Ms. Stone's Bands

Impact of small-group instruction in music

2010-02-11T21:56:00.006-06:00

The following are my comments at the public hearing on budget reductions on Thursday, February 10.

I would like to speak about the proposed cuts to music throughout the elementary and middle school levels.

At the middle level, the music staff knows that when 5th-grade students sign up for our classes they will have a good foundation in basic musical concepts due to the hard work and comprehensive curriculum of our elementary general music and string staff, and the interest of the students who enjoy those programs. By reducing the number of minutes for art, music, and PE at the elementary level, and eliminating 4th-grade strings, the district is cutting the curriculum of those programs. Future students beginning 6th-grade will no longer enter middle school with the same musical skills that our current students have.

Then there are staffing reductions in the middle school music performance classes that would limit staffing to one teacher each for band, choir and orchestra. If the proposed cuts were in place this year, the one GDS band teacher would have 215 students. The one choir teacher would have 205 students, and the one orchestra teacher would have 143 students. (These numbers do not take into consideration the 6th-grade music students at Winnequah.)

While it may be true that one band, choir, or orchestra teacher can handle teaching the large-group classes for all three grades, what will suffer dramatically are student’s opportunities to receive small-group instruction which we call GIGs and some other schools call lessons. Large-group rehearsals and small-group instruction serve two different functions. Large-group rehearsals are the means by which public performances are prepared, while small-group lessons make it possible for students to develop their basic performance skills and enable them to become independent learners and life-long participants in music after their school years. Instruction on proper embouchure, breath support, articulation, tone quality for both vocal and instrumental students, and finger and vocal technique for each student cannot be addressed in depth in large-group rehearsals which often contain 50 or more students. Rehearsals are intended to teach skills that affect the whole group, like balance and blend between voices or instruments, phrasing, entrances, and dynamics. Small-group instruction is also the time when advanced music students can be given additional challenges, and when students who struggle can receive the assistance they need to be successful.

The 2009 Wisconsin Deptartment of Public Instruction's guide, Planning Curriculum in Music, recommends that for a quality music program, students enrolled in choral or instrumental classes should receive at least 30 minutes of small-group instruction weekly in addition to large-group rehearsals. This recommendation is for both middle school and high school music programs. Our district already does not allow for this kind of instruction at the high school. The small-group instruction that our middle school music students receive needs to set the foundation for the rest of their experience participating in music in our district. The things that our district values that happen at the high school: not only band, choir and orchestra classes, but marching band, jazz band, pep band, show choir, and the musical all depend on our students arriving in high school knowing the basic skills of playing their instrument or using their voice effectively. Without the foundation of quality instruction at the elementary and middle level, these programs and activities will not continue to achieve the level of excellence that our community has come to appreciate and expect.

I would like to conclude by reading this brief excerpt from DPI’s Planning Curriculum in Music. “The matter of lessons extends into the realm of ethics. Students in performing groups work hard to perform well in order to represent their school and community at concerts, contests, games, and community events – all on their free time. In doing this, they serve their school and community well. However, if they are not afforded substantive individual or small-group lessons that will enable them to be lifelong participants in music beyond school when there may be no large ensemble or conductor, the school and community does not serve them well but is instead using them for non-student centered ends.”

Thank you for listening.

2010-02-08T21:22:00.004-06:00

The following are my comments to the school board at the staff "listening session" on Thursday, February 4.

I'm here today to discuss the proposed budget cuts to the middle school music department.

When asked, about the form these cuts would take, we were told by an administrator that the cuts reflected the position of many on the administrative team that the music department at the middle school (GDS) is overstaffed, and that this concern has existed for some time. Their proposal is to reduce each curricular area, band, choir, and orchestra, down to one FTE (full-time employee) each at GDS.

The school board asked for a survey comparing MG music staffing that of area districts. However, the first music staffing survey numbers the board received regarding staffing in the MG district as compared to other districts are misleading. The survey simply took the total number of students in a school and divided them by the number of that school’s music FTE. This did not take into consideration the number of students participating in music. This information does not represent the number of music students per teacher at those schools, or at GDS. After seeing this inaccurate information, the music department surveyed our colleagues in surrounding districts. The results were passed out at the January 13th school board meeting. If you have any questions about these results, please let me know, as I am the one who tabulated the responses.

