I can’t remember ever being so excited to go to a meeting, much less one on a Saturday. It won’t surprise anyone who has been to even one Midwest Clinic that everything they do is first class. The materials were...
With graduation approaching. Several 8th graders reflected on what band has meant to them: Allison (clarinet): Band has been an amazing experience for me. It has taught me so much beyond just how to play an instrument. Besides notes, fingerings,...
Congratulations to Nicole Torosin for being selected as one of five middle school winners in School Band and Orchestra Magazine’s 2006 Essay Contest. This year’s topic was “How playing an instrument has made me a better student.” Nicole will receive...
Congratulations to all McCracken Band 8th graders who graduate tonight. Thank you for all your work for us the past five years. We wish you nothing but the best of luck as you continue your education and musical growth in...
INSTRUMENTATION For the most part, I’m pretty happy with our instrumentation for our Midwest performance. Although I do have guidelines for the numbers I’d like in each section, I try to keep them flexible depending on the ability level from...
I hope the spirit of this post is conveyed correctly. I’m simply trying to give an honest assessment of our starting point next fall. There is nothing I’ve written here that the kids haven’t heard me say to them a...
Monday was our spring concert. Kids played great. I was particularly happy with our younger bands who made some very good progress in the last three or four weeks. On Tuesday, the Social Committee form our Midwest Parent Group threw...
All Bands Concert Niles North High School May 22, 2006 Chip De Stefano, conductor Beginner Band Jim Along Josie – Traditional Skip it Lou – Traditional On the March – Forrest Buchtel 5th Grade Band Rise to Power – Rob...
In a previous post I promised to discuss our process of preparing our application CD. In fact, I’ve been thinking about writing an article or presenting a clinic session on applying to perform at conferences for several years. We’ve had...
I’ve been trying to listen to the promotional recordings the same day we receive them from the publisher. Immediately following the opening of the reservation system, we received so much stuff that it meant a lot of late nights. Even...