A reminder of a few very important things for our last week before break around concerts, photos and rehearsals:

1. Early morning rehearsal are back to normal for Monday and Tuesday of next week.
2. Senior Wind Ensemble is performing at the elementary concert Monday night. Call for the band is 7:30. The band is closing the night.
3. Yearbook photos for ensembles will take place on Tuesday March 13 at lunch. All students need to be in uniform at lunch time. It will be a tight timeline so please ensure you’re here, prepared and on time.

Tuesday, March 13 Yearbook Photos                     

1. 11:30-Band 10
2. 11:33-Senior Jazz Ensemble 10-12
3. 11:36-Senior Wind Ensemble 11/12
4. 11:39-Senior Concert Choir
5. 11:42-Poppy VOX
6. 11:45-Redhawk Voices
7. 11:49-Band 09
8. 11:53-Junior Jazz Ensemble 8/9
9. 11:57-Band 08

We have our spring concert on Tuesday, March 13. Call is 6:30pm and the show starts at 7:00pm. Performers on Tuesday are:

• Band 08
• Redhawk Voices
• Band 09
• Band 10
• Senior Concert Choir
• Senior Wind Ensemble 11/12

Thanks so much for your ongoing support of your child’s music education!

Please be reviewing 90, 95-99 & 101 as I will be checking these prior to our concert.

(5:18am) There’s certainly snow but it doesn’t appear to look like its continuing. I will be in to run SWE today, but I know conditions may vary where you are. Be safe and communicate. If driving conditions are unsafe in your neighbourhood, please make whatever decision about rehearsal that you need to. Simply let me know what that decision is so I can adjust rehearsal accordingly.

Now that I have a bit of a sense of who’s interested, I’ve pulled a set for the band. Here are recordings of the three tunes we’ll look at on Tuesday evening, 8-9pm.

• Killer Joe – Arrangement by John Higgins
• Street Smart – Beach and Shutack
• Ja-Da – Arrangement t by Michael Sweeney

I’ll have parts prepared for the rehearsal but please contact me if you’d like to see the music before then. If you’ve got any questions, don’t hesitate to ask – mfollett@sd35.bc.ca

 

Students who are interested in singing or playing with the Provincial Honour Band, Orchestra, Choir, Jazz Band or Vocal Jazz Ensemble are invited to apply starting now. Audition requirements can be found at http://bcmusiced.ca/ensembles/ and submissions are due by Friday, April 13, 2018 to perform with the ensembles next October.

Just a note to members of both Senior Jazz Ensemble and Senior Wind Ensemble. On Wednesday, January 31, 2018, we will have a Senior Jazz Clinic with Dr. David Proznick. All members of Senior Jazz are required to attend. As such, students NOT in Senior Jazz do not need to attend that morning.

So we’ve handed out a fair bit of music for the next few months, but we’re looking for suggestions from students for other ideas as to what they want to perform. We need ideas that have been written for band already so follow the link here: https://www.jwpepper.com/sheet-music/concert-band-music.jsp to the concert band listings for JW Pepper (think Amazon for music programs) and search for songs you’d like to play. Be sure you’re in the band listings and looking for the right difficulty:

• Band 6/7 – Very Easy
• Honour Band – Very Easy or Easy
• Band 8 & 9 – Easy or Medium Easy
• Band 10 – Medium Easy or Medium
• Band 11/12 (SWE) – Medium or Medium Advanced

For any students who are considering a career in music or would like to simply continue to develop their musical talents at the post-secondary level, Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Music Department is holding its next Music Information Session on: Tuesday, January 9, 2018, 7:30 pm in Room 1030 at KPU Langley (20901 Langley Bypass). Individuals who are interested in attending the information session should RSVP by emailing: music@kpu.ca

We have Poppy Jazz Cafe coming up on February 21, 2018 at the Fort Langley Community Hall (tickets will be released after the break) but it is about time that I put together a new group for this event. I am looking to see if there are any parents, staff or alumni interested in “putting the band back together” for this show. I’ve done this with great success at my last two high schools and I’ve been at Poppy long enough that I think it’s time.

The goal is to show that just because you’re not playing full-time any more doesn’t mean that you have to walk away from music completely. If you played band in high school or beyond and are even remotely interested, please email me at mfollett@sd35.bc.ca so I can get a sense of who might be available. (I may even be able to provide a horn for you if needed.) I’ll send music out once school is back, we’ll have a rehearsal on the evening of January 30 and play 2 or 3 tunes (think early September Jazz Band 8/9) at Jazz Cafe. If you’re interested, or know someone who might be, please email me and I’ll see what we can put together.

Hope to hear from lots of you!

Mark

Fundraising balances are posted in the band entryway. These are updated to include Neufeld’s from November, Poinsettias and the first Global Coffee order. You can apply this balance towards your second junior tour or senior tour payment. Please confirm that the amounts make sense and if you have any questions, please see Mr. Follett.