5th Grade Band Notes
April 16, 2018
Upcoming Events
Showcase Night- Monday, April 23rd
Just a reminder- Showcase Night is not a required event for all students. Everybody is certainly invited, but only the students that are performing need to be there.
Spring Band and Chorus Concert- Tuesday, May 8th
Our final concert of the year will be on Tuesday, May 8th at 6:30 PM in the Schiesher Large Gym. We have been working on some fun songs to play (any Star Wars or Fitz and the Tantrums fans out there?) and it promises to be a great end to a great year. More details will be sent in the coming weeks.
Scholarships
I would like to take this opportunity to share some information with you about our scholarship program. With the conclusion of a very successful bunny fundraiser, we now have a good amount of money that is set aside to give to students who are interested in taking private lessons on their instrument this summer. Every year, the Lisle Band Parents Organization offers $125 music scholarships to students interested in taking private music lessons over summer and we expect to be able to offer a scholarship to each student that applies.
Private instruction, in my opinion, is the lifeblood of our band program. Working with a professional musician privately will set your child up for success. They will hone their playing fundamentals and will be able to progress much more quickly on their instruments. There are many instrument-specific skills that simply cannot be taught in a full-band setting. They will be able to learn at their own pace and their private instructor can give them specific advice and practice goals for improvement. And the best part…it’s FREE! The Lisle Band Parents Organization wants to give you $125 to cover the cost of these summer private lessons.
Students will be receiving the scholarship application form at after-school band practice today. You can access the form by clicking on the button below. All your child has to do is fill out the attached scholarship form, obtain a parent signature, and return it to me at Schiesher. I truly believe that this is an important stage in each child’s musical development and I hope to receive an application from everybody! Scholarship applications will be due on Friday, May 5th.
Next Year
We have an award-winning band program at Lisle Junior High- our Symphonic Band recently earned a first place rating at the Illinois Grade School Music Association Contest for the 27th consecutive year. Myself and Mrs. Lisa Kiener-Barnett take great pride in the large percentage of our student body that joins band every year and we have had zero problems making it work with students who are involved in sports and other activities.
6th grade band is actually far less time consuming than 5th grade band because there are no after-school rehearsals. All of our rehearsals happen during the school day during 8th period on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. When students start filling out their 6th grade registration form, they should select Concert Band. This is a graded class that meets on Monday, Wednesday and Friday during 8th period (out of a 9-period day). Junior High band students also attend one small group lesson per week. This lesson time “rotates” throughout the school day -similar to the lesson schedule at Schiesher. Therefore, band students only miss the same class once or twice during a 9-week quarter. There is no weekly after-school rehearsal commitment like there is in 5th grade band on Tuesdays. In fact, our only after-school commitments for the entire year are our four performances- one in October, one in December, one in March, and one in May.