I hope that everyone has had a restful holiday break and a chance to spend time with family.  I am excited that we get to see our band family again tomorrow!  Students will report to advisement first thing in the morning before 1st block.

We have a busy semester ahead of us.  I hope that you continue to check our calendar often to remain update with everything.

Upcoming Events:

• Jan. 4 – First Day of the 2nd Semester
• Jan. 5 – All-State Auditions at Houston County HS.  The following students scored high enough at their District Honor Band Auditions to audition at the second round.  Please help me in congratulating them on this high honor and wish them luck as they represent our school at the state level audition!
  • Taylor Berry – 10:27 AM
  • Ben Bradley – 10:54 AM
  • Lainey Driver – 10:21 AM
  • Dale Drummond – 11:18 AM
  • Katie Hoberg – 10:06 AM
  • Hale’e LaChance – 11:09 AM
  • Eli Nunez – 12:48 PM
  • Kelley Ozier – 10:09 AM
  • Maggie Rowland – 12:30 PM
  • Austin Schumann – 10:57 AM
  • Andrew Stagliano – 10:03 AM
• Jan. 8 – Wind Ensemble rehearsal after school • 3:30PM – 6:00PM
• Jan. 11-12 – District Honor Jazz Band at Heritage HS in Ringgold, GA. The following students auditioned and were selected to participate in this prestigious honor.  Please help me in congratulating them and wish them good luck as they represent our school at the District Honor Jazz Band Clinic!
  • Brian Crews, guitar
  • Cesar Ramirez, bass guitarJacob Sipes, drum set
  • Andrew Stagliano, baritone saxophone

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Scholarship Opportunity:

The Kiwanis Showcase is approaching. Download the application and more information.  The showcase is a talent show for instrumentalist and vocalist in the West Ga area.  First place wins a $500 scholarship.  Students can perform as a chamber ensemble, or as soloists.  Applications are due by February 1 and students must commit to performing on February 10 at the local showcase hosted by Center for the Arts and be prepared to perform at the state level on April 27, 2019 in Leesburg, GA if they are chosen as the winner.  I would love to see our students take advantage of this wonderful opportunity!

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MLK Parade:

Only a couple of weeks before our next marching band performance.  We will celebrate MLK Day by performing in the local parade on 1/21/2019.  The itinerary will be posted soon, but I wanted to make sure it was on your radar.

 

 

We have a very short week ahead of us. Students have 1st and 3rd period finals on Monday and 2nd and 4th period finals on Tuesday. Both days are early release days as well.

We pray that everyone has a chance to spend time with family and get some much needed rest of the Holiday break.

I look forward to seeing our students return on January 4, 2019!

Merry Christmas everyone, and a Happy New Year!

Yesterday we had many students audition for the GMEA District Honor Band. Students worked individually to learn scales, a lyrical etude, and improve sight-reading skills to prepare to compete against other musicians in our district for the opportunity to represent our school in this prestigious ensemble.

We are so proud of all of the students who made the commitment to prepare for the auditions and had the courage to compete yesterday at East Paulding High School. Your dedication to improving your individual skill level and musicianship is leading others in our band to strive for excellence. Thank you for pushing yourself everyday to do better. We are very proud of you!

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Christmas Concert on Monday evening

We hope that you will join us in the Mabry Arts Center for a holiday presentation on Monday evening.  Festivities will begin with Dr. Mclendon’s community string orchetra performance in the lobby at 6:30PM and the high school performance on stage at 7:00PM.

Students have elected to wear Christmas sweaters and Santa hats for this concert.  Festive wear or our concert attire is also acceptable. We look forward to presenting a lighthearted sincere performance to spread holiday cheer to all in attendance.

Report times:

• Concert Band 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm in band room (welcome to go home after rehearsal but you need to be back by 6:30pm for the sound check on stage)
• Symphonic Band 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm on stage (welcome to go home after rehearsal but you need to be back by 6:30pm for the sound check on stage)
• Wind Ensemble 5:30 pm- 6:30 pm on stage (welcome to go home before your rehearsal, please be back in time for your rehearsal)
• All students will be on stage at 6:30pm to prepare for the combined pieces.

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Band Auditions

Students have auditions on December 13 in class.  The first 8 measures of the their respective GMEA etude is required for the prepared etude.  Students will have 2 minutes to perform as many major/minor scales as they can from memory,  points will be earned for correct performance of each octave.  They will also perform their chromatic scale as required by GMEA.  Their final task will be to complete a short sight-reading example.

Etudes can be found here: https://www.gmea.org/asb-audition-information.  9-10 graders will perform the “Concert Band” requirements on that website and 11-12 graders will perform the “Symphonic Band” requirements on that website.

