Curricular Band Program Handbook A Guide for Students and Parents

2016-2017 Curricular Band Program Handbook A Guide for Students and Parents INSTRUCTOR Joel P. Galway, Director of Bands, B.M. in Music Education, Instrumental Emphasis, Magna Cum Laude, West Virginia University. Additional graduate studies completed at Shenandoah University, University of the Arts, and University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. ACCESSING INFORMATION 1. www.lcps.org/fhs > click on Faculty > click on Galway, Joel. Start here if you need to find information. 2. https://classroom.google.com Class assignments, recordings, and other items needed for class. Enrollment codes are listed below: Period 2A Concert Percussion Ensemble: wnmc5r8 Period 3A Jazz Ensemble: r1wwjxr Period 4A Concert Band: wbu3k6 Period 7B Symphonic Percussion Ensemble: f1hk49 Period 8B Wind Symphony: 59ua6b 3. www.charmsoffice.com Logistical/clerical information such as the calendar, inventory, and payments. 4. www.freedombandboosters.org Primarily for parent sign-ups, news, photos, and other media. 5. ParentVUE Online gradebook access. You will be provided with a login by Freedom High School. MISSION STATEMENT The mission of the Freedom High School Band Program is to make a positive difference in the lives of band members by providing musical experiences and performances, and to assist members in achieving their fullest potential as they develop self-confidence, cooperation, leadership, responsibility, and high standards of excellence and character. COURSE OVERVIEW Percussion Ensemble (Instrumental Methods) Periods 2A and 7B Consists of intermediate and advanced level percussionists. Areas of focus include snare drum, keyboard percussion, timpani, and accessory percussion technique. Members also serve as the percussion sections for the Concert Band and Wind Symphony. Repertoire includes symphonic wind band, percussion ensemble, and solo literature. Jazz Ensemble Period 3A Consists of advanced level saxophone, trumpet, trombone, piano, bass, guitar, and drum set players. Members are selected by audition. Areas of focus include development of improvisational skills. Repertoire includes advanced level jazz literature in swing, ballad, Latin, funk, and rock styles. Concert Band (Concert Band 1) Period 4A Consists of intermediate level brass and woodwind players. Areas of focus include development of individual technique, ensemble skills, and music reading ability. Repertoire includes intermediate level symphonic wind literature. Wind Symphony (Concert Band 2) Period 8B Consists of advanced level brass, woodwind, and percussion players. Members are selected by audition. Areas of focus include development of individual technique, ensemble skills, and music reading ability. Repertoire includes advanced level symphonic wind literature. As indicated in the LCPS Program of Studies, band classes are co-curricular ensembles and performances and rehearsals outside regular school hours are required and graded. FREEDOM HIGH SCHOOL BAND HANDBOOK - Page 1

CLASSROOM RULES Rules 1. Follow directions the first time they are given. 2. Be in the room before the bell rings and be ready to play no more than three minutes after the late bell. 3. Bring your instrument, music, supplies, and pencil to class daily. 4. Avoid behavior that disrupts the learning environment. 5. Do not use electronic devices unless directed to do so. 6. Do not touch or play anything that does not belong to you unless you have permission. 7. Do not chew gum, eat, or drink anything other than water during rehearsal. 8. All equipment must be properly put away at the end of rehearsal. Consequences 1. Warning 2. Detention/Parents Contacted 3. Referral to Administration CLASSROOM PROCEDURES Dropping off instruments in the morning The band room will be open at 8:15 AM each morning. You may place your instrument in any available cubby in the storage room which will remain secure throughout the school day. Instruments cases must be stored in the cubbies and not on the floor. Do not use the instrument storage room as a locker. Store your coat, lunch, books, etc. in your actual locker. Storing a change of clothing for marching band practice is OK. No food of any kind can be stored in the Instrument Storage Room. Using the restroom/passes One student at a time is permitted to leave the room with a pass. Students are not permitted in the hallway without a pass. The pass must be filled out when leaving and returning. Injured/Too sick to play If you are too sick to play or have an injury that prohibits playing your instrument, bring in a note from a doctor or parent, or have a parent email Mr. Galway. If you are unable to play for more than two class periods, an alternative assignment will be given so the learning process does not stagnate. In-class distractions Students are not permitted to do homework, read, use electronic devices, or engage in