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Marching Band!


Dear RHHS Band Families,

Happy Independence Day!

I hope that your summer is off to a fabulous start. Here is a summary of the new Marching Band program:

  • All of my students will still participate in football pregame and halftime performances, but based on the NAMES of the Band course you are enrolled, the members of the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band will march, and the members of the Concert Band will be stationary. The only exceptions to this plan will be the members of the “rhythm section,” who will also be stationary. The rhythm section includes drum set, electric bass, keyboard percussion, electric keyboards, and auxiliary percussion.

  • Attendance at all summer rehearsals, during which we will be learning most of our drill moves for the show, is expected (mandatory) of marching members (WE and SB students who are not in the rhythm section). You are asked to arrange your work and personal schedules to be with us. Any requests for absence from these rehearsals must be sent directly to me, and must be received by July 15th. Absence from these rehearsals may result in you being moved to the stationary ensemble, which I do not think you will prefer, as we will be reviewing drill in some of our 5th and 6th period classes and you are going to WANT to be involved with that (rather than standing still)! My expectation is that all WE and SB students (aside from rhythm section) will be at all of the summer rehearsals. The summer rehearsal dates/times are:

  • August 22, 4:30 - 9:00

  • August 23, 4:30 - 9:00

  • August 24, 4:30 - 9:00

  • August 27, 4:30 - 6:00 (please note ending time)

  • August 28, 4:30 - 9:00

  • August 30, 4:30 - 9:00

  • August 31, 4:30 - 9:00

  • Concert Band students and members of the rhythm section are asked to choose AT LEAST THREE of the above rehearsal dates, and attend from 4:30-6:00 only, to rehearse music with the rest of the band.

  • Because we will be getting so much work done before the school year starts, we will NOT need a weekly Wednesday night rehearsal! We will still rehearse on Fridays when we have home football games, so ALL Band students will report to me at 2:10 on those days, and we will eat dinner together before the performance. Our home football games are on August 31st (not sure what we are doing, if anything, for this one yet….), September 21st, October 5th, October 12th, and October 26th.

  • The only other performance for the marching band (ALL members) is the school year kick-off assembly with Dr. Martirano on August 24th. It begins at 10:30, so we will need to meet in the Band Room at 9:30 that morning. This is an important performance, so please be sure it is on your calendar.

Your first job is to look at the marching band roster (sent to you via email) and verify the information that you see next to your name. If you have a question, or if something doesn’t look right, please email me right away and I will be happy to help. Also, all students need to make sure that they have the instruments they will need for marching band. ALL horn, euphonium, and tuba players will need different equipment for those performances, and I had hoped to take care of all instrument sign-outs before the end of the school year. You will definitely want to spend some time getting used to those horns before we begin rehearsing together, so if you still need one, please come by the Band Room and pick it up at any of the following times (a Band Camp will be rehearsing, so I will probably just meet you out in the hallway):

  • July 5th, 9:00 AM or noon

  • July 6th, 9:00 AM or noon

  • July 9th, 9:00 AM or noon

  • July 10th, 9:00 AM or noon

If you need to schedule a different pick-up time, please let me know. Also, I have some student-model woodwind instruments for those who only have professional equipment that is better kept indoors. : )

Now….moving on to some other things…. It is important for musicians to have age-appropriate equipment. The wind instruments that you played in elementary school were designed for the developmental level of young children with no experience. Now that you are in high school, an intermediate or professional-model instrument is necessary to accommodate your physical and musical growth. Your private instructor is the best person to assist with this transition, and I am happy to throw in my recommendations as well, so do not hesitate to let me know if you need assistance with that, or with choosing a private teacher.

Percussionists will need to supply their own drum sticks. I know that many of you have several pairs, but please make sure that you have a pair of Vic Firth Generals, labeled with your initials, to bring to school every day (or leave in school).

Finally, it is important that I have all student and parent email addresses so that I can disseminate information efficiently. If this note did not reach ALL bands students and parents in your household, please consider sharing the missing addresses with me, and I will add them to our Charms Office Assistant database.

Here is a summary of what needs to be done at this point:

  1. SB and WE students (aside from rhythm section) put summer rehearsal dates on your family calendar. Send me any requests for absence by July 15th.

  2. CB and rhythm section members select three summer rehearsals to attend from 4:30-6:00.

  3. Put home football games on your family calendar.

  4. Put the August 24th kick off assembly performance on your family calendar.

  5. Sign-out any needed instruments by July 10th.

  6. Verify accuracy of information on the roster (sent to you via email).

  7. Send me any additional email addresses for your family.

Thanks very much, and I look forward to working with every one of you!

Musically,

Mr. B.

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