Band/Orchestra Handbook 2018 2019 0217
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1 2018/2019 BAND & ORCHESTRA HANDBOOK v2.0 HICKORY CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL CHELSEA GRADE SCHOOL FRANKFORT, IL 2018/2019 District 157C Instrumental Music Handbook v2.0 2 Table of Contents Directors 3 Band & Orchestra Overview/Philosophy/Contact 4 Chelsea Details/Hickory Creek Details/Rehearsals/Auditions 5 Instruments/Late Enrollment/Instrumental Music Department Calendar 6 2018 – 2019 Monthly Calendars 7 - 16 Booster Awards 17 Illinois Music Educators Association (ILMEA) Auditions 18 District Solo and Ensemble Contest 19 Private Lessons 20 2018/2019 District 157C Instrumental Music Handbook v2.0 3 Directors Mr. Doug Adams Symphonic Band/Chelsea Band/Jazz Band/Jazz Ensemble/HCMS Orchestra/Chelsea Orchestra Mr. Adams received his Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the University of Illinois (where he was named top graduating senior) and his Master of Music from Roosevelt University. He has directed music in District 157-C since 1996, and helped develop and refine the current Fifth Grade, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Sectional, and Private Lesson programs. Mr. Adams keeps one foot in the professional world in order to direct 157-C students toward successful, authentic musical experiences. He has given lectures on music in Kraków Poland and Vienna, Austria; at Royal Albert Hall, the Royal Academy of Music, and the Royal College of Music in London, England; at the Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Luzern in Switzerland; at Robert DeNiro's Tribeca Film Festival and Radio City Music Hall in New York; and in pre-concert lectures in Cleveland, Chicago, Toronto, Salt Lake City, Orlando, and Los Angeles. He appears—and performs—in the recent documentaries The Music of the Hobbit and The Prequels Strike Back. Mr. Adams has composed music for NBC Television; he produced a recording of a rare 1908 Limonaire Orchestrophone (it’s real—look it up!) for Martin Scorsese’s film Hugo; and he is the author of The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films and Impossible Silence: The Story of Film Music’s First Quarter Century. Several former students have followed Mr. Adams’ lead into successful careers that balance music education with performance and projects in film, television, and videogame music. He is incredibly proud of the enthusiastic, hard-working young musicians of Frankfort! Mrs. Shannon Shanahan HCMS Orchestra/Chelsea Orchestra/Chelsea Band After studying both French horn and violin as a student, Mrs. Shanahan graduated from the University of Iowa and spent five years as band, jazz band, and orchestra director at Hinsdale Middle School. She has been the Lincoln-Way Youth Strings assistant director since 2011, and has taught private lessons locally for many years. In 2016, she launched 157-C’s first-ever string program, which has already gone on to great success! Mr. Ben Clark Concert Band/Jazz Band/Jazz Ensemble Mr. Clark is originally from Allentown, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Music Education in 1997 and earned a Master of Music from DePaul University in 1999. He was the winner of the College Jazz Division of the National Trumpet Competition in 1995. While at DePaul he taught the second and third jazz ensembles while playing in the Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Robert Lark. Mr. Clark performs regularly in the Chicago area, and has worked with many local groups including the Chicago Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, the John Burnett Orchestra, Bill O’Connell’s Chicago Skyliners Big Band, the Big Band of Chicago, and the Barrett Deems Big Band. He has worked with the Hickory Creek Middle School music program since 1998. 2018/2019 District 157C Instrumental Music Handbook v2.0 4 Band & Orchestra Overview CHELSEA BAND introduces students to the first year of an incredible four-year program. Students will begin with the basic of their chosen instruments before advancing into exercises, etudes, sheet music, and more! The Chelsea Band will give at least two major evening performances during the year, and will perform at least once during a school assembly. Students play the same instrument when they move up to Hickory Creek, so as to build on the skills and momentum gained during their first year. This will lead them to new, exciting opportunities! The HICKORY CREEK BAND is open to Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth graders who participated in the Chelsea Band program in Fifth Grade. Students play the same instrument throughout their Hickory Creek career, though the directors may ask select students to expand to in-family instruments (alto clarinet, bass clarinet, English horn, bassoon, tenor sax, bari sax, bass trombone, etc.) Students may also be asked to double on Jazz-specific instruments, namely saxophone, trombone, and piano. This exciting expansion of the program may include experience with Jazz Band, Marching Band, Pep Band, sectionals, clinics, and various Solo and Ensemble performances. All full Band rehearsals are held before