any other non-musical activities during band class unless directed to do so. Electronic devices must be kept out of sight during class, not placed on your music stand. Forgot your instrument Since you cannot effectively participate in class without your instrument, this is considered a disciplinary infraction. Once is a warning. Subsequent infractions will result in detention, parents contacted, and/or an administrative referral. Students without an instrument are expected to sit in their regular seat and participate in rehearsal as best as possible. Doing homework for other classes is not permitted. Instrument is broken and being repaired Bring your mouthpiece, reeds, and other supplies. The school has backup instruments you can use. Even better, request a loaner from the repair facility. Forgot your music, reed, etc. We have extras students can borrow. Please ask before class begins. Reeds can be purchased for a nominal charge ($3-5 depending on the size). If you are borrowing materials daily, this will be considered a disciplinary infraction. When class ends Students will be given three (3) minutes at the end of class to pack up and clean up. Return your instrument to the storage room, percussion supplies to their proper storage locations, and music to the folder cabinets. Remain in the band room (not the band room foyer or the hallway) until the bell rings. Practice rooms Practice rooms are strictly for practice of music, not for socializing. Students doing non-musical things will be asked to leave. Practice rooms will be kept locked when not in use. FREEDOM HIGH SCHOOL BAND HANDBOOK - Page 2

Study Hall If you wish to come in to practice during your study hall period, obtain a pass from Mr. Galway in advance. Never assume you are allowed to come unless you have a pass. If Mr. Galway is absent from school, students are not permitted to come to the band room for study hall. Students coming in during study hall are required to practice music. Students doing non-musical things will be sent back to study hall. Lunch periods Students must eat lunch in the cafeteria and are not allowed to spend lunch periods in the band room or practice rooms. INSTRUMENTS Most students will supply their own instrument for classroom use: Student-owned instruments must be kept in good state of repair. If a repair is needed, it must be taken care of promptly. Please ask for a loaner instrument from the repair facility. If a loaner is not available, a school-owned loaner instrument might be available so please bring your mouthpiece, reeds, etc. to class. Students are expected to use a quality mouthpiece, reed, and ligature. Reed players must keep reeds in a case and must have 4 working reeds at all times. Students can store instruments in the Instrument Storage Room during the school day, but leaving instruments at the school overnight is not recommended unless you have an instrument to use at home for practice-only. Freedom High School is not responsible for loss or damage to student-owned instruments and we cannot guarantee of instruments left at school overnight. Your instrument case must be clearly marked with your name. School-owned instruments are available on a first-come, first-served basis: As per LCPS policy, the rental cost for school instruments is $100 per year. The purpose of the rental fee is to cover the cost of maintenance and repair. Checks should be made payable to Freedom High School. An Instrument Rental Agreement form must be filled out upon issuance. Students using a school-owned will be required to provide their own mouthpiece and supplies. Fees can be waived in the following circumstances: o Financial hardship. Please contact Mr. Galway for further details. o The student owns his/her own instrument but is placed on a different instrument at the request of the director. Percussion instruments: Percussion instruments, sticks, mallets, and practice pads are available for in-class use. Percussionists must have access to a snare drum (or practice pad), mallet instrument, and personal sticks and mallets for home practice. These items do not need to be brought to school. Percussion students are expected to treat all school-owned percussion equipment with extreme care. Students who mistreat school-owned property will be held financially responsible for repair or replacement. Rhythm section instruments for Jazz Ensemble: The school has instruments and equipment available for in-school use. The school will also provide wires for you to plug into an amplifier. Wires must be returned to the spool after use. SUPPLIES, STUDENT-PROVIDED Everyone Instrument and supplies, as outlined in the section above. Pencil BYOT: Bring Your Own Technology will be used in band classes to complete the following tasks: o Complete in-class written assignments o Record individual playing assessments to submit for grading o Keep a calendar containing due dates and upcoming rehearsals and concerts o Use as a metronome and/or tuner when applicable Parts of Concert Attire, listed in the next section. Concert Percussion Period 2 Jazz Ensemble Period 3 Concert Band Period 4 The Mallet Player s Toolbox by John R. Hearnes ($15.00) Volume 54: Maiden Voyage by Jamey Aebersold ($15.90) Tradition of Excellence Technique & Musicianship by Bruce Pearson and Ryan Nowlin ($6.99) Fourteen Weeks to a Better Band Book 1 by Roger Maxwell ($4.00) FREEDOM HIGH SCHOOL BAND HANDBOOK - Page 3

