Concert Band and Symphonic Band have had a very hectic start to the year with the LWMB Step Up and the Frankfort Fall Festival Parade. Things will begin to calm down this week and we will settle into a routine.

The Cadet Band is off to a great start. The students have been working in their Essential Elements Book to review skills from last year and were given their first piece of sheet music to start rehearsing.

Beginning Band students will start this coming Tuesday!!!

Sectionals are off to a fantastic start. We have had almost perfect attendance at every class. The students were given a quick assessment to determine where they currently are so that a plan can be made going forward for each student.

Choir had it's informational meeting and will start rehearsing next week on the 8th.

Please make sure your child has all of the supplies they need for their respective instruments. Below is a list of items band students should have:

ALL students should have a 1" binder and a pencil at EVERY rehearsal.

Below is a list of supplies required by instrument:

Flutes - cleaning cloth, slide grease (optional)

Double Reeds - reeds, cleaning cloth, cork grease

Clarinets - reeds, cleaning cloth, cork grease

Saxophones - neck strap (I recommend a padded neck strap), reeds, cleaning cloth, cork grease

Trumpets - mouthpiece brush, cleaning snake, valve oil, slide grease

French Horns - mouthpiece brush, cleaning snake, rotor oil, slide grease

Trombones - mouthpiece brush, cleaning snake, slide oil, slide grease

Baritones - mouthpiece brush, cleaning snake, valve oil, slide grease

Tuba - mouthpiece brush, cleaning snake, valve oil, slide grease

Percussion - drum sticks, rubber mallets, yarn mallets

ALL STUDENTS SHOULD EITHER OWN OR HAVE ACCESS TO A TUNER AND METRONOME.

Please make sure your child has everything they need to be successful at their instrument.

All band students need to have the following books for band rehearsals and Sectionals. These books will be charged through your child's Charms account. Please watch your account for these charges. All students MUST have these books. We will charge your child's Charms account once the student has received their book.

4 th/5th Grade - Essential Elements Book 1 (should already have purchased from Quinlan and Fabish or still have from last year) and The Simple Rhythmatician ($6.95) - TOTAL $6.95 (as long as you have your Essential Elements Book 1)

6 th Grade- Essential Elements Book 2 ($9.99), Habits of a Successful Middle School Musician ($9.95) and The Simple Rhythmatician ($6.95) - TOTAL $26.89

7 th/8th Grade- Habits of a Successful Middle School Musician ($9.95) and The Simple Rhythmatician ($6.95) - TOTAL $16.90

All absence requests should be submitted through our department website at this link: https://www.mokenameteormusic159.org/absence-request-form.html

This absence request is not for rehearsals or sectionals, only performances.

Jazz will start the end of October and run through the middle of March.

Percussion will start in January and run through May.

Students in 6th, 7th and 8th grade Band, Choir or Orchestra are eligible to audition for the Illinois Music Educators Association All-Star Band, Orchestra, Choir, and Jazz Band. The ILMEA festival days are a great opportunity to play/sing wonderful music with some of the best young musicians in the Chicago-land area.

Registration forms, audition and festival dates, and music have been available to download from our department website athttps://www.mokenameteormusic159.org/ilmea-audition-music.html. The password to access the music is Music159 (case sensitive).

Registration for ILMEA Audition is due on Wednesday, September 5th with the $8 audition fee (checks made payable to Mokena Music Boosters). Late registrations will not be accepted.

This is a difficult audition, so students should only register to audition if they intend on spending a great deal of time practicing and preparing this music. They are competing with students from the greater Chicago-land area, so the competition is tough. I will be available for help if requested and scheduled, but the bulk of the music should be learned on their own.

The audition day is Saturday, September 29 at Summit Hill Jr. High School.

Thank you, and if you have any questions about ILMEA, please feel free to ask!

As always, if you have any questions or feel like you may have missed something, please contact any of the directors via email.

IBA Fundraisers usually occur once per quarter. We will be offering one very soon. Keep watching for information.

9/2/18 Frankfort Fall Festival Parade (Concert Band/Symphonic Band/Guard Only)

9/4/18 - First Day of Beginning Band

9/5/18 - ILMEA Audition Forms and Payment are Due

9/6/18 - First Day of 4th Grade Sectionals

9/18/18 - Music Booster Meeting (7pm at MJHS)

9/29/28 ILMEA Auditions (6/7/8 Band or Choir Students - Optional)