This information has been announced during class for a couple of weeks and students are encouraged to see Mr. Carr or Mr. Bright if they have any questions or need assistance in printing an etude.

 

 

Good evening!

I hope that everyone had a terrific weekend.  I am sorry that the weather ruined our plans this weekend.  Waiting on the parade would have been miserable, especially considering our buses would of had to drop us off to and meet us at the end of the parade route.  Without a plan for shelter, it could have been a really tough morning.  Thank you for everyone’s patience and grace when the decision was made.  I assure you it was made with the highest concern for student safety.

We have a little bit slower week this week, but still have a lot going on:

• Tuesday, December 4, 2018 • Basketball Band
• •   Any marching band members interested in participating in our basketball band, meet Mr. Bright in the band room at 5:00PM.  We will perform stands tunes for our girls and guys games that evening.  Bring money for concessions for dinner. We should be done around 8:30PM.
• Saturday, December 8, 2018 • District Honor Band at East Paulding High School
• • Students who are participating in Distirict Honor Band auditions should report to East Paulding High School by 12:00PM.  Our audition block is 1:00.  Students should arrive with enough time to warm-up and get in line to audition around 1:00PM.  The judges lunch is from 12:00-1:00, so if you get in line a little after 1:00PM that is ok, but be in line pretty close to 1:00PM.  Best of luck to all students who are auditioning this weekend!

Speaking of auditions! We had our first students in the history of the school audition for All-State Jazz Band this past weekend at North Georgia College. If you see the following students, please congratulate them on their extraordinary efforts in representing our school at the All-State Jazz Band auditions: Brian Crews, guitar; Jacob Sipes, drum set; and Andrew Stagliano; baritone saxophone.  The three students along with Cesar Ramirez, bass guitar will represent our school at the District Jazz Band in January!  So proud of their efforts!

Wow! What an amazing experience we had traveling to Hollywood, CA!  It was many of our students’ first time flying, an opportunity for many students to practice budgeting, time management, navigating unfamiliar locations, and a memorable experience for all.

We had the opportunity to fly across the country, visit many famous locations in Hollywood including the Farmers Market (where a student had an opportunity to meet Weird Al Yankovich), the Egyptian, Chinese, and Dolby theaters, the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Griffith Observatory, and view the Hollywood Sign.  The students spent a full day at Universal Studios, toured the Grammy Museum, ate lunch near the Staples Center while Lakers fans were preparing for the basketball game, marched in the Hollywood Christmas Parade, visited the San Diego Zoo and Silver Strand State Beach.

Each day had a full itinerary and I am so proud of how the students handled themselves.  We received multiple compliments from the flight crews, hotel staff, and restaurant employees about our students demonstrating class, respect, and dignity.  Our students represented our community proudly and I cannot wait for the airing of the parade so that our nation can celebrate our students’ hard work!

The Hollywood Christmas Parade was a spectacular event 3.5 miles long and lined with spectators the entire route about 4-5 people deep! It began with a grand stand section that surrounded a red carpet the width of the street and was complete with search lights and movie stars!  Be sure to tune in to the CW on December 14 at 8:00PM to catch our performance.

We had many parent chaperones who were outstanding on the trip! They allowed our students responsibilities to provide growth, provided assistance with supervision, logistics, encouragement, praise, and kept our students safe in all environments.  We are blessed with the best village a parent could ask for and I am so thankful for all who generously share their time to nurture our students!  Thank you for  a great trip!

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Welcome back home to Carrollton! Now we get to show our community the enthusiasm that we shared with the nation.  We have 2 more parades to go this week!

Thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Antico who drove our equipment across the country, spent their time with us in Hollywood, and departed the morning after the parade so tobring our equipment back hom in time for our Carrollton Parade.  Please pray for their safe travels as they are still on their way home.  We are so blessed by their continued support and willingness to volunteer for our band program even though their son graduated 14 years ago!

 

 

Carrollton Holiday Wishes Parade • Thursday, November 29, 2018

• Load instruments during class
• 4:00PM Report in Uniform
• 4:30PM Depart for parade
• 5:30PM Parade begins
• approx 6:30PM  Return to the band room

 

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Parade • Saturday, December 1, 2018

• 7:15AM Load Instruments
• 7:45AM Report in Uniform
• 8:00AM Depart for Atlanta
• 9:15AM Line Up for Parade
• 10:30AM Step off – we are #41 in the parade
• 12:00PM Depart for the Varsity: Please bring money for lunch at the Varsity ($10 will be plenty.)
• 12:30PM Eat lunch
• 1:30PM Depart for CHS
• 2:30PM Arrive back at CHS