Champs Sports Bowl

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Today we began with practice again in the morning. After lunch and a shower we got on our 6 buses and went to two pep rallys before the game. The first performance was at the UW Badger Blast. Here you can see us playing "Space Badger". The UW Cheerleaders throw one of the female cheerleaders up in the air at several times during that song.


The cheerleaders flip around while they're up in the air and it looks pretty cool.


Next we marched in parade formation to the second pep rally which was right by the stadium.


After the pep rally we went into the stadium and did our Pregame performance. Here the band is entering the field during our traditional "run-on".

The next time I was able to take a picture was the very end of Pregame when we played a short part of the "1812 Overture" which our director, Mike Leckrone arranged for the band.

After we performed, the Florida State Marching Band did their Pregame show.

Their band includes many baton twirlers and flags.

Here is the UW Marching Band at the end of our halftime show, which was called "Ladies Who Rock." The show featured the music of women songwriters and performers of the past several decades.

After we performed, the FSU Band played their halftime show.

Here is a picture of Mr. Stone and me next to one of the Champs Bowl signs.

After the game, the UW Band lined up for our traditional 5th-Quarter performance.

Whether we win or lose, we always have fun during the 5th-Quarter.

Many of the UW fans stayed for the 5th-Quarter, and the die-hard fans stayed until we were done playing.

When we were done, the band lined up one last time and marched out of the stadium.

After the game we showered at the hotel and went to the airport. We left 70-degree weather and arrived home very early in the morning to a driving snowstorm. I eventually got home by 5:00 am. I was tired, but I had a lot of fun.

UW Band at the Champs Sports Bowl

Friday, December 26, 2008

The UW Band flew down to Orlando Florida yesterday afternoon (on Christmas day!!!) Today we began the day with practice for the first time since December 17. (Practices during December were often very cold, which made it difficult for the band members to play, especially when their valves froze.) It was nice to be here in Florida and have 70-degree weather.

Instead of practicing in coats, pants, hats, and gloves, band members wore more comfortable T-shirts and shorts.

Here are the tubas practicing the end of the halftime show.

After lunch (and a shower!) the Band performed in the Champs Sports Bowl Parade of Bands. This parade featured two bands; the UW Marching Band and the Florida State Marching Chiefs. This photo is of the UW Marching Band.

When the parade ended, the "battle of the bands" began, and the UW Band performed first.

We played several crowd favorites including "On Wisconsin", "If You Want To Be A Badger", "Space Badger", and the "Chicken Dance".

The Florida State Marching Chiefs played next.

Once the "Battle of the Bands" was over, we got back on the buses and went to the Bowl-A-Palooza Fanfest Pep Rally and played for another crowd there.

TubaChristmas

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Madison's annual TubaChristmas was held again this year at the State Capitol and over 100 tuba and baritone players from around the area came to play. We rehearsed for about an hour before the performance and then played 17 Christmas songs including "Silent Night", "We Wish You A Merry Christmas, and "Jingle Bells" which is an unusual (but really cool) arrangement that includes part of a famous march called "National Emblem."


The capitol was decorated festively, and a large crowd gathered to hear us play.


There were four of us from MG that played this year, and we all had a good time!

Winnequah 6th-Grade Concert

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Pictures to come soon...

GDS 6th-grade Concert

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Today the Glacial Drumlin 6th-grade Orchestra, Choir, and Band students had their first concert.

Pictures to come soon...

7th- and 8th-Grade Band Concert

November 17, 2008

UW Band to the Packer game

Sunday, October 19, 2008

The UW Band traveled to Green Bay to perform at the Packer/Colts game. We first went to the Packers indoor practice facility to rehearse our Pregame and Halftime shows.


After the rehearsal, the we changed into our uniforms and went to the stadium for the game. This photo shows the band doing "run-on" at the beginning of the pregame show.


Before halftime, the band lined up on the Colts sideline. While we were waiting, the Colts quarterback, Peyton Manning was sitting on the bench right in front of us. Several of the UW Band members were getting photos and I couldn't resist getting one too.


The band performed it's halftime show to an enthusaistic Packers crowd.


After the Packers won the game, the band lined up to go on the field for the 5th-Quarter. You can see that many of the fans stayed after the game to enjoy the 5th-Quarter.

During the 5th-Quarter, the band got to run around on the field and play, and the drum major and many of the trombones circled the "G" in the middle of the field during "Space Badger".

Mr. Stone and I got our photo taken on the "G" as well.

It was a fun trip, and I enjoyed getting to be a part of a Packer game again this year.

Go Pack!

8th-Grade Band performs at Homecoming

October 3, 2008

Today the 8th-Grade Band performed at Homecoming with the Monona Grove High School Bands. The 8th-graders have worked for the past month to learn the "MG School Song", "Louie, Louie", and several other fun songs the high school band plays during the game. They performed "Beauty and the Beast" with the high school band as the homecoming court was introduced.

Everyone seemed to have a good time, although some didn't dress quite warmly enough.

Photos to follow soon!

MGHS Band at UW Band Day

September 6, 2008

Today the MGHS Band attended High School Band Day at the University of Wisconsin. They arrived while the UW Band was practicing. Then all of the high school bands rehearsed the four songs that they played during halftime. After the rehearsal, the UW Marching Band performed for the high school students.

Photos to follow soon!

Registration at Glacial Drumlin School

Today students registered at GDS and got to see the school for the first time. There were tables set up in the cafeteria with lots of information about the new school year. Students had their photos taken in the gym. (The gym floor is really cool. It's a tiny bit bouncy. Try it out!)

In case you didn't get a chance to look in the band room, here's a photo of the room taken from the back of the room.

The room looks pretty empty because we still don't have all the equipment in the room...yet. We will be getting lots more chairs and stands, as well 2 tubas, 2 baritones, and an entirely new percussion section! The percussion instruments have started arriving, but haven't been unpacked and assembled yet.
Of course we also still have a lot of boxes to unpack as well, but some of the furniture hasn't arrived, so we haven't had a chance to get organized. Hey, we still have 20 days until school starts!

Summer School at Taylor Prairie

This summer, excited band students learned to assemble (and disassemble) their instruments and how to care for them. Next they learned how to hold the instruments correctly and how to blow into them the right way in order to make their first sounds on a band instrument.

Students reviewed the basics of reading music, and we learned about whole notes, half notes and quarter notes and rests. In just four weeks they all learned how to play 5 notes on their instruments, and are able to play songs out of both books. Some student favorites included "Hot Cross Buns," "Merrily We Roll Along," and "Good King Wenceslas." Hopefully you've heard some of these songs at home!

I took the following photos of the Taylor Prairie band students playing their instruments during the last couple of weeks of summer school. (Only students who returned the blog permission form are shown.) We had a lot of fun this summer and I'm looking forward to having band with them in September!

Flutes







Oboes

Clarinets

Alto Saxophones

Trumpets

Trombones & Bassoons

Tubas

Percussionists