Week at a Glance:

• Monday • Symphonic Band • 3:45pm – 6:00pm
  • Varsity Winter Guard 5:30pm – 8:30pm
• Tuesday • Wind Ensemble • 3:45pm – 6:00pm
  • Junior Winter Guard Camp 5:30pm – 7:30pm
• Wednesday • Concert Band • 3:45pm – 6:00pm
• Thursday • Disney Trip Marching Band Rehearsal • 3:45pm – 5:00pm
  • Varsity Winter Guard 5:30pm – 8:30pm
• Friday • Junior Winter Guard 5:30pm – 7:30pm
• Saturday • Winter Guard at Kennesaw Mtn HS• Download Itinerary • Purchase Tickets
  • Both groups travel together • Report to band room at 6:00am

Winter Guard Debuted This Weekend

Our Winter Guards had their first show of the season this past weekend at Creekview High School. Both teams performed very well!! Although we have had a Varsity and JV team in the past, this is the first time that we have had a high school team and a junior high team. The addition of a junior high guard allows students to begin participating in the activity as early as 7th grade. At the Creekview show our High School team placed 3rd in their division and our Junior High School team placed 1st in their division. Because of the demand of their show and level of execution this early in the season, SAPA promoted our junior high guard from Cadet B to Cadet A! They will now compete in a more advanced division at their next show, which is this upcoming Saturday at Kennesaw Mountain HS. Congratulations to both teams and to our fantastic coaches – Pierre, Sophia, and Brooke!

GMEA In-Service Conference

Mr. Nelson, Ms. Menendez, Ms. Wilson, and I had the opportunity to attend the Georgia Music Educators Association and this year was extra special for many reasons. First, Mr. Nelson was invited to attend the leadership track of the conference, which is by nomination only. This nomination is reserved for educators who exhibit outstanding professional aptitude. He attended a few special sessions designed to train future GMEA leadership.

Secondly, we had the opportunity for 6 of our students to attend on Friday to experience a little bit of the music education profession. Band Students: Andrew Beam, Elsie Kilgore, Sidney Porter, and Rommel Ramos were accompanied by Chorus Students: Madison Brown, and De’Montae Williams along with Ms. Jasmine Hopkins-Arnold and Ms. Julie Lowry. The students had the opportunity to learn from many distinguished music educators, visit the exhibit hall (where they discovered our brand new uniforms on display!), and attend at least one session of the conference of their choosing. It was so rewarding to experience their excitement when they returned from their sessions and they shared some of what they learned! This was the first year that GMEA offered this track for high school students. I look forward to our students participating again next year!

Finally, Central’s Symphonic Band (their top performing ensemble) performed a breathtaking concert on Friday night! Their repertoire included two world premieres: a short, fast, exciting fanfare written by Kyle Green (High Vibrations) which got the audiences attention very quickly, and a tone poem by Carrollton Alumnus Katahj Copley (Havens), which was met with a very long standing ovation! Katahj’s piece called for antiphonal trumpets, which were performed from the 2nd balcony by Central Band Alumni and featured our biology teacher Jennifer Sewell! Katahj’s career continues to rocket forward. I learned today that he has another premiere happening in February that will be performed by a Superstar Trumpet Sextet featuring many of the best professional trumpeters in the nation and the brass section of DCI’s Cavaliers! Take a moment to visit his website: http://www.katahjcopleymusic.com if you get a moment.

Disney Rehearsals & Meetings

We will march a parade through the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in celebration of their 50th Anniversary on Friday, February 25, 2022 at 12:45PM in the Magic Kingdom.

The first Disney Band rehearsal is February 3 from 3:45pm – 5:00pm. We will meet again on February 16 and 17. Mr. Carr will use this time to prepare the students for the parade but also to set expectations for the trip. These rehearsals have been on the calendar since the trip was announced. Attendance at these rehearsals is mandatory for students participating in the Disney Trip.

A virtual chaperone and final student meeting will take place on February 17 at 6:00pm. It will be virtual because our Winter Guard will be using our band room space that evening. We hope that this will also be a bit more convenient for all involved.

UWG LGPE Clinic

Our Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble classes have been invited by the University of West Georgia to perform at their LGPE Clinic in February. These performances are free and open to the public and our students will receive feedback and a rehearsal session from Dr. Josh Byrd, UWG’s Director of Bands.

Symphonic Band • Tuesday, February 8, 2022

• 7:00 AM Report to CHS
• 7:30 AM Depart for the Carroll County Performing Arts Center
• 8:00 AM Perform
• 9:10 AM Load Buses and return to CHS
• 9:30 AM Arrive back at CHS

Wind Ensemble • Wednesday, February 9, 2022

• 7:00AM Report to CHS
• 7:30AM Depart for the Carroll County Performing Arts Center
• 8:00AM Perform
• 9:30AM Depart for CHS
• 9:50AM Arrive at CHS

District Honor Band

We have many students traveling to Ringgold in a few weeks to participate in the GMEA District VII Honor Band. We will take a bus to the event on Thursday as well as Friday, but ask parents to meet up with us after the morning rehearsal on Saturday so that they can take their child to lunch and attend their concert. Below are the details for District Honor Band participation:

Download the Information/Itinerary Here • This information was handed out to all District Honor Band participants last week, but I wanted to post it here again for your convenience. Please fill out the last page and return with the hotel fee by February 8, 2022.

Senior Spotlight – Need your help

We would like to continue our Senior Spotlights tradition that was started last year. Seniors or senior parents, click here to fill out this form to allow us to customize your senior spotlight. Filling out the form allows us to celebrate our senior’s future plans and share photos of them from throughout their school careers.

Annual Trojan Band March 5K and Fun Run • PLEASE SHARE

Please download the photo above and share on all of your social media pages. We are hosting our annual 5K on March 19, 2022. People can sign-up by scanning the QR code, visit our website for more information, or access the sign-up page directly at: runsignup.com/Race/GA/Carrollton/trojanband5k?remMeAttempt=

More information on how to volunteer will be published soon. Thank you so much for helping us to spread the word!

Graduation

Just a reminder that Graduation this year is on May 20, 2022 although our last day of school is not until May 25. This is an important evening for all of our band students because not only do we get to celebrate with our graduating seniors, but we perform as part of the ceremony. This is a required performance for all wind and percussion students. An itinerary will be posted as we get closer to graduation, but I wanted to make sure that you understood that this is an evening commitment for our band students.

Upcoming Dates

This is not intended to be an exhaustive list. Please refer to http://www.chstrojanband.com/calendar for a full list of upcoming events/activities:

• 2.3.22 Disney Trip MB Rehearsal
• 2.5.22 Winter Guard Competition at Kennesaw Mountain HS
• 2.10.22 – 2.12.22 District Honor Band
• 2.16.22 Disney Trip MB Rehearsal
• 2.17.22 Disney Trip MB Rehearsal
• 2.19.22 Winter Guard Competition at River Ridge HS
• 2.21.22 – 2.25.22 WINTER BREAK
• 2.23.22 – 2.26.22 DISNEY TRIP
• 3.1.22 Pre-Festival Concert
• 3.3.22 – 3.5.22 All-State Band
• 3.5.22 Winter Guard Competition at Kell HS
• 3.15.22 – 3.18.22 LGPE Concerts are TBD
• 3.19.22 Trojan Band March 5K
• 3.19.22 Varsity Winter Guard Camp
• 3.26.22 – 3.27.22 Winter Guard at WGI Atlanta
• 3.26.22 Band Prom
• 4.2.22 – 4.3.22 Winter Guard SAPA Championships
• 4.4.22 – 4.8.22 SPRING BREAK