Here is what's on the calendar for this week:
- Wednesday, February 28th - 1:45 to 3:30 p.m. - Festival Band Rehearsal - Room 91
- Thursday, February 29th - 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. - Honor Band & Orchestra Rehearsal at Los Alisos Middle School
- Friday, March 1st - Percussion Auditions for Symphonic Band due
- Complete Calendar: https://bentonmusic.weebly.com/calendar.html
Grades
Have you checked your student's Band/Orchestra grade lately? I have three categories in my gradebook: Musicianship, Professionalism, and Performance. Assignments in the Musicianship category are the most important-- these are the assignments that show students' mastery of our curriculum. You should see 10/10 on assignments labeled "Practice Quiz" and at least 8/10 on assignments with "Essential Elements Quiz" in the title. Anything less indicates lack of mastery and the student needs to redo that assignment until mastery is achieved.
Practice Habits
Is your student practicing enough? Brief (10-15 minutes), frequent (daily), focused (no distractions!) practice sessions are far more effective than infrequent practice binges. Students who do not practice at home are guaranteed to fail in rehearsal. When students do not practice, they come to rehearsal unprepared. When students come to rehearsal unprepared, they let everyone else down and hold everyone else back. Thank you for doing your part to encourage and nurture positive practice habits in your young musician.
Festival Season!
Our first festival is on March 5th at Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in La Palma. Orchestra and Festival Band will be performing. We have been monitoring student progress and final rosters of students approved to attend and perform will be published today. Parents and family are permitted to attend the festival and watch the performances.
Advanced Orchestra Gig
We are pleased to announce that our Advanced Orchestra has been selected to perform at the annual Alliance of Schools for Cooperative Insurance (ASCIP) conference on March 8th at the JW Marriott Anaheim Resort. Many high-ranking District personnel will be in attendance and this is a great opportunity for us to showcase our program.
Snap!Raise
We will be launching our Snap!Raise fundraiser soon. Last time we did this fundraiser we brought in nearly $30,000! Students will need to create accounts and add at least 20 email addresses for family members and friends. This is a direct donation drive, so no selling or buying anything, yay! This fundraiser is our biggest source of funding for our program (we do not receive a budget from the district or school for instruments or music) and so it is critical that everyone participates to the fullest extent possible. This fundraiser is being run by the Performing Arts Boosters and all students in Band, Orchestra, Guitar, Choir, and Drama will participate.
Jazz Band
We are hoping to offer Jazz Band as an elective next year. If your student is interested, please make sure they request this class. We are looking for the following:
- 6-8 saxophones
- 4-6 trumpets
- 4-6 trombones
- 2 guitarists
- 2 bass guitarists
- 2 piano players
- 2 drummers
- 0-1 vibraphone players
- 0-1 auxiliary percussionists
Students who are interested in guitar, bass, piano, or drums please click here or see me in room 91 to receive a copy of the audition music. Audition video(s) must be uploaded at this location by April 7th.
Return to Normal:
- Room 91 is temporarily once again open before school from 8:05 to 8:30 a.m.
- Room 91 is temporarily once again open during Nutrition
- Room 91 is temporarily once again open after school until at least 3:15 p.m.
- Leadership lunch meetings will resume as scheduled
- Free, on-demand instrument repairs will once again be provided
- Grading of assignments will once again occur in a timely manner
Many thanks for your continued support