In looking for a way to figure out what adequate music staffing might be, one place to start is to look at state recommendations for music staffing. The Planning Curriculum in Music guide published in 2009 by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction gives recommendations for staffing a quality music program. On page 162 in Chapter 10 which covers Program Development, are recommendations by the state that reflect common practices in Wisconsin, as well as recommendations from professional associations that represent the level of support necessary if the content and performance standards identified in the guide are to be achieved. The two following recommendations are relevant to this discussion:

* The teaching load for a music teacher, including student contact time and total number of students, does not exceed the load for teachers in other academic areas.

*Students enrolled in choral or instrumental classes receive at least 30 minutes of small-group instruction weekly in addition to large group rehearsals.

The first point recommends that music teachers have the same teaching load as those of teachers in other academic areas. The No Child Left Behind legislation defines music as one of the core academic areas. If we look at the teaching load of the core teachers at GDS, they teach approximately 100 students.

The next logical step is to look at this year’s middle school music student numbers. If the proposed cuts were in place this year, the one GDS band teacher would have 215 students. The one choir teacher would have 205 students, and the one orchestra teacher would have 143 students. (These numbers do not take into consideration the 6th-grade music students at Winnequah.) If the proposed cuts to music staffing were approved, the teaching load for band and choir would be double that of other academic staff, and for orchestra would be 150% the load of a Core teacher.

Looking at band enrollment trends over time, beginning in 1993, which is the year I began teaching in this district, we have never had less than 200 band students at the middle school, and have had a highs reaching 265. Our average over that time period is 215 band students per year in grades 6-8.

Another aspect of the music program to consider is the opportunity for all students, including those with special needs, to participate. It is the philosophy of the music department that we will serve all students who wish to participate in music. Teachers in other academic areas have support from special ed. teachers and other support staff for students with different learning or physical needs. They work with these students on skills or concepts for which those students need extra instruction. Unlike many other curricular areas, we serve all student needs with our staff only. We teach cognitively disabled students, physically disabled students, and students with varying social or emotional needs as well as musically gifted and talented students. The musically gifted students often can be grouped together in GIGs for small-group instruction and provided with music that will challenge them. Other examples of accommodations made for students include: rewriting the 6th-grade band book and all concert music to an appropriate level for a cognitively disabled student who could read only quarter notes and rests. We have had multiple students with visual impairments. For one we enlarged the music, but for the other student band teachers learned Braille music in order to teach that student the skills needed to be an independent musician. Not only did we learn and then teach Braille music, but also we transcribed much of the band music and rhythm worksheets into Braille.

If, due to the proposed cuts to the music program, the student to teacher ratio in music classes doubles, future music students will not receive the small-group instruction that is currently provided. Without the ability to teach music students in small-group settings the music staff will be unable to meet the needs of all students.

Proposed Budget Cuts impact music

2010-02-07T12:02:00.009-06:00

The Monona Grove School District is facing a deficit of $1,000,000 for the next school year. The administrative team has created a list of possible cuts, and the school board and administration have ranked these cuts. A preliminary list of cuts has been brought forth to the school board. The proposed cuts impact the music program, and the opportunities for students to experience music in the following ways:

* Increase the instructional minutes that define a full-time teacher for Elementary Related Arts from 1280 minutes per week to 1350 minutes per week.

* Reduce instructional minutes for the elementary related arts classes (art, music, PE) from 40 minutes twice a week to 30 minutes twice a week at grades 3-5, and for art only at grades K-2.

* Eliminate the 4th-grade string program

* Reduce staffing in 6-8th grade music programs by 1.53 full-time teachers.
This proposal intends to staff the middle school music programs with only 1 full-time teacher in each curricular area for band, choir, and orchestra.

To see the list of all of the cuts that were proposed, and which ones were selected to bring forward to the board, go to the Monona Grove website at http://www.mononagrove.org/BudgetInformation.cfm
Once there, you can then choose links that show the following:
* 2010-2011 Budget Timeline
* Budget Reduction Hearings
* Preliminary Budget Reduction Proposal 2010-2011 -MGSD Cabinet

If you are interested in making your opinion known on any of the proposed budget reductions you can contact the MGSD school board, the superintendent and/or the administrator(s) at the buildings where the proposed cuts will take place.

If you would like to attend one of the public budget reducation hearings they will be held on the following dates and times:

Tuesday, February 9, 2010
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Glacial Drumlin School - IMC

Thursday, February 11, 2010
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Monona Grove High School – Auditorium

Saturday, February 20, 2010
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. - Winnequah School - Cafeteria

Olympian Jessie Vetter tours Monona Grove

2010-02-07T11:52:00.003-06:00

On Monday, January 25, Jessie Vetter toured all of the Monona Grove schools with the MG High School Band. This was a great chance for our students to get to meet an Olympian, and they were excited to see her!