school so as to eliminate almost all conflicts with other events. Students may participate in both Band and Orchestra if they wish (although, due to overlapping rehearsals, Jazz Band students are not able to participate in Orchestra). The Band is one of Hickory Creek's most popular and active programs! CHELSEA ORCHESTRA begins much the same way, with string players learning basic techniques and moving from small-group activities to large-ensemble performances. Orchestra also plays twice during the year in evening concerts for parents, and at least once during the year for a school assembly. Maintaining their same instrument selections, students then move up to Hickory Creek! The HICKORY CREEK ORCHESTRA is open to sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. We will have two major concerts during the school year. We are excited to offer students this wonderful new program! Philosophy The District 157-C Instrumental Music program is dedicated to providing students challenging, real-world experiences. Like most professional ensembles, we do not audition for chair placement. Students are seated by grade, and are expected to play parts of all difficultly levels during their time in the program. Our concert ensembles are the heart of our program—and, as such, they are required of all students. However, we encourage participation in as many additional groups as time allows. Private lessons are not required, but are strongly encouraged, as they provide students with a unique one-on-one experience with professional musicians. They also pave the way for successful experiences with programs such as ILMEA and Solo and Ensemble. We also know that the grade school and middle school years provide students with many wonderful opportunities outside of music. Well-rounded students are happy students! If sports practices, etc. overlap with band or orchestra rehearsals, we ask that students please split the time evenly so that all groups have the benefit of their presence. Likewise, attendance at all sectionals is required. Students are responsible for any work missed during sectional times. 2018/2019 District 157C Instrumental Music Handbook v2.0 5 Contact The music directors and the Boosters keep in touch with families primarily through email. Make sure you’re on our email list! Chelsea Details Parent drop-off: 8:15 a.m. on south side of Chelsea. Regular CHELSEA BAND rehearsals run from 8:20 to 9:00 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Regular CHELSEA ORCHESTRA rehearsals run from 8:20 to 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. Please note that each program begins with a few weeks of instrument-specific morning rehearsals, during which students only attend one before-school rehearsal per week. Full ensemble rehearsals begin in mid- September, after students have some familiarity with their instruments. Please refer to the calendar for the full schedule. Students may keep their instruments at school when need be, but are encouraged to bring them home every evening for at least 15 to 20 minutes of practice! Like athletes, musicians need to build up muscles and endurance! Hickory Creek Details Parent drop-off: 6:45 a.m. in the Hickory Creek Circular Drive. Rehearsals run from 7:00 to 7:40 a.m. Please refer to the calendar for the full schedule. Students may keep their instruments at school when need be, but are encouraged to bring them home every evening for at least 20 to 30 minutes of practice! Like athletes, musicians need to build up muscles and endurance! Rehearsals/Sectionals/Private Lessons Both the Hickory Creek and Chelsea Instrumental Music programs are built upon three instructional scenarios: In REHEARSALS, all students meet together in order to run music and address large-ensemble issues such as intonation, balance, and blend using warm-up exercises, etudes, and literature. In SECTIONALS, smaller classes – generally grouped by instrument or experience – address general techniques, part accuracy, and blend by rehearsing literature, scales, rhythm sheets, and ear-training exercises. PRIVATE LESSONS are optional, but highly recommended, especially to students looking to push their skill sets to more advanced levels. Lessons focus closely on individual techniques by introducing students to new method books, solo literature, and festival auditions while honing the literature, scales, etc. that students are performing in school. Auditions On occasion, Hickory Creek Instrumental Music students may have opportunities to audition for select groups. In these cases, membership will be based solely on the results of a short audition. (Seniority, past experience, etc. will not be taken into consideration.) All audition results are final. 2018/2019 District 157C Instrumental Music Handbook v2.0 6 Instruments All families are required to provide and maintain students with fully functioning instruments. Students playing bass clarinet, baritone saxophone, tuba, percussion, and string bass may use school instruments, but are required to pay a $40.00 usage fee to the district (on RevTrak). This is in addition to the district’s participation fee, which all Band and Orchestra families must pay.