The Patriots

Event News/ Info:
There will be a J.W. Pepper Solo and Ensemble Catalog available at the front desk before band for those who wish to look for songs for the upcoming Solo and Ensemble Contest. The book belongs to Mrs. Borow, but all are welcome to search through it for ideas.

The Craft Fair is coming up soon - November 8th. Mrs. Cassity and Mrs. Blunt are organizing this event and should be contacted for crafter/distributor information. All band members are urged to help publicize this event. Fliers will be available at the front desk. Please plan on attending, if at all possible.    Those band members interested in performing at the fund raiser should contact Mrs. Cassity.  Ensembles are welcome.

Friday, November 28th is the Wheaton Light-Up Parade. The following information is not yet definite, but is being given as a guideline for those who are interested and need to make advanced plans. Line-up time will be approximately 5 p.m. Parade step-off will be at approx. 6 p.m. Concert and Symphonic Percussionists, your participation and response is especially important. If you have decided not to participate, we need to know that as well. Again, Cadets are invited and welcome to march in a group after the band. Color Guards will be needed. Cadets who participated over the summer with the Patriots in Marching Band as Color Guards are encouraged to help out in that capacity. All members will be expected to wear warm clothes, a winter coat and a Santa hat. There will be a sign-up sheet available at the front desk. Please let us know your final decision either way.

Saturday, December 6^th, 4 p.m. is the Yorktown Christmas Performance. While this is not mandatory, the band has always enjoyed a huge turn out for this event. There will be a sheet at the front table to sign up. Please indicate whether or not you will be participating.

Yamaha Books Available - At next Thursday’s band practice, October 23^rd, Mrs Pfauth will bring copies of Yamaha Christmas Ensembles for anyone needing to purchase a copy. This book is required, per the Supply List, for every Concert and Symphonic Band member. It is instrument specific. The cost is $6.00, including tax. Cash or checks , payable to J.W. Pepper, are acceptable.Please bring your payment, in an envelope, marked on the outside with the following information –

STUDENT’S NAME (first and last) BAND (Concert or Symphonic)

INSTRUMENT AMOUNT ENCLOSED

Band T-shirts - Mrs. Pfauth has volunteered to organize this year’s Band t-shirt order/sale. The t-shirts will be similar to those we ordered last year, with the band’s name in larger letters on the back and a much smaller name on the left front. Wearing them is an excellent means of "spreading the word" about the band. The cost for these shirts should be under $10.

However, before she can begin, she would like to survey all the band families to know what kind of interest there is (or is not) for purchasing these shirts. She would like to hear from every family. Please e-mail her at KDZMOM6@earthlink.net no later than Thursday, October 30th. Include your family name and tell her: "Not interested in t-shirts" or "Interested in t-shirts" along with the total number of shirts you’d be likely to order. Once she has heard from each family she can determine whether there are sufficient numbers to begin taking orders.

Cargo Trailer - Some have asked for specifics regarding the cargo trailer. We are looking for: an enclosed, used cargo trailer, good condition, 6’x10’, inexpensive. Call Mrs. Borow if you have a lead on this.

Cadet Evaluations - Mrs. Borow will begin to hear Cadets before band this coming week. Evaluations before band will continue until all Cadets have been heard. Requirement: "Five Notes in Review" at the top of page 6 and +Jingle Bells, ex. #38.

All Cadets, before band starts, remember to ask a more experienced band member or parent check your Essential Element (EE) quizzes.

Remember the saying for reading music:
Treble Clef: Every Good Boy Does Fine (lines) and FACE (spaces)
Bass Clef: Great Big Dogs Fight Animals (lines) and All Cars Eat Gas (spaces)

Study the yellow boxes on p.10, 11:

Each eighth note equals ½ beat. 2/4 time will mean that there are only 2 beats per measure.

New terms: Tempo-Allegro (fast), Moderato (medium), and Andante (slower)

Dynamics-Crescendo(gradually louder); Decrescendo ro Diminuendo (gradually softer)

Cadet Assignments: Winning Rhythms:  page 2. ex. A-E
Essential Elements Assignment:  ex. 40-51

Section Heads: In addition to making sure that your section is seated correctly, please coordinate the following: your section’s tuning. Ask Mrs. Borow for the tuner if she doesn’t have it available. Also, clarinets, please practice part E and F of Brahms while you wait for band to begin.

Winning Rhythms. We will start next week with Lesson page 5 of Winning Rhythms. We will clap a through A-D.

Yamaha: I am going to try breaking these songs down by instrument – just for variety. We will start the practice with these songs, since they are quite short. We will perform the songs, just as an experiment, as listed at the end of this Concert Band section. This may not be how we perform it on the 6^th. For the concert, no matter how we work these out, all Yamaha songs will be repeated. For practice, due to time constraints, all songs will be played once. Please copy these practice notes and keep them with you so I don’t have to spell this out at band.

Concert Band Assignments: page 8 and 9, exercises 32-43 and all concert songs.

Brahms: Continue working on parts E and F, third clarinets. All students should contine drilling on the passages that play on the "off" beats. This will be the most challenging portion of this piece.

Choucoune: Low brass, especially trombones and baritones, you have a key part in this song – and it moves quickly. Please work on the opening of the song diligently this week.

The line-up for the next practice will be:

Winning Rhythms, Lesson 5, A-DA-D

Exercise Review from Essential Elements #2 (page 8 and 9)