Upcoming Events: As of Novemer 24, 2009
Portsmouth Christmas Parade - Saturday, December 5, 2009. Show Time between
5:00 and 5:30 PM. Parade starts at 6:00 PM. Please see the memo that will be
distributed early during the week of the parade.
We need one chaperone to march with every four students, per the Portsmouth
Parade directions. Everyone should be illuminated - glowsticks for the kids,
flashlights or other lighting devices for the adults. Please contact Mrs.
McDonough to volunteer to help.
We have finalized the date for the Junior High Band's participation in the
Great East Festival at Six Flags, Massachusetts. It will be on Friday, May
21st, 2010. We will combine with the Rye Junior High Band (and possibly
students from Newington and New Castle) to form a giant SAU-50 band for this
festival. Be prepared for some fundraising to help defer costs for this
event. Details will be available soon.
Pre-Holiday Music in the Cafeteria: All three GCS bands will be playing for
the younger students in the cafeteria on Tuesday, December 22, 2010. The
Junior High band will play for Grades 3-5 and the two younger bands will play
for the K-2 lunch. Parents are invited to come and watch (and potentially
help with logistics).
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GCS Band Booster Meeting - Thursday evening, November 12, 2009 - 7:00PM in
the Music Rehearsal Room on the 2nd Floor. We'll talk about the upcoming
Portsmouth Christmas Parade and look at an overview of the 2009-2010 calendar
of events for our three bands. All band parents are invited to attend.
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Instrumental Music Program Overview -
Greenland Central School
2009-2010
Richard Young, Band Director
It is a pleasure for me to begin my fourth year as Director of the Greenland
Central School Instrumental Music Program. I bring a lifetime of musical
experiences and interest to Greenland and I am happy to be able to provide
the students of this wonderful school with learning opportunities in the
varied world of band music. Skills learned, interest developed, and
memories made through participating in a school band program will last a
lifetime and I am excited about the year ahead.
Our program consists of a fourth grade band, a fifth grade band, and a
junior high concert band (6th through 8th grades). Instruments featured in
these bands include flutes, clarinets, saxophones, trumpets, trombones and
percussion. Other opportunities exist for more advanced musicians to play
instruments such as the oboe, bass clarinet, larger saxophones, baritone
horns, tubas, etc. These special instruments are often available to rent or
purchase through a number of sources such as our Music and Arts Center
representative, the Internet, or any of several local music stores.
The weekly schedule for all of our instrumental music ensembles will be
basically the same as last year. Each of the elementary bands will meet
once a week at 7:45 in the morning for a full band rehearsal. These
rehearsals will largely consist of learning band music functions such as
scales, playing together as a group, counting and performing rhythms, and
working together with a conductor. The fourth grade band meets on Thursday
mornings and the fifth grade band meets on Fridays. Students in each of
these younger bands will also participate in sectionals on the same day as
their band rehearsals. Sectionals consist of groups of like instruments to
focus on learning to play their specific instruments (note fingering, tone
production, instrument care, and listening together). The times for 4th
Grade Band Sectionals will rotate each quarter throughout the year in order
to even out the number of classroom sessions missed (by subject).
The junior high band meets on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays during Study
Skills time from 1:07 to 1:45 PM. As in the younger bands,
these classes will concentrate on playing as a large ensemble, however,
considerable time in the beginning of the year will focus on playing scales
(diatonic and chromatic), chorales (essentially three or four-part
harmonies) and other exercises designed to improve listening, intonation,
and other musical abilities. A number of sectionals will be conducted
throughout the year for junior high band students, as coordinated with the
junior high team. Schedules for sectionals will be posted in advance(on
this web site) so that students can plan ahead for limited amounts of time
out of classes. During the first half of the year, added emphasis will be
placed on solo preparation and small ensemble groups this year in preparation
for the February Solo and Ensemble Festival.
Concerts: At this time, we have planned to have two major evening
concerts for all of our band students. The first will be in Mid-to-late
January and the second will be in late May, 2009. All junior high band
students will also play at the year-end 8th Grade graduation (date TBD).
Additional Information:
4th Grade Band
Instrument demonstrations will be held on Thursday, September 3rd and a Band
Open House (instrument rental night) will be held the following Wednesday
evening, September 9, at 7:15PM. Even if you can’t attend the open house,
there will still be plenty of time to get students into this group. I will
haveplenty of extra rental forms for those who cannot attend the instrumental
rental night activities. Fourth Grade band lessons will begin the next
day,on Thursday, September 10th and they will occur nearly every week unless
otherwise scheduled. Please feel free to contact me to discuss your
students needs or questions.
5th Grade Band
Full band and class lessons for 5th graders begin on Friday, September
11th, 2009. Parents of any 5th graders who haven’t been playing an
instrument and who want to begin playing an instrument this year should
contact me to discuss their possible involvement in band. I will schedule
special sessions for these students to help them catch up with their
classmates. Generally, these 5th graders should be able catch up with their
peers by mid-
year and will subsequently join the 5th Grade Band when ready.
Junior High Band
The junior high band begins meeting on Tuesday, September 8th, and will be
hard at work picking up where we left off in June. Again, we will be
playing lots of interesting and challenging music. If there is enough
interest, we will start a jazz band for junior high students which will meet
outside the regular schedule at a time that works out best for all
involved. As in the past, we’ll have lots of excellent concert and jazz
band music for our students to practice, rehearse, and perform.
There are some opportunities for junior high students to excel outside of
the classroom environment. I will be auditioning students for participation
in up to three or four events sponsored by the New Hampshire Music Educators
organization. These include the NH Middle Level Honors Band (audition
tape), Southeast NH Music Festival, and Solo and Ensemble Festival (Plymouth
State University in February).
Depending on the progress our bands make, we will explore other performing
opportunities, in and outside the school environment. Plans are in the
works for our students to play in a music festival or two in the spring,
including the Elementary/Middle School Sharing Festival, and/or the New
Hampshire Music Educators Association Large Group Festival. There is a good
chance that the junior high band will travel to play in the Great East
Festival at either Six Flags New England or Canobie Lake Park. I am
collaborating with the Rye Junior High Music Teacher to possibly combine our
Junior High Band with the Rye Band (and any other Grade 6-8 band students
in SAU-50) to form a district festival band for the Great East Festival.
I'll keep you posted on this project.
In conjunction with our School Theme for this year, "Service to Others", we
may take some of our soloists and small ensembles to play for the elderly
and/or disabled of our local community. We are planning to again march in
the Portsmouth Holiday Parade, this year on Saturday evening, December 5th,
2009. We had a great time preparing for this event last year and the results
were stunning. There is also a possibility of participating in a Memorial
Day event, possibility marching in a short parade in Greenland. Mrs. Pratt
and I have been discussing this with various town leaders and with our school
leadership. More to follow.
Again, I am pleased to be returning as your instrumental music director and
I look forward to meeting and working with each of you during the school
year. If you have any comments or suggestions, or would like to help out,
please contact me through the office, at 431-6723, ext. 418, or at
ryoung@sau50.org.
