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More Important RHHS Band Info from Mr. B!

HELLO TO ALL CURRENT AND INCOMING STUDENTS AND PARENTS OF THE RHHS BAND PROGRAM!!!

This is my second email to all of you. If you missed the first one for any reason, you can find it archived on the main page of our amazing Band Booster website: https://rhhsband.wixsite.com/boosters. Please read that note if you haven’t already.

To follow-up on a couple of the things I mentioned in that first email….

*The class roster is attached to this email (the original email that was sent out) as well. Remember that the Marching Band is made up of Wind Ensemble students, Symphonic Band students, and the Percussion Ensemble members with asterisks next to their names. All Marching Band members will be needed at our Summer Band Camp, which will be weekdays from August 16th through August 27th, 4:00 PM - 8:30 PM. It is necessary to have all members present for the full duration of every rehearsal, not only for musical reasons, but also for safety reasons, as the entire drill (the visual component) of our halftime show will be taught during these two weeks. I appreciate you putting these dates on your calendar, and keeping them in mind as you schedule vacations, driver’s education, tutoring, student work schedules, etc. Marching Band is our curricular material for the first few weeks of the year, and it is what the students will be graded on.

*Private instruction and step-up/professional quality instruments are recommended for all high school Band students. Please let me know if I can assist with either!

*Our (very serious) instrumentation problem still exists. We have an extreme deficit in our horn, trombone, euphonium, tuba, and bassoon sections. Now is a great time to think about an instrument-switch, because not only can I hook you up with an outstanding private instructor to help you make the transition, but I can also give you an instrument immediately. PLEASE contact me if you would like to talk about this possibility. Changes in instrumentation are good for the individual students (who are sitting in overpopulated sections) and good for the program as a whole.

Moving on to some new information, all students are encouraged to audition for the Howard County High School G/T/ Orchestra. All audition information can be found on their website -> https://www.hocoyo.org/auditions and here is a note from the directors, Mr. Denne, Mr. O’Bryan, Mr. McKay, and Mr. Kim:

With the continuing considerations of Covid protocols we will again be forgoing live auditions this year. We are instead asking that students submit a video recording of their audition. Students should record their video in one take and upload the video to YouTube Studio. Students have a YouTube studio account connected to their GSuite account and will upload their video as “unlisted” so that it is only viewable with the link. To submit their video, they will just enter the link on their application. Audition requirements are listed on the audition page. Students that were accepted into Symphony this past year have been offered the opportunity to retain their position without being asked to re-audition. Due to the fact that we will not be offering Repertory Orchestra for the 2021-2022 season all current Repertory musicians will be asked to submit an audition video if they are interested in joining Symphony. Audition materials must be submitted by Monday, June 21 at 10:00pm. We look forward to returning to our normal rehearsal and concert program next year. We have all, students and teachers alike, missed out on all of the things that make our ensembles special, and we have some truly amazing things in the works for next year. Please email directors@hsgto.org with any questions you may have.

Do you currently have an RHHS-owned book, such as “Measures of Success?” If so, it needs to be returned to the school by June 9th. Thank you!

Do you currently have an RHHS-owned instrument? Every school instrument needs to be inspected/maintained/repaired in preparation for the next school year. If you have an instrument that is impossible for you to transport (timpani, or a keyboard percussion instrument), the pickup day is this coming Wednesday, between 2:00 and 5:00, and I need to hear from you by tomorrow to confirm that you need for me to come by with the trailer. For other folks, you have two options:

  1. Return the instrument to me NO LATER THAN Wednesday, June 9th. You can bring it to school between 8 AM and 3 PM or, if that doesn’t work for you, you can drop it off at my house. Just let me know if that is your preference and we can set up a time.

  2. If you wish to keep the instrument, you can have it inspected/repaired at your own expense at Baltimore Brass (99 Mellor Avenue in Catonsville) anytime before September 1st. I will ask for a receipt from the repair for my records. Please let me know right away if you are choosing this option.

If you have just recently checked-out an instrument from me, it’s probably fine to hold on to it. Just email me and we’ll confirm.

Do you need to BORROW an RHHS-owned instrument? I have tons of instruments to lend to my students, and I will let you know about availability once I get everything inspected. Typically, brass instruments are available before woodwinds, but either way I will do my best to get you what you need as soon as possible. Percussion instruments are available, but you will have to transport whatever you wish to borrow.

Hey brass players - the Monumental Brass Quintet is offering an outstanding Summer Brass Institute from June 21st through June 25th. You’ll learn warm-up routines, sight reading skills, ear-training, and improvisation, and you’ll play in small and large brass ensembles. I encourage you to check it out at https://www.monumentalbrassquintet.org/summer-brass-programs

Our end-of-year RHHS Bands celebration is on Monday, June 7th, on the basketball courts behind the tennis courts. (The rain date is the following night - June 8th.) This event is for EVERY current RHHS Band member, but my future students are more than welcome to attend if they like! Please bring a lawn chair for each family member, 8 small zip-lock bags with baked goods to share, and, if you like, dinner for you to eat during the ceremony. ALL current students will be recognized for their contributions to the Band Program, we will shower our seniors with thanks and congratulations, and there will be a few other surprises as well. I hope you’ll join us.

As always, if I can help with anything at all, do not hesitate to let me know!

Musically,

Mr. Blackman


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