4 PM, step-off is at 5:30 PM.

Please dress for the weather by layering underneath the uniform. NO jeans are to be worn under the pants, and please get one color gloves, preferably black or white. Clarinet players can use finger-less gloves if they want. We will be at the parade site for at least 30 minutes before we step-off, so plan accordingly with gloves. You can always take them off and put them in your pocket while we march if necessary.

Pep Band assignments will be e-mailed later today.

Have a great day!

We are going to start pep band sign ups later this week.
Here are the dates for the 2 bands:

Band A

Wednesday, November 30  6:20 PM Call

Saturday, December 10  5:05 PM Call

Friday, January 13   6:35 PM Call

Friday, February 3  6:35 PM Call

 Band B

Friday, December 2   6:35 PM Call

Friday, January 6   6:35 PM Call

Saturday, January 21  5:05 PM Call

Wednesday, February 8   6:20 PM Call

ALL BAND STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO SIGN UP FOR ONE OF THE
TWO BANDS. Please check your calendars before you have your student sign up to
minimize absences and the student having to get a substitute to play for them.
The bands will be given official names when the final lists are posted. Both
bands will have close to the same instrumentation to insure quality of performance.

We are hosting the US Open Brass Band Championships on
Saturday-please see Julie Strahl’s e-mail from this weekend to sign up for
help. I have attached the US Open Brass Bands Preview 2011 of the competition if you are interested in reading more about it. It is full of outstanding and entertaining groups.

A big congratulations also go to the members of the Jazz
Band and Jazz Workshop for their fantastic performances at our first concert
last week. A big thank you to the Band Boosters for sponsoring the great
musicians we had in to work with and play with the bands. It was an awesome
start to the concert season!

Have a great day,

Jim Kull, NBCT

St. Charles East High School Bands

1020 Dunham Rd.

St. Charles, IL 60174

630.377.4797 Office

Here is the schedule of events the next two days:

Thursday

Small Games Assembly/Pep Rally 6:30PM Call Time in the gym. There is no required dress for this. We should be finished by 8:30 PM.

Friday

Parade: Students are excused from 7^th period class. Dress for the parade is jeans, tennis shoes and marching band t-shirt. You can wear a long sleeve t-shirt or sweatshirt underneath the band t-shirt if you want. We will bus back and forth from the parade, and we should be back at school by 1:45 PM. The parade steps off at 1 PM, and  is on Illinois Street, moving from west to east, ending at 1^st Avenue. If you want
to take your child home after the parade, we must see you with them before they
are released to you.

The call time for the game is 5:30 PM, and we will be wearing uniforms. PLEASE MAKE SURE THE SHOES WORN ARE ALL BLACK-no other colors are acceptable!

I am very pleased with our first two performances this year, and look forward to another good performance Friday!

One last item: please be prompt picking up your child after the football games. We are generally back and changing by 9:15, and the students are usually finished by 9:30 PM. The last two games we have had to wait for parents until 10:15. Please be considerate-the directors have to stay until all students have been picked up.

See you at the events this weekend!

Jim Kull, NBCT

St. Charles East High School Bands

1020 Dunham Rd.

St. Charles, IL 60174

630.377.4797 Office