Director’s Notes – November 2005

As we start the second quarter at JHS, much music has been made so far.  The JHS Bands opened the concert season with a great concert on November 7^th.  The pep bands have been active this fall and the students have been handling the year well so far.

2006 Trip Updates:  The December 2006 trip is shaping up quite nicely so far.  We are close to securing lodging in Orlando, and will be developing an itinerary after a pre-trip inspection trip by the directors.  The tentative dates of the trip are:  Departing Alexandria on Tuesday, December 26^th, 2006 and arriving back in Alexandria on Tuesday, January 2^nd, 2007.

The trip committee met on November 21^st and has altered the payment schedule for the trip with the adjusted figures.  This payment schedule should be included in this mailing.  As far as how the band will be transported to Orlando on the trip, that decision will be made later.  We will keep close tabs on the airlines to see when the best time to purchase tickets is.  Again, the goal is to keep the trip economical for the students.

New Uniforms:   One of the long term goals/challenges the boosters have had on their agenda for some time has been creating the funding to replace the current fleet of marching band uniforms.  Our current uniforms are going on season #14, and are in dire need of replacing.  They have held up quite well over the years and we have taken great care of them.   It would be great to have new uniforms by the time the band travels to Orlando, and we hope that will become a reality. 

Concert/Festival News:

Remember the winter band concert will be held on Monday, February 13^th, starting at 7:00 p.m.  The Jazz Bands will be featured on the concert with Jazz II starting at 7:00 p.m., followed by Jazz I at 7:15 p.m.   The concert band portion of the concert will start at 7:30 p.m. 

Several sophomores recently auditioned for the MBDA 10^th Grade Honor Band.  Each student made an audition tape that consisted of scales and etudes.  JHS was represented by Adrian Mindach (percussion), Martha Griffin (oboe), Beth Butler (trombone), Tiki Conn (French Horn), and Rachel Kalina (tenor sax).  The students should find out if they were accepted during December sometime. 

Congratulations to Nick Wagner for being accepted into the 2^nd annual All-Conference Jazz Ensemble on Trumpet.  The festival was held on October 24^th at Sauk Rapids High School, with an evening concert being the main event.