While she was at GDS the band staff got a photo with her. More photos will follow soon...

Best wishes from all of us on your Olympic experience!

Governor Doyle visits GDS

2010-02-04T19:51:00.011-06:00

On Friday January 15, Governor Doyle visited Glacial Drumlin School to deliver a speech on Wisconsin's application for grant funding through President Obama's "Race to the Top" education initiative. The 6th-grade band welcomed him to school with a performance of the Olympic Theme, Bugler's Dream.

After the band finished playing, Governor Doyle came over and talked to the 6th-graders and asked them some questions about their experiences in band.

He also posed for a few pictures with the band, which are shown below...

Champs Sports Bowl

2008-12-28T22:10:00.015-06:00

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

2008-12-28T21:46:00.008-06:00

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

2008-12-28T21:45:00.003-06:00

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

2008-12-28T21:44:00.002-06:00

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Pictures to come soon...

GDS 6th-grade Concert

2008-12-28T21:43:00.004-06:00

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

2008-11-18T22:37:00.001-06:00

November 17, 2008

UW Band to the Packer game

2008-11-18T22:30:00.006-06:00

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

2008-11-18T22:25:00.003-06:00

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

2008-11-18T22:05:00.003-06:00

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

2008-08-11T22:42:00.005-05:00

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

2008-08-03T18:45:00.015-05:00

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

Last day of school at Winnequah

2008-08-03T18:44:00.005-05:00

June 10, 2008

Today was the last day for students at Winnequah Middle School. It was a fun morning of signing yearbooks, swimming, and team choice time. In keeping with tradition the staff met at the front of the school to say goodbye to all of the students.

After lunch, we all went back to packing for the move since we have to be completely done in 2 days. We took a band staff photo in the band room once we had everything packed up and taken off of the walls. As you can see, we had another flooding incident during the last few days of school.

8th-Grade Band Recording Project

2008-08-03T18:41:00.021-05:00

On June 3 the 8th-grade band recorded their CD at the high school auditorium.

Jazz Band members met at 7:00 a.m. at the high school for some treats from Mr. K. After sound checks, the band recorded their tunes.

The rest of the 8th-grade band arrived at the high school around 8:45 to begin recording. The band voted on which songs they wanted to record from their 7th- and 8th-grade concerts. Once we got underway, the band quickly realized that making a recording demands concentration from everyone. While we recorded many songs in one take, there were several that we tried multiple times before getting a "final" version for the CD.

Mr. K manned the booth for us; he started and stopped the recording as well as adjusted sound levels. (He also played trombone on a couple of songs.) Mr. Dorn helped us get our initial sound levels set, manned the booth while Mr. K was playing trombone, and played clarinet with us on a few tunes.

After we were done, we went to the East Towne Food Court for lunch. Since this was an early dismissal day, we bused students to Taylor Prairie School, Cottage Grove School, and Winnequah Middle School to drop them off so that they could return home for the rest of the afternoon. Mr. Dorn, Mr. Kasparek and I got to go back to school and pack up the band room for our impending move.

7th- & 8th-Grade Band Concert

2008-08-03T18:41:00.018-05:00

June 2, 2008

The 7th- and 8th-grade Band Concert began with a few tunes by the Jazz Band. They played "Steppin' Up To The Blues" and "Let It Groove". Several of the Jazz Band members chose to play solos during the songs!

The 7th-Grade Band played next, beginning with "Valdres." They followed that with a fun song called "Ghosts In The Graveyard." The next song, "El Toro Rojo Grande," featured the trumpet section including special guest musician Mr. Schlaefer! "Don't Feed The Drummers" was a percussion feature. The 7th-grade band ended their portion of the concert with "Our Kingsland Spring" which is the first movement of "Georgian Suite" by composer Samuel Hazo. Next year the band will play the second movement of this suite as 8th-graders.

For this last concert of the year, I gave the 8th-grade band members input on pieces that they would like to play. They provide me with songs titles and then I look to see if I can find band arrangements of those songs that would be appropriate for this level of experience, and would still provide good learning experiences for the band. The first two pieces of the concert were chosen from the list of songs provided by the band members.

The first 8th-grade band selection was the "John Williams Trilogy," which contained music from "Jurassic Park", "Schindler's List," and "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

The second piece was a medley of songs from "Pirates of the Caribbean."

During my time at Winnequah, I have talked with Ms. McGinnis about her participation in band in middle school, high school, and college. This was the last concert that Ms. McGinnis attended as Winnequah's principal, and I asked her if she would like to play a song with us. (I also asked her to choose a song that she would like to play, and she chose "Brighton Beach.")

