Stuart High School Bands

email sent 3/8:

CONGRATULATIONS to the Stuart bands for their fantastic performances at this past weekend's District Band Festival!  Both Concert Band & Wind Ensemble received ratings of "Superior," the highest rating available.  Actually, both groups received Superior ratings from ALL of the judges, AND Stuart is the only school in the district to have multiple bands receive superior ratings without taking the "snow option" of playing only two selections instead of the normally-required three.  Considering the historic, school-disrupting snow we had, as well as my own absence during the entire month of December, the bands' achievement level is completely remarkable.  When you add on the complexity and maturity of the music the bands played, it becomes nothing short of astonishing.  They were great, and we should all be very, very proud.  Huge congratulations to every member of the band program, especially our seniors, who have performed at such a high level these last four years.  We are very proud of you.

Now then!  What next?  Well, there's still plenty of school year to go, and lots of great music-making to come!  Here's what's ahead:
*The Marching Raiders' appearance at the National Memorial Day Parade
*Spring trip to NYC
*Spring Concert (now FINALLY confirmed to be on June 7) & Jazz Night
*Solo & Ensemble Festival
*Auditions, the end-of-year picnic, and other activities leading up to next school year
...and who knows what else?

Below, as always in these e-newsletters, is the month's rundown of important dates - but I wanted to first take a moment and absorb the magnitude of the bands' achievement this past weekend, as well as take a quick glance at all the exciting stuff still left to do this year.  So: Congratulations!  Now: let's go make some more great music!

~

JEB STUART HS RAIDER BAND
Visit our website! raiderband.org
____________________________________________
After-school rehearsals:
Jazz Band: Monday 3/15, 22: 2:20 - 3:50
Wind Ensemble: Wednesday 3/17, 24: 6:00 - 8:00.
Concert Band: Thursday 3/18, 25: 2:15-3:30.
Reminder: these rehearsals are required for all students in each ensemble and are a part of the grade.

Spring Trip - all payments should be in, totaling $560.  Get in touch with me with any questions.  Detailed trip packet coming soon.

Nine Weeks Projects - due no later than April 9!

Our next band booster meeting is not until Wednesday, April 14 at 8:00. Hope to see you there!

 

email sent 3/1:

JEB STUART HS RAIDER BAND
Visit our website! raiderband.org
____________________________________________
(watch for another email coming soon covering the rest of March)
There is a band booster meeting TOMORROW, Tuesday, March 2 at 7:00. There is some VERY important information we will be reviewing at this meeting, and (as always) the meeting will still be under an hour - hope to see LOTS of you there!
As an FCPS employee using school resources (this email address), I am permitted to provide factual information regarding the current budget situation - the funding request submitted by FCPS to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is currently slated to be underfunded by about $100 million. If this ends up being the final number, a number of cuts into a number of FCPS programs will be necessary. More information is available from other sources.

Playing quizzes are due by the end of the school day TODAY, but will be accepted for reduced credit through Friday. Wind Ensemble must do the Persichetti via SmartMusic.
District Festival is this weekend! You've received the times already, but Wind Ensemble's performance has been bumped to a bit earlier in the day - see below for details. Hope to see lots of people in the audience! We're also in need of a little parent help this weekend - more details at Tuesday night's meeting.
Finally, if you're hoping to participate in the Solo & Ensemble Festival on April 17, I need your money NO LATER THAN the end of the day Wednesday.

2010 DISTRICT FESTIVAL INFO

District Festival is being held this year at South County SS. All students are to take the buses to and from SCSS – any other arrangement requires a signed note from a parent.

CONCERT BAND (Friday March 5)
Bring socks/shoes, tux shirt, etc. to school Friday morning if you’re not going home after school
Report to band room NO LATER THAN 4:00 PM
dress, get instrument, music, etc.; load buses
depart by 4:30 PM
arrive at SCSS, warm-up
performance is at 7:00 PM
back to Stuart approximately 9:00 PM

WIND ENSEMBLE (Saturday March 6) UPDATED TIMES !!
report to band room NO LATER THAN 11:15 AM
dress, get instrument, music, etc.; load buses
depart by 11:45 AM
arrive SCSS, warm-up
performance is at 2:00 PM
back to Stuart approximately 4:00 PM

 

from email sent 2/22:

The final trip payment is $160, due March 1. That makes the trip total cost $560 - LESS than we projected!

Playing quiz email address: raiderbandmp3s@gmail.com - do NOT try to send them to director@raiderband.org or any fcps.edu address - it will not work, and it won't tell you that it didn't work.

Doug Martin
Director of Bands
Stuart High School
3301 Peace Valley Lane
Falls Church, VA 22044
Phone (703) 824-3971
Fax (703) 824-3997
raiderband.org