Symphonic Percussion Period 7 Wind Symphony Period 8 Five Minute Drill by Ralph Hicks Tradition of Excellence Technique and Eric Rath ($16.00) & Musicianship by Bruce Pearson and Ryan Nowlin ($6.99) Fourteen Weeks to a Better Band Book 2 by Roger Maxwell ($4.50) SUPPLIES, SCHOOL-PROVIDED All method books can be purchased through the Freedom High School Band Boosters. Pay online via Charms or by check made payable to FHS Band Boosters. Music Folder, Sheet Music, and School-Owned Method Books Music folders, original copies of sheet music, and school-owned method books are the property of Freedom High School. These are considered your textbooks for band and should be treated with the same level of care as any other school textbook. Keep your music in your school-issued music folder. Do not keep your music in your case, in a paper folder, or in your backpack. Store your folder in the folder cabinets when not in use, not in the instrument storage room. Do not fold, tear, or mutilate music. Use a pencil when marking music. Music must be taken home daily for home practice. Take your entire folder home. Students will be held financially responsible for lost or damaged school-owned property. Concert Attire Ladies Men Black concert top (school-provided) Black tuxedo (school-provided) Black concert skirt (school-provided) White wing-collar tuxedo shirt (student-provided). Plain black dress flats or pumps (student-provided). No sneakers or flip flops. Please note: these are different from the tuxedo shirts used at Lunsford Middle School. Orders will be taken for Jewelry should be limited to small earrings. Please do tuxedo shirts in late September/early October. not wear a necklace. Plain black dress shoes (student-provided). No sneakers or flip flops. Black socks that completely cover the ankle (studentprovided). School-Owned Concert Attire Guidelines School-owned concert attire is the property of Freedom High School. Loss, damage, or failing to dry-clean schoolowned concert attire will be the financial responsibility of the student. School-owned concert attire may be altered without cutting any part of the garments. Most skirts and pants will need to be hemmed prior to wearing. Please make sure you take care of this prior to the first performance. Always store the garments on a hanger. This will eliminate the need for constant pressing. Concert attire must be pressed prior to each performance. To avoid constant pressing, see above. It is the students responsibility to keep school-owned concert attire clean. Tuxedos must be dry cleaned; dresses should be washed according to the directions on the label. Before turning in school-owned garments, the garments must be cleaned. Tuxedos must be dry cleaned and concert tops/skirts need to be washed according to the label. GRADING Students will be assessed on their mastery of the Virginia Standards of Learning for music. The standards can be found here: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/fine_arts/2013/music/std_finearts_music.pdf Concert Band and Concert Percussion Ensemble are Intermediate-level classes. The High School Instrumental Music, Intermediate Level standards will be used for assessment. Wind Symphony, Symphonic Percussion, and Jazz Ensemble are advanced-level classes. The High School Instrumental Music, Advanced Level standards will be used for assessment. All grading is based on point accumulation acquired through assessments, performances, and rehearsals completed throughout the grading period. Assessments: Assessments will be used to assess mastery of a wide variety of musical skills and state standards: Musical Performance o Assess mastery of the assigned homework and concert literature. o Will be conducted approximately every sixth class period on the material covered previously. o Will be conducted in class, submitted via recording, or a combination of the two. It is highly recommended that students experiment with ways to record musical performance on your BYOT device. The recording in.mp3 (preferred),.m4a, or.wav format can then be sent to Mr. Galway through the Google Classroom web site. FREEDOM HIGH SCHOOL BAND HANDBOOK - Page 4