After looking at the score for "Brighton Beach" I realized that the 8th-grade band needed a few more people to fill out the instrumentation. (For example, this song called for 4 french horn parts! I asked the entire 7th-grade french horn section to join us because we don't have any french horn players in 8th-grade.) So I asked several of the 7th-Grade Band members (clarinets, french horns, trumpet, & trombone) to join us for this song. They worked on Brighton Beach in GIGs and attended part of 8th-grade band once a week to prepare. I really appreciate their help on this song because it made this song sound much better to have a few more students to fill out the extensive instrumentation needed.

Ms. McGinnis told me that she hadn't played her clarinet in many years, but after a bit of practice she played very well. (We had a GIG after school, and worked on "Brighton Beach".)

I'm glad that she joined us for the song. The band played well, and it was good for them to experience a song that presented many challenges.

After the concert we took a staff picture with me, Ms. Tam, Ms. McGinnis, Mr. Schlaefer, and Mr. Kasparek.

6th-Band, Choir, Orchestra Concert

2008-08-03T18:40:00.008-05:00

May 29, 2008

The 6th-grade band, choir, and orchestra concert was on May 29. The 6th-grade band played first, and did 4 songs.

We started with "Court Festival" a piece written by William Byrd during the Renaissance and arranged for band by Bruce Pearson. Next we played "Bach N' Roll" a piece that gave a rock beat to one of J.S. Bach's songs "Menuet" from Anna Magdalena's Notebook.

Here, Ms. Tam (our student teacher) is conducting the piece "All Ye Young Sailors" by Pierre La Plante, a Wisconsin composer. This piece was the band's first experience with a new time signature, 6/8 time.

We ended our portion of the concert with the band's favorite: "Let's Go Band!"

The 6th-grade orchestra played several pieces. This one was accompanied by a slide show of photos that they had taken.

The 6th-grade choir closed the concert.

8th trip to "Wicked"

2008-08-03T18:39:00.014-05:00

On May 21, 8th-grade Band and Choir students traveled to Chicago to see the musical "Wicked." Our first stop in Chicago was to Ed Debevic's to eat lunch. Here you see the group lined up outside as we waited briefly to get in.

After lunch we had time to go to Millenium Park. In the background you can see the outdoor performance area in the park, the Jay Pritzker Pavillion, which was designed by architect Frank Gehry.

While in the park, students explored the sculpture many people know only as "the bean." This photo was taken from the inside of the sculpture. The reflections show the many people wandering through it.

The sculpture's real title is "Cloud Gate," but you can see why people have dubbed it "the bean." Here you can see Ms. McGinnis and I in front of the end of "the bean." To see more photos of "Cloud Gate," go to the following link. http://www.millenniumpark.org/artandarchitecture/cloud_gate.html

After a bit of exploring, we walked a few blocks to the Oriental Theatre where "Wicked" is playing.

The story of "Wicked" is the prequel to "The Wizard of Oz." The story revolves around the two witches, Glinda the witch of the East and Elphaba the witch of the West. I really enjoy the music, and have seen the musical 3 times now. For more information on "Wicked," go to: http://wickedthemusical.com/#AboutWicked

Glacial Drumlin School

2008-05-04T21:07:00.016-05:00

On May 1st, we got our first chance to see Glacial Drumlin School! Of course, I was especially excited to see the new band room. There is still construction going on and the carpeting is partially installed. The shelving has also yet to be installed in the band room. This picture shows the view of the band room from the door leading in from the hallway. In the far corner the door on the right leads to one of the small-group instruction rooms and the door on the left is an exit to the outside:

This photo shows the band room from the back corner looking towards the music office where Mr. K is standing. The three doors at the front of the room lead to small-group instruction rooms where we will teach GIGs and where students can practice.

This view is from the corner where the door leads to the outside looking back at the band office and the doorway to the hallway.

This shot is from the front of the room looking back towards the doorway that leads to the hallway.

This is the middle small-group instruction room where we will teach GIGs next year.

And this is the second large small-group instruction room where will will also teach GIGs.

If you look closely, you''ll see that the band room and both practice rooms have WINDOWS! I am really excited because it will be the first time in 15 years that I will get to teach in a room with windows!

This next picture shows part of the cafeteria. There will be a stage that has a space that can be opened between the cafeteria and the gym so that the stage can be used from either direction.

Mr. Dorn, Mrs. Stone and Mr. Kasparek in the new band room for the first time.

