Winter Park Band Notes
September 4, 2016
From Mr. Blackmer
Dear Winter Park Band Families,
I hope that everyone is enjoying the long Labor Day Weekend!
First off, I would like to thank our parent volunteers who worked tirelessly to make last Friday's football game at West Orange HS go as smoothly as possible, especially under the circumstances. I have the highest regard for our Band parents who volunteer their time week after week for events such as this and a multitude of other things. They have a unique insight into what goes on "behind the scenes," and they are terrific! It is not hyperbole to say that we could not have a Band Program without them!
I also want to thank our student leadership, as they have been truly outstanding this year! It can be frustrating to be trapped on a bus for a long period of time, especially when it isn't going anywhere, and they were all real troopers about!
In light of last Friday's trip to West Orange, I do want to give you all some perspective into what goes into a decision to perform (or not to perform) with regards to weather conditions.
Obviously, the primary concern is always student safety above all else. Now, while West Orange HS has a terrific stadium with artificial turf, we are not always as fortunate. There have been times in the past at Showalter where the Band did not perform because of field conditions. Hopefully, once we are able to perform in the new Showalter, this won't be as much of an issue! However, contrary to what you might think, a wet artificial turf field can actually be more slippery than a traditional grass field, and I have experienced many students "wiping out" in those conditions!
Along with the field conditions comes lightening. This is one of the more common reasons why games (and marching band rehearsals, for that matter) are often postponed or canceled outright. The policy is if lightning strikes within a "warning parameter" around the performance site, all activity is suspended for 30 minutes. Assuming that another strike doesn't occur within that 30 minutes, the game/performance/rehearsal can resume at that time. This was the case a few weeks ago at Edgewater HS. While the sky was mostly clear to the casual observer, there had actually been a lightning strike just a couple of miles from the high school, and this is why the field was evacuated. This is also the reason why many of our marching band rehearsals end up being inside, especially during the month of September.
Another consideration involves our Front Ensemble percussion instruments and equipment. Conservatively, there is well over $30,000 in equipment and instruments that make up the Front Ensemble, and none of it reacts well to water, especially the electronic instruments! Additionally, a good portion of the lower section in our Band semi-trailer is filled with this equipment, and it often takes as much as 15-20 minutes to load and/or unload, set-up, etc. It is not a quick process. As the students can tell you, the Front Ensemble performs an integral part of the Marching Band's halftime performance. As you may have heard during our post-game performance on Friday at West Orange, there are entire sections of "silence" in the music if the Front Ensemble is not performing with the rest of the musicians.
Next are our woodwind instruments. Like keyboard percussion instruments (xylophones, marimbas, etc.), woodwind instruments also do not react well to getting wet. The pads on the keys that seal around the tone holes help produce the sound of the instrument and are made of a fabric-like material which will absorb water. The cost to re-pad a woodwind instrument can range from $150 to as much as $500, depending on the type of instrument. Just the activity of marching band by itself takes a toll on the wear and tear of these instruments, and exposure to rainwater would make it much worse.
Finally, a consideration has to be made regarding the Marching Band uniforms. While a little bit of water will dry within the time-frame that the students are wearing the uniform, a full out soaking requires that the jackets and trousers be air-dried to prevent mold and mildew. This used to be accomplished by draping the uniforms over the seats in the auditorium for the weekend and then moving them back into storage on Monday. However, due to a facility rental, the auditorium is no longer available most weekends, so this is no longer an option. There would be the possibility of hanging them in the Band Room to dry over the weekend, however, the air conditioning does not run on weekends, so that, again, would create the ideal conditions for mold to develop. From a fiscal perspective, the Marching Band uniform inventory represents over $75,000, and they have to last at least another 10 years.
Bottom line, when we have an evening with weather issues like we did last Friday, it is often not a quick and simple decision whether or not to have the Marching Band perform. There are a lot of logistics that need to be considered, as well as potential consequences if we get it wrong. During the first half of the game on Friday, the West Orange and Winter Park band directors were looking over four different weather services attempting to determine the viability of the bands performing. While there were times when the weather did appear to be clearing throughout the second quarter, we were watching a cell to the southwest of Winter Garden that was producing thunderstorms and moving directly toward us. While it ultimately dissipated, this did not become apparent until well into the end of halftime.