Written Assessments o Used to assess the students mastery of music theory concepts and listening/reflection. Students can retake assessments for a higher grade one time per assessment as long as the following criteria are met: Retakes must be completed within two weeks of the date of the original assessment, or before the end of the grading period, whichever is sooner. If the assessment contains performance literature, the retake must be completed prior to the performance. Performances: As a co-curricular ensemble, performances outside of regular school hours are required as stated in the LCPS Program of Studies and the Virginia Standards of Learning. By signing up for a band class, you have made a commitment to attend all performances. Extreme special circumstances for missing a performance or extra rehearsal must be discussed with the director at least two weeks in advance. Students on school sports teams must bring potential conflicts to the director s attention as soon as they are known. In the case of emergency situations (personal illness, death in the family, etc.), a parent must contact the director by phone or email to explain the circumstances. Should a student miss a performance for a director-approved reason, a make-up assignment must be completed in order to receive credit. The make-up assignment must be completed within two weeks of the missed performance. Students are required to stay for the entire concert in order to receive full credit and are not permitted to leave/show up only for their portion of the performance. Rehearsals: Just like performances, rehearsals outside regular school hours are required as stated in the LCPS Program of Studies. The purposes for extra rehearsals are: o To combine winds with percussion. o To add personnel from other band classes to fill out instrumentation. o To accurately gauge the way the band will sound at the upcoming performance. o To correct full ensemble issues (balance, blend, timing, matching, etc.) Excused absences from rehearsal include: o Personal illness (a note or email from a parent is required). o Family Emergency (a note or email from a parent is required). o Conflict with a school sports team game. For practices, speak with Mr. Galway first. Please note that this does not include non-school community, travel, or club sports teams. o Required event for another school activity. Examples include science fair, DECA tournament, etc. Please communicate the need for absence to Mr. Galway at least one week in advance. Should a student miss a rehearsal for an excused reason approved by the director, a make-up assignment must be completed in order to receive credit. FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS The financial obligation for all band members is $40. Your $40 fee will cover the following expenses: Concert attire rental Bus transportation to performances off school campus Fine Arts T-Shirt Instructors End-of-year awards You can either raise your $40 share by participating in fundraisers, pay via check made payable to Freedom High School Band Boosters, or pay online through the Charms web site. The due date will be in late September. Fundraisers Tag Day: Tag Day is our largest fundraiser of the year. For Tag Day, parent volunteers drive students into the community and members in small groups go door to door to solicit donations. Lots of parent volunteers are needed for this event. If you are able to help, please visit www.freedombandboosters.org and sign up on the Sign-Up Genius link. Individual Account Fundraising: The Freedom High School Band Boosters offers fundraisers for students to earn funds for their individual student account. This account can be used to cover the $40 fee, or can be accumulated to be used for future band expenses such as Marching Band or trips. Students can check their account balance for their individual student account by emailing the Band Boosters Treasurer at treasurer@freedombandboosters.org Participation in Individual Account Fundraisers is completely optional. BAND BOOSTERS Freedom Band Boosters is a tax-exempt organization dedicated to supporting the band program at Freedom High School. Parents of Freedom students in the band program are automatically members of the Band Boosters. This is a volunteer organization that supports the entire band program. FREEDOM HIGH SCHOOL BAND HANDBOOK - Page 5

Support activities include raising money to provide equipment and fund teaching staff not provided by Loudoun County. The Boosters provide countless hours of volunteer support including trip chaperones, uniform maintenance, providing refreshments and logistical support moving the bands. There is always a job to be done to support the band program. Parents: The best way to become involved with the bands' many activities is to become active in the Band Boosters. All band parents are invited to come to Band Boosters meetings which are held once per month, usually on the second Monday of the month, from 7:00 8:30 PM in the band room. There are occasionally a few exceptions with the dates - please check the calendar at www.freedombandboosters.org Attending meetings is the best way to find out what is going on with the bands, what our