Winnequah band room flood

2008-05-04T19:30:00.020-05:00

Tuesday, April 29, the Wisconsin State Journal ran an article about a natural spring in Monona that has been dry for deacdes that recently began flowing again. Winnequah Middle School has it's own "spring" and it is located in the band room. (In fact Mr. K. nicknamed the band room "Lake Spitvalve.")

While the band room hasn't flooded during the 15 years I've been teaching here, the record-setting snowfall this winter and the heavy April rains raised the water table to what seems to be a new high. The week of April 21 a little water began seeping into one of the stairwells that lead down to the band room. A few days later it seemed to dry up, but after the heavy rains that Friday more water began to come in, and by Monday morning water covered the floor of the entire band room.

Since we couldn't have classes in the band room, we've been to several other rooms in the school this past week. This photo shows Ms. Tam, our student teacher, working with the 6th-graders in the orchestra room. For a week we held 6th-grade band during A&E at the end of the day in order to have a room to rehearse in.

Most days this week the 6th- and 8th-grade bands relocated to the Orchestra room, but on Thursday we had an early dismissal day and due to the alternate schedule the Orchestra room wasn't available, so we got to meet in the cafeteria instead.

The 7th-grade band met in the choir room for several days.

All of the band students deserve lots of credit for their flexibility and focus this week throughout the various changing rehearsal locations!

Our custodians have been battling the water all week long, and have been doing a great job of getting it out as soon as it seeps in. On Friday, the decision was made to remove the risers in the band room due to the water underneath. We thought that it might be the fastest way to get back in the band room once the water stopped coming in.

The custodians worked all day and into the evening to remove the risers, which was a really tough job. Mr. K helped out once or twice with the sledgehammer too...

On Monday the next step was to remove all of the instrument storage shelving.

Once that had been accopmlished, there was nothing left in the band room and it was ready to dry out once the water stopped coming in. Fortunately, on Tuesday that was the case. We were relieved to finally be able to get back into the band room and have our own space back!

Lloyd Bachrach's visit

2008-03-16T14:07:00.003-05:00

Volunteers from the 6th-grade band performed "Bugler's Dream" for Lloyd Bachrach before his presentation to the 6th-grade.

After the band was done, we quickly packed up our instruments and listened to Lloyd's story.

Veteran's Expedition Celebration

2008-03-16T14:01:00.003-05:00

On Tuesday, March 11 the 8th-Grade Band and two of Ms. Hovey's classes honored veterans at the expedition celebration at MGHS.

6th- and 7th-grade Band Concert

2008-03-16T14:00:00.005-05:00

On Monday, March 3, the 6th- and 7th-Grade Bands had their concert at the MGHS auditorium.
The 6th-Grade Band began the concert with Bugler's Dream by Leo Arnaud, arranged by Paul Lavender. This piece is the Olympic theme song, and, true to it's name, it features the trumpet section.

Rio Bravo, written by Bruce Pearson & Barrie Gott was the second piece. It was conducted by Vicki Tam, our student teacher.

Our third song, Attack of the Slide Trombones by Mike Hannickel was a lot of fun. It featured the trombone section, and they came to the front of the stage for this piece.

The 6th-grade band concluded their half of the concert with Star Wars, by John Williams, arranged by Carl Strommen.

8th- and 7th-grade band clinic

2008-02-26T19:07:00.006-06:00

On Monday, February 25 the 7th- and 8th-grade bands traveled to the McFarland High School Auditorium to participate in a clinic with Verona's 8th-grade band and Mc Farland's 7th- and 8th-grade bands.

The 8th-grade band arrived first and was the first group to perform. We played two of the songs that we are working on for the Veteran's Concert, "Sons of Liberty" and "To Honor, Thank, and Remember."

After we performed our pieces, Professor Terri Dobbs from UW-Madison worked with the 8th-graders on "Sons of Liberty."

After the 8th-grade band performed, we listened to Verona's 8th-grade band.

The 7th-grade band performed next, and played "Chorale Elegant," "Kinetic Energy," and "Forward March."

6th-grade Music performance for 5th-graders

2008-02-26T18:26:00.004-06:00

On February 20 some 6th-grade band, choir, and orchestra members performed for the 5th-grade students at both Cottage Grove School and Nichols School. We first went to Cottage Grove School and performed in the LGI.

The orchestra performed first, and played selections from Harry Potter. Ms. McCarty talked about the 6th-grade orchestra experience.