I will tell you that I was completely comfortable with my decision, and I would make the same one again in a similar situation. Of course, it is frustrating to travel to the other side of the County just to sit on school buses and not perform, and in an ideal world every Friday night would be 70 degrees and clear skies, however, especially in August and September, this is not the case, and I will always err on the side of caution.
I work very hard to control the amount of Band fees each year, and Winter Park has some of the lowest in Orange County. Over the past four years, our fees have actually been decreasing, not increasing. To accomplish this, however, there will always be a financial consideration taken into account when making decisions about the Band's performance.
Finally, on a completely different note, please take a moment to review over the Band Calendar for the upcoming few months. The fall is a busy time of year, and it's important that both students and parents are up-to-date on events. Also, be sure students are checking their Google Classroom pages for their various Band classes for important announcements and homework assignments.
Again, thank you all for a great start to the school year! The groups are all sounding great, and I look forward to having them present their first concert in a little over a month and a half!
All the Best!
Mr. Blackmer
ASIS Convention Chaperones
We are still looking for a handful of chaperones to accompany the Band to the ASIS Convention at the Orange County Convention Center next Sunday, September 11 and/or Monday, September 12. You can volunteer for one or both! Just go to the Band Calendar > find either Sunday, September 11 and/or Monday, September 12 on the calendar > click on the helping hand icon and sign-up. That's it!
New York/Carnegie Hall Tour 2017 - Final Call!
This is the final call for any student or chaperone who would like to sign-up for the New York tour next June. All participant contracts and initial deposits need to be in by this coming Tuesday, September 6.
All information and forms may be found on our Band website!
PROGRAM ADS & SPONSORS DEADLINE EXTENDED
The deadline for Program Ads and Sponsors has been extended to Friday, September 9. You have a few more days to finish up on your ads and payments so please take advantage of the extension!
SAV-A-ROUND BOOKS
Our next fundraiser will be Sav-A-Round Coupon Books beginning Tuesday, September 13. The cost of each book is $25 and students will receive $12.50 credit to their Band account for each book sold. Please encourage your Band student to sign out a sample book on September 13 if you want them to take advantage of this sale. Sample books must be sold or returned in perfect condition.
CHARMS PROFILE UPDATE
At some point over the next week, please check your Charms profile online to make sure that all information is up-to-date and correct. Students should not use their OCPS e-mail address for Charms as it will block all messages from coming through. Use a personal e-mail address that you are used to checking!
Go to www.CharmsOffice.com > enter WinterParkHSBand as the school code > enter your password > click on "Update Info" > make all necessary edits to the student and parent pages > click "Update" in the upper right corner of the screen. That's it!
Sight Reading Factory
The Winter Park Band students have a new tool in their efforts to become better sight readers. Each student now has a 1-year subscription to Sight Reading Factory.
Sight Reading Factory provides an unlimited resource for students to practice sight reading. The program creates real music (that makes musical sense) with a multitude of difficulty levels and various difficulty settings. In addition to assignments created throughout the school year by the Band Directors, students are strongly encouraged to create their own sight reading exercises on a daily basis as part of their regular practice routine!
At this point, all Band students should have signed in and activated their accounts. If they haven't, they should go to their class' Google Classroom page and go to the posting entered on August 21. Once they follow the link, SRF will ask them to create an account. Note: the e-mail address here does not need to be the OCPS student e-mail.
Potential Chaperones, Operations Volunteers & Door-2-Door Drivers Updated!
A list of the volunteers selected for a band function will now be posted at the bottom of the itinerary for that event. Please check the itinerary to see if you are on duty. If you have not yet signed or renewed your OCPS ADDitions account, please go to our website and read any of the previous newsletters for instructions. Questions? Contact Carla Shuman, Band Chaperone Coordinator at shumanorl@aol.com.