Notes from the Podium- March 7

The month of March always seems to fly by.... I cannot believe we are already done with the first week!!!

The concert band is hard at work preparing for our performance April 2nd for judges at the State Large Group Festival. The band will be performing for a rating in front of a panel at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville. The point has been made at many of our rehearsals that it is imperative that every student be passing every one of his or her classes to insure that they are academically able to participate. This is a school policy and WILL be followed with no exceptions. Students have been offered help from our members if they need extra tutoring! It would be a shame if irresponsibility put our performance in doubt. We need the sound of every one of our band members.

On March 17th, all band members are required for a performance at Central High School. We will be performing as part of the Pre-Contest Concert. At this performance, we will be receiving comments and help from 3 great musicians. It will be important that we have everyone there to get an accurate idea of where we stand, and so that everyone can participate in us reaching our performance goals.

On March 21st, the band will be coming in for a Super Saturday of clinics and olympics. This will be the first of what I hope will become an annual practice. During the morning, we will have different specialists for every instrument here to work with us on our contest pieces. Around 11 AM, we will break for lunch. After lunch, sections will be pitted against each other in our first Band Olympics. It should be a great day!

In addition to working toward our band performance, many of our members are hard at work preparing solos and small ensembles for the District Solo and Ensemble Festival at Central High School on March 27th. Originally, we had scheduled a Pre-Contest run of these events on March 10th, but I am going to cancel this in favor of allowing students more time to prepare. Anyone is welcome to watch and support the students performing at Central High School on the 27th. A schedule will be posted on here of all the performance times on Monday. Students receiving a Superior (I) rating at District contest will perform for State Solo and Ensemble in Columbia, MO.

PLEASE MAKE IT A POINT TO ATTEND THE BAND BOOSTER MEETING ON THURSDAY, MARCH 12TH. We will be kicking off our final fundraiser of the year. In addition to kicking off the final fundraiser, we will be collecting final payments for the New York trip. If there are any questions or concerns about the trip and payment, this meeting is the place to get them sorted out! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone there!