future plans are, and where the band program is heading. The Band Boosters helps decide how fundraising will be done, and has input into how the money will be spent. Please come and find out what is going on with all of the FHS bands and how YOU can get involved! There is always a lot to be done, and help is always appreciated. OPPORTUNITIES BEYOND THE CLASSROOM All Freedom High School Band members are encouraged to pursue musical opportunities beyond the classroom. These opportunities include: Private Lessons - The average tutored student outperforms ninety-eight percent of students taught only under standard classroom group instruction. - Harry K. Wong, renowned education expert. Most, if not all All-District, All-Regional, and All-Virginia band members study privately. If you are even remotely considering majoring in music or continuing with music in college, private lessons are a must. Private lessons make playing an instrument far more enjoyable because success fosters appreciation. It s more fun to be really, really good at something than it is to struggle. If you are interested in studying privately, talk to the director for recommendations. If you want to be the best musician you can be, private lessons can make it happen! Spirit of Freedom Marching Band - This award-winning group is a co-curricular ensemble that performs at home football games, local parades, and regional marching band competitions. Rehearsals begin in early August and conclude at the end of the football season (late October-early November). Membership is open to any Freedom High School musician. Members do not need to be enrolled in a band class in order to participate. Jazz Lab Jazz Lab is open to any student who is interested in learning how to play Jazz Music and is highly recommended for students considering taking the Jazz Ensemble class. The Jazz Lab rehearses one day per week after Marching Band season and performs at our annual Jazz Cabaret. Winterguard - The Spirit of Freedom Winterguard is a co-curricular activity open to any Freedom High School student who is interested in dance and movement. Membership is highly selective with auditions being held in November. Rehearsals begin in late November/early December and the competitive season runs through late March/early April. Rehearsals are held several times per week. The group performs at Atlantic Indoor Association and WGI competitions held on Saturdays. Indoor Drumline - The Freedom Indoor Drumline is a co-curricular activity open to any Freedom High School musician who plays drums or keyboard percussion. Membership is highly selective with auditions being held in November. Rehearsals begin in late November/early December and the competitive season runs through late March/early April. Rehearsals are held several times per week. The group performs at Atlantic Indoor Association and WGI competitions held on Saturdays. Senior Regional Orchestra - The All-Regional Orchestra consists of the finest wind, percussion, and string players in the North Central Virginia region. Auditions are typically held in September and consist of the previous year s All-Virginia etude and scale/rudiment requirements. The event is typically held in early November. Students who make this ensemble qualify to audition for All-Virginia Band and Orchestra. All-Virginia Jazz Ensemble - The auditions are held in late September, early October. If selected, participants will perform at the Virginia Music Educators Conference in November. All-District Band - The All-District Band is made up of the finest Loudoun County instrumentalists. Auditions are held in January and consist of scales/rudiments (All-Virginia requirements), sight-reading, and a prepared etude. The event takes place in February. Students who earn high chairs in All-District qualify to audition for All-Virginia Band and Orchestra. All-District Jazz Ensemble - The All-District Jazz Ensemble consists of Loudoun County s finest jazz musicians. Auditions are held in mid-february and consist of a prepared selection and improvisation. If selected, students are expected to attend 6 evening rehearsals and perform at the District Jazz Festival held in late April. FREEDOM HIGH SCHOOL BAND HANDBOOK - Page 6

All-Virginia Band and Orchestra - The All-Virginia Band and Orchestra consists of the finest students in Virginia. Auditions are held in late February and the performance takes place in early April. Auditions consist of scales/rudiments, sight-reading, and a prepared selection. Students qualify to audition for All-Virginia by making the Senior Regional Orchestra or placing into a high chair in the All-District Band. District Solo & Ensemble Assessment - The District Solo & Ensemble Festival is held in April. All band members are encouraged to prepare a solo, form a duet, trio, quartet, etc. and participate in this exciting event. Let s have a great year! FREEDOM HIGH SCHOOL BAND HANDBOOK - Page 7