March 2019 Updates
March 13th
The end of the year is rapidly approaching for our students. As we enter the last few months of school, we have a multitude of events that concern all of our students.
​
1. Band, Orchestra, and Guard Banquet
The annual banquet will take place on Thursday, May 16th from 6pm-8pm at Heritage Sandy Springs Center (6110 Blue Stone Rd., Sandy Springs, GA 30328). We will need some parent assistance with setup, serving, and clean up. Be on the lookout for a Sign Up Genius request.
​
2. General Band and Orchestra Boosters Meeting There will be a general BOB meeting on Monday, April 15th starting at 6:30pm in the RICS Auditorium. The meeting is open to all families who have a student in any of the bands, orchestras, or guards. Agenda items for the meeting include election of 2019-2020 officers, updates on the construction to the Riverwood Performing Arts Facilities, update on the new band director hiring process, and general updates from the directors on their programs.
​
3. Boston Butt Fundraiser
This spring we are bringing back the popular Boston Butt sale. This is a great chance to buy some delicious BBQ for your spring and early summer events (Easter dinner, Memorial Day BBQ, etc.). The sale will start on Monday, March 18th and run until Friday, April 5th. Butts will be ready for pickup approximately two weeks after the end of the sale. Students will receive a flyer within the next few days in class regarding order information.
​
We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events. Thanks for all that you do for our students!
​
​
​
March 15th
LGPE is done! Thank you to everyone for your help and support during the event. I have received the scores from LGPE and wanted to share them with you.
If you are new to orchestra/LGPE, or if you're not sure how it works, each group is rated by three judges on a scale of 1 (superior), 2 (excellent), 3 (good), 4 (fair), or 5 (poor) in a number of categories for each piece that we play at the evaluation. Judges will tally their total ratings to determine a final rating for our performance. The ranges for the overall rating are 21-31 for superior, 32-53 for excellent, 53-73 for good, 74-94 for fair, and 95-105 for poor. The combination of the three judge’s final ratings determine each ensemble’s overall rating. There is also a sight reading component that is very similar to the above, but instead of three judges there’s only one. The sight reading score DOES NOT impact our overall rating. Below is the breakdown of each ensemble’s scores.
Intermediate and Advanced Orchestra
Judge 1: 31 (S)
Judge 2: 33 (E)
Judge 3: 28 (S)
Sight Reading: S
Overall Rating: S
​
Mastery Orchestra
Judge 1: 33 (E)
Judge 2: 28 (S)
Judge 3: 33 (E)
Sight Reading: E
Overall Rating: E
I'm very proud of each and every student for their hard work and preparation. The evaluation was very helpful and the judges gave us some great feedback on what we're doing well and areas of improvement. We will be going over that feedback today and Monday in class.
​
​
​
March 22nd
Next year, we will be taking a band and orchestra performance trip to Walt Disney World!
​
Students will be participating in one of two performances opportunities. The first option is Festival Disney. Similar to LGPE, students would perform on Disney property for a panel of judges and receive a 10 minute clinic on stage after the performance. Judges rate each ensemble and at the end of the week (Saturday night) we would attend an awards ceremony to see how we fared. The second option is a Disney Workshop, where students would receive a 2 hour clinic from a professional musican. Students and the clinician would work on a piece of Disney music while talking about fundamentals of instrument playing. The workshop culminates in a performance of the pieces that's recorded and used to create a soundtrack to the Disney film that the students were working on.
​
Other general details are as follows:
​
Where: Walt Disney World
Why: To perform at Festival Disney or participate in a Disney instrumental workshop
Participants: Students who are a member/enrolled in band, orchestra, or guard. Based on numbers, the plan is to bring down one orchestra, one concert band, one jazz band, and one color guard.
When: March/April 2020. The plan/general itinerary is to leave on Wednesday, spend Thursday-Sunday in the parks, and then come back Sunday night. We would perform on one of the days that we're down there, and wouldn't know which until closer to the trip date. The rest of the days would be spent in each park.
Cost: Since we are currently working on booking a travel planner, we don't know the official price yet. Students will be expected to pay for the trip. We will be having multiple fundraisers to help bring down the cost of the trip. Students who go on the trip will be expected to participate in these fundraisers.
​
There are a few 'next steps' for the students. First, they need to make sure that they're registered for a band or orchestra class. Only students who are registered for a band or orchestra class will be allowed to go on the trip. Second, students need to let their director know if they're interested in going on the trip. Interest lists are posted in the band and orchestra rooms.
​
Finally, be on the lookout for meetings/announcements regarding the trip from your directors! The Band and Orchestra Boosters and myself are currently working on details, such as hiring a travel planner and finding the right dates to go. Once we have determined these details, we'll have interest meetings and relay the information to you.