“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” —William Arthur Ward

On behalf of Mrs. Haraldson, Mrs. Gary, Mrs. Rush, Ms. Hutera and myself, we would like to wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving. We are very GRATEFUL to have the opportunity to work with your children. We appreciate the opportunity to teach them through music.

There will be no scheduled lessons this week due to the shortened week. We will be working with students who need a little extra help or need a make up lesson. Also, there will be no 7th grade jazz this week.

Your child will record their solo and turn it in for a grade by January 15. There is an optional (but recommended) online solo festival sponsored by the Wisconsin School Music Association (WSMA) that your child can participate in as well. The fee is around $9 per entry. More information about this will be coming out in future newsletters.

PMMS Band Solo Timeline (all 7th graders required to do it)

Nov 16-20: Select Solo in lessons

Nov 23-24: No lessons

Dec 21-23: No lessons

Jan 15: Solo Recordings Due

Jan 19-21: Solos graded and shared prior to the end of the quarter.

Those interested in WSMA Festival (optional)

Jan 12: Registration Form Sent To Students

Feb 12: Registration and Video Recording for the WSMA Festival Due

Feb 19: Payment Due In Infinite Campus*

Feb 23: Student Performance Uploaded to WSMA (fee must be paid)

*Entry fee is approximately $9. If finances are a concern, please contact Mr. Gleason

What: 6th Grade Virtual Band Concert

When: Tue, Dec 1st (A-L 7:00 PM, M-Z 7:30 PM)

Where: Mrs. Haraldson's Zoom Account (not school)

The Patrick Marsh 7th Grade Band has entered a consortium with other band programs from across the country to commission Katahj Copley, an African American composer from Georgia to write a piece exploring systematic racism in our country. Our goal will be to perform this before the end of the school year. The composer writes:

"On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was a killed when a police officer brutally placed his knee on his neck. This moment not only changed my life, but the world around us. For hundreds of years, the black community has been hushed, pushed, and brutalized by systematic racism. We have had our voices taken away from us. This piece represents a voice for the voiceless. I wanted to show the five stages of grief, they are not in the order of the stages but better yet the stages of the black community's grief.

Denial: The piece seems to not want to start. It's subtle and seems not wanting to start. Another death has come and it seems too unreal.

Depression: The theme begins to come in. The piece moves into a somber funeral march, a march for the fallen and unarmed.

Bargaining: The piece begins to sway back and forth between beauty and anger. Trying to find ways to get away from this pain.

Anger: The march reaches its crescendo with the voices of the voiceless finally fighting back. With anger and rage the piece goes into a violent scream.

Growth: As the rage strengthen the voices instead of acceptance, we enter growth. The voices have become stronger than before and will continue to grow. The voices seek change and won't stop until change has come."

Megan Hutera is currently a Senior at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where she majors in Music Education and studies trumpet with Mr. Robert Baca. Originally from Rice Lake, WI, Megan has performed in numerous pit orchestras in Rice Lake and Eau Claire and was also the first female brass soloist for the Madison Scouts in their 2018 season. Megan enjoys teaching privately, conducting, exploring the beauties of Eau Claire, and teaching at the Shell Lake Arts Center Concert Band camp. Megan is a 4-year member of the Blugold Marching Band with her final two years leading the band as a drum major. Megan has plans to pursue her Master’s and doctorate in the Music Education field and become an educator and mentor for many students in the future.

In an effort to help our young musicians to learn how to read musical notation, we purchased a fun game called Staff Wars. This is an essential cognitive process, similar to reading text, that gets better with repetition. So....what better way to practice than with a game! Challenge your child to a match and see who gets the highest score!

• Staff Wars Link: http://www.staffwarslive.com/

• Username: spasd

• Password: readmusic2020