This Saturday, the marching band will participate in the Birmingham Groves Marching Band Invitational at Groves HS. Band members must arrive at 5:30 PM, put their cases and coats in the coat room, and be outside to warm-up with the band at 6:00 PM. At 6:45 PM, there will be a parade of bands around the track, the playing of the national anthem, and then our band will perform first at 7:00 PM.
Here is a link to directions to Groves HS from Berkley:
http://www.mapquest.com/mq/10-u0y34bI8fwja1I6l
It should be fun. We will get to see both the Southfield and Southfield Lathrup bands, which always put on a good show. Hope to see everyone there!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Andover Invitational Reminder
This is a just a reminder that the Andover Invitational is this Saturday at Andover High School in Bloomfield Hills. Students must have their own transportation to the site (no busing). Here is a link to directions to the school:
http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Berkley&1s=MI&1z=48072&1y=US&1l=42.4978&1g=-83.1826&1v=ZIP&2c=Bloomfield+Hills&2s=MI&2a=[4150-4198]+Andover+Rd&2z=48302&2pn=Andover+High+School&2y=US&2l=42.5795&2g=-83.2846&2v=STREET&r=s
Students must arrive between 6:15 and 6:30 PM and should gather near the front circle drive at Andover. You should of course be in full uniform, and please remember to take your instrument home with you on Saturday night.
Tickets cost $5 for adults and $3 for kids. If you want a ticket, they will be available at tonight's trip meeting, or you can see an instrumental booster tomorrow night at the home football game, or when you arrive on Saturday.
This invitational should be great--participating bands include Lahser HS, Troy HS, Dakota HS, Waterford Kettering HS, Utica Eisenhower HS, and Birmingham Groves HS.
http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Berkley&1s=MI&1z=48072&1y=US&1l=42.4978&1g=-83.1826&1v=ZIP&2c=Bloomfield+Hills&2s=MI&2a=[4150-4198]+Andover+Rd&2z=48302&2pn=Andover+High+School&2y=US&2l=42.5795&2g=-83.2846&2v=STREET&r=s
Students must arrive between 6:15 and 6:30 PM and should gather near the front circle drive at Andover. You should of course be in full uniform, and please remember to take your instrument home with you on Saturday night.
Tickets cost $5 for adults and $3 for kids. If you want a ticket, they will be available at tonight's trip meeting, or you can see an instrumental booster tomorrow night at the home football game, or when you arrive on Saturday.
This invitational should be great--participating bands include Lahser HS, Troy HS, Dakota HS, Waterford Kettering HS, Utica Eisenhower HS, and Birmingham Groves HS.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
BHS Marching Band: Week 1 (BHS vs. Lahser HS)
Last night we had our first home game as Berkley played Lahser. It was a bit odd, because normally everyone kind of accepts that our team won't be dominant. This year, though, Berkley had won the opener, Lahser had lost theirs, and Local Channel 4 made us the Football Frenzy game of the year. Excitement in the air, right? Playoffs? I told the band at practice that if we won the State championship, I'd shave my head.
Well, the game didn't go as well as anyone in Berkley had hoped. And actually, we weren't completely surprised, since a prominent source close to the team told me beforehand how the game would likely end up. After the team held Lahser to a scoreless first quarter, they routed us 44-0. See the pictures, here:
http://studentandathlete.com/sa_football_lahser_0905.htm
The band on the other hand, did a good job for its first week out. I couldn't believe the reaction from the student section. Normally, I expect the band parents to dig the show no matter what. But the student section is tough. At my high school, not only would they completely ignore us (and we had 240 kids in the band!), they would often taunt us and even throw pennies at us. The Berkley kids, though, usually show us some love: singing along with our stands' tunes, clapping for us. But this was different last night. Kids were up out of their seats, let out big cheers when I announced the songs, and responded to the on-field visuals well (when the band swayed during "Piano Man," they swayed, too).
Next Friday we'll have the whole show on the field (we have one song, "American Pie," yet to add), and we'll have cleaned up all our little errors. That's right--we made a lot of little mistakes. But they were the kind that only I notice. Hopefully, we'll also have a few injured members back. For crying out loud, the amount of wrapped ankles in the band is crazy. Who knew marching band was as dangerous as it is.
We also head to Andover HS for their "Early Bird" invitational on Saturday evening. It can be both really cool and, I think, intimidating for some of the kids. They get to see how they stack up against area bands, some of whom are competitive bands with huge budgets (Troy).
More pictures to come from band camp...
Well, the game didn't go as well as anyone in Berkley had hoped. And actually, we weren't completely surprised, since a prominent source close to the team told me beforehand how the game would likely end up. After the team held Lahser to a scoreless first quarter, they routed us 44-0. See the pictures, here:
http://studentandathlete.com/sa_football_lahser_0905.htm
The band on the other hand, did a good job for its first week out. I couldn't believe the reaction from the student section. Normally, I expect the band parents to dig the show no matter what. But the student section is tough. At my high school, not only would they completely ignore us (and we had 240 kids in the band!), they would often taunt us and even throw pennies at us. The Berkley kids, though, usually show us some love: singing along with our stands' tunes, clapping for us. But this was different last night. Kids were up out of their seats, let out big cheers when I announced the songs, and responded to the on-field visuals well (when the band swayed during "Piano Man," they swayed, too).
Next Friday we'll have the whole show on the field (we have one song, "American Pie," yet to add), and we'll have cleaned up all our little errors. That's right--we made a lot of little mistakes. But they were the kind that only I notice. Hopefully, we'll also have a few injured members back. For crying out loud, the amount of wrapped ankles in the band is crazy. Who knew marching band was as dangerous as it is.
We also head to Andover HS for their "Early Bird" invitational on Saturday evening. It can be both really cool and, I think, intimidating for some of the kids. They get to see how they stack up against area bands, some of whom are competitive bands with huge budgets (Troy).
More pictures to come from band camp...
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Virtuosity
If you are one of my students, check out this video and come tell me what it's about. If you do so, I'll give you extra credit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-jDld11jhw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-jDld11jhw&feature=related
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