The band perfomed next. We played Star Wars all together, and then each instrument group performed by themselves so that the 5th-grade students could hear the distinctive sounds of each instrument. Mrs. Stone encouraged 5th-grade students to choose their favorite band instruments by how they sound. Then the 5th-graders wrote their top three instrument selections on the instrument selection card. Mrs. Stone will use their choices when she goes out to talk with students individually to try mouthpieces and select instruments.

The choir performed third, and Ms. Graves talked about the 6th-grade choir experience when they were done.

After lunch we traveled down the road to Nichols School and performend for the 5th-graders in the Cafeteria.

The Great PIG Race

2008-01-18T18:03:00.000-06:00

THE GREAT PIG RACE

Students who sold 20 or more items in the music fundraiser were eligible to participate in the pig race.
Mr. Heineke of Geckler fundraising brought his stable of pigs and the racetrack to Winnequah for the event. There were 6 different heats, with a winner in each. Then these winners raced in 2 semi-final races and then the top two pigs raced one last time.

UW Band at the Outback Bowl - Jan. 1

2008-01-02T14:17:00.000-06:00

Tuesday, January 1 - Outback Bowl Game

We got up early today and left for the stadium by 7:30 am. Before we went into the stadium we played Pep Rallies for two groups of Badger Fans. Here are two photos of the band playing at the first one.

The second Pep Rally was more crowded, and there wasn't much room between the band and the fans.

In fact, the band was surrounded by fans.

We marched in our usual Pregame formation into the staduim.

Once we arrived, we had time to find our seats before Pregame. This is a picture of Mr. Stone and me in front of the Tampa Bay Buccaneer pirate ship in the stadium.

Because Wisconsin was the home team, the Tennessee Band performed first at both Pregame and Halftime.

This is Rachel, drum major of the Wisconsin Band starting the band onto the field for our Halftime show.

At Halftime, the Wisconisn Band performed a medley of songs from"West Side Story". This is the last formation of the halftime show looking from my ladder across the field to the home side of the stadium.

In this picture the UW Band is playing in the stands. Our seats overlooked one of the end zones.

Although it was a close game, the Badgers lost. However, EVERY Badger football game ends with the 5th-Quarter, and this game was no exception. For me, the 5th-Quarter is a time to enjoy being at the game, win or lose. My attitude probably stems from the fact that when I marched in the band in the late 1980's, our football team lost a lot. Back then, sometimes all we had to enjoy were our Pregame and Halftime performances and the 5th-Quarter. It's also really cool that Wisconsin fans stay to celebrate with the band after every game. Here, Mike Leckrone is leading band and the fans in one of our many traditional 5th-Quarter songs.

Badger fans stayed to dance and enjoy being in the warm weather in Florida.

At the end of the 5th-Quarter we formed up again and marched out of the stadium.
The trumpet player on the left in the front row is Doug Cowgill, a graduate of Monona Grove.

We went back to the hotel for showers and then bused to the airport to fly home. I took one last picture of the sun setting over the beach in front of our hotel. (When we arrived home, it was 5 degrees!)

UW Band at the Outback Bowl - Dec. 31

2008-01-02T13:49:00.000-06:00

Monday, December 31

The band began the day with our LAST practice of 2007.

We next traveled to Busch Gardens for some free time to enjoy the park. I hung out with many of the other Field Assistants. We took a train around the park and saw lots of interesting animals, including my favorite - the rhinos!

We also walked around the park and saw the Clydesdale horses.

After enjoying our time at Busch Gardens we departed for today's performance, a parade through Ybor City and a Pep Rally at the end of the parade.

We played "On Wisconsin", "If You Want To Be A Badger", and "You've Said It All" on the parade route. There were lots of fans lining the streets and it was really exciting to be a part of the parade. At the end of the parade the band lined up to play another Pep Rally.

Director Mike Leckrone started the UW Band off with "On Wisconsin".

We alternated playing songs with the Tennessee Band. Their band was lead by their drum major. You can also see their baton twirlers in this photo.

After the Tennessee Band played, it was our turn again.

After going back and forth a few times, the Wisconsin Band ended with Mike Leckrone's version of the "1812 Overture".

We arrived back at the hotel around 9:00pm, ate dinner, and then the band cleaned their instruments so that they would look good at the bowl game.

We celebrated the New Year and then soon went to bed because we had to get up early the next day for the Outback Bowl.

UW Band at the Outback Bowl - Dec. 30

2008-01-02T13:04:00.000-06:00

Sunday, December 30

Today our trip got a lot busier!

We started the day with another practice at Clearwater Beach High School.

After practice we went back to our hotel, ate lunch, and prepared for our first performance at the Outback Bowl Beach Day.

The band marched into the stage area through the sand...

and lined up in front of the stage.

We performed a lot of 5th-Quarter favorites, including "Space Badger". During this song, the cheerleaders throw each other high in the air, and I like this photo because you can see one of them "flying" above the band.

From the stage, you can see the crowd, and there were lots of Badger fans at the beach.

You can also see some Tennessee fans wearing orange. The Tennessee Marching Band performed after we were done.

We still had one more performance left today though, and next we went to the Channel Side Pep Rally. We played for about 45 minutes, and this photo shows the band playing "Swingtown", a crowd favorite.

The UW clarinet section plays on white plastic clarinets instead of the standard black ones.

After the Pep Rally, the band took a three-hour dinner cruise on the Yacht Starship, which took us around the Tampa Bay area. It was pretty cool to see the city lights reflected on the water at night.

UW Band at the Outback Bowl - Dec. 29

2008-01-02T11:28:00.000-06:00

Saturday, December 29

The UW Marching Band gathered early this morning (6:15 am) at the McClain Center down on the UW campus to bus to the Dane County Regional Airport. We arrived in Tampa early in the afternoon, to sunny skies and warm temperatures!

Our first activity was practice, and we bused to Clearwater Beach High School where we ran through both the Pregame and Halftime shows.

After practice we went to our hotel and had free time for the rest of the evening.

Isthmus Woodwind Quintet

2007-12-23T16:15:00.000-06:00

I have been playing bassoon with the Isthmus Woodwind quintet since 2002. Several members of our group are teachers, although we're not all band teachers. The reason we rehearse is because we enjoy playing quintet music and strive to improve as musicians. We have performed at several weddings, and last spring we played a 45-minute concert at the First Unitarian Church of Madison during their Noon Musicale series.

We took this photo of our quintet last summer:

On Wednesday, we played seasonal music at the Madison airport for travelers who were passing by. I really enjoyed this performance, because I love to play Christmas music. Among the songs that we performed were:

Festival of Carols, arr. by Paul Nagle
Troika by Sergei Prokofiev
Shepherds' Christmas Music (which included the songs Patapan, Coventry Carol, Noel Nouvelet, Silent Night, and Il Est Ne, Le Divin Enfant) by Clark McAllister
What Child Is This? arr. by Bill Holcomb
Menuetto by Boccherini
Overture to the Nutcracker Ballet and Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy by Tschaikowsky

Here are some photos from our performance:

TubaChristmas 2007

2007-12-23T16:11:00.001-06:00

Madison TUBACHRISTMAS

I had a lot of fun playing in TUBACHRISTMAS on Saturday, December 8 in the State Capitol Rotunda.
Here are a few photos from the concert, sent to me by my friend Carol.

6th-Grade Band Concert Expedition

2007-12-07T14:30:00.000-06:00

The 6th-Grade Band, Orchestra, and Choir performed the first concert of their middle school careers on Tuesday, December 4.

The Band performed first on the concert, and played the following songs:

The Deadly Medley
This song is a combination of many of the songs that we have been working on in band class this fall. We played the first and last song all together with the full band, and then each section got a chance to play a song by themselves.

Saint Nicholas on the Housetop
This song combines "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" and "Up On The Housetop". These songs are separated by a 4-measure percussion section soli.

The Friendly Beasts
This is the first song that we have done in 6th-grade band where there are many different parts, including melody, harmony, and bass line as well as a variety of percussion parts.

Jingle Bells
Jingle Bells was composed by James Pierpont. The song was copyrighted under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in 1857. A common story about the song's composition is that it was written by Pierpont (who was the organist at a Unitarian Church in Savannah, Georgia) for a Thanksgiving program, but it was so popular that it was repeated again at Christmas. Other versions of the story report that it was composed in Boston or Medford, Massachusetts.

Next, the Orchestra played three songs. One of the songs, Tribal Dance, needed 4 percussionists to play drum parts. Two of the percussionists were located on the stage, and another two were in the back of the auditorium.

After a short break for another stage change, the Choir sang five songs, including Dona Nobis Pacem and Ding, Dong, Merrily on High.

All three groups performed really well, and all of the students should be proud of their accomplishment!

7th- & 8th-Grade Band Concert Expedition

2007-11-30T21:58:00.001-06:00

Thursday, November 29

The 7th- and 8th-Grade Bands performed their first concert of the year in the high school auditorium. This was the first performance of the year for the 7th-grade band, and the second for the 8th-graders. Both bands played well! (And we even managed to finish the concert in plenty of time for everyone to get home and tune in for most of the Packers/Cowboys game.)

The 7th-Grade Band played the following songs:

Nottingham Castle by Larry Daehn
Stillmeadow Overture by Dennis O. Eveland
and
Little Rock by James D. Ployhar

In a quick informal survey during class the day after the concert, the 7th-graders said the songs that they enjoyed most were Stillmeadow Overture and Little Rock.

The 8th-Grade Band played:
Gopak by Modest Mussorgsky, arranged by Andrew Balent
The Monument March by David W. Moore
and
Psalm by William Himes

The 8th-graders liked Psalm best and discussed possibly including it on the CD that they will record at the end of the school year.

TubaChristmas

2007-11-24T11:08:00.000-06:00

What is TubaChristmas?

Each year, tuba, baritone, and euphonium players get together in many cities across the US, Canada, and Europe to pay tribute to renowned tuba performer and teacher William J. Bell (who was born on Christmas Day, 1902) by performing Christmas music arranged by American composer Alec Wilder (who ironically died on Christmas Eve, 1980.) For additional information, you can click on TubaChristmas in "Mrs. Stone's links".

The 2007 Madison-area TubaChristmas performance will be held on Saturday, December 8 at 2:30pm in the State Capitol Rotunda.

(Photo from Madison's 2002 TubaChristmas)

Any tuba or baritone players wishing to participate, please note the following information:

Registration begins at 11:00am at First United Methodist Church, 203 Wisconsin Ave., Madison, WI. There will be a master class conducted by Dr. Spies from 12:00-12:45pm.

Rehearsal will begin at 1:00pm. The masterclass is optional, but if you want to participate in the performance you must attend the rehearsal. After the rehearsal, all performers will walk with their instruments and music stands to the State Capitol Rotunda to set up and perform.

Other useful information for participants:

- The registration fee is $5 (which is tax deductible) and includes a 2007 TUBACHRISTMAS commemorative button.

- Each participant will need a copy of Carols For A Merry TUBACHRISTMAS. This music is used every year, and is available at registration for $15.00 or $20.00.

- Bring a music stand.

- Dress festively!

The photo shown below was taken after Chicago's 2005 TubaChristmas. The guest conductor I'm pictured with is Colonel John R. Bourgeois USMC (Ret.). Colonel Bourgeois was the 25th Director of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band. During his career he worked with nine presidents, from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Bill Clinton. To learn more about Colonel Bourgeois, click on the following link: http://www.marineband.usmc.mil/learning_tools/our_history/directors/bourgeois.htm

8th-Grade Band performs at Homecoming - October

2007-11-04T07:40:00.000-06:00

Winnequah's 8th-Grade Band experienced the fun of performing at the Homecoming football game with the Monona Grove High School Bands on October 5, 2007. They played "Yesterday" which was one of the songs in the Beatles-themed halftime show.

The 8th-grade students also got to play some fun tunes like "Louie, Louie" as well as playing the Monona Grove fight song each time our football team scored. Fortunately for us, we got to play the fight song several times during the first half of the game!

UW Marching Band - September

2007-11-04T07:31:00.000-06:00

This September, the University of Wisconsin's first home football game took place before the end the UW Marching Band's tryout week. Because the freshmen had not been chosen and weren't a part of the band yet, all of them marched as a separate group during halftime, not as a part of the band. The UW Band always marches 16 tubas, but the tuba section only had 15 returning sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Because I was a tuba player in the band many years ago (and because the current tuba players are really nice and invited me) I was lucky enough to be asked (along with my husband, who also is a tuba player) to march with the band for the first game, possibly making me the oldest person ever to march in the band. I marched the pregame show and my husband marched halftime. Here's an action shot from pregame - I'm the middle tuba player. (The band wore sweaters and white shorts for the first game instead of the regular band uniforms.)

6th-Grade Summer Band - June & July

2007-11-04T07:12:00.000-06:00

For four weeks in June and July, most 6th-grade band students began learning their instruments by taking band in summer school. Students had small-group instruction daily for 2o minutes. They began by learning to assemble, disassemble, and care for their instruments. Students also learned to play with good tone, first on their mouthpieces and then on their instruments. Throughout summer school the students learned to read music notation as well. By the end of four weeks, they were able to play short songs from their band book. Some of their favorites were Hot Cross Buns, Au Claire De La Lune, and Merrily We Roll Along.

Mr. Dorn and Mr. Terhune taught the students at Taylor Prairie School and Mrs. Stone taught at Nichols School.