What Happened?
I don't know what happened, how it happened, or why it happened. Yesterday morning, I received numerous phone calls, e-mails, and questions about why we were not doing the homecoming parade and game. Apparently, someone (I have no idea who) told a group of parents that we had a competition and were not participating in the homecoming. They said that we are a competition band, needed the competition and were not going to homecoming. Nothing could be more inaccurate. Homecoming is a major priority, the parade, the game, and everything associated with it. With every fiber in my being, we would be at homecoming. I never in any way, shape, or form, indicated that we were missing any of the homecoming activities. I don't know how this rumor got started and was propelled around. The website roslynband.com has the homecoming parade and game down and always has.
Breakdown of the events.
Just before band camp, I was told that the homecoming had been moved to October 13th. I immediately contacted Walt Whitman to find out when their show was. Upon receiving notification that the show was at night, I decided that we would remain in that show since it didn't conflict at all with our new homecoming parade and game. Had the competition been in the afternoon, we would have pulled out immediately. It is a no-brainer. In fact, in 25 years of running marching bands, I have never even scheduled a competition on Homecoming Weekend. The only reason I left this one in was because we had committed to doing it, and it didn't conflict at all. In addition we have enough competitions to qualify for the dome without that competition. That was another rumor that I heard, that we needed that competition to qualify. Once again, misinformation.
Marching Band and the Community.
Last night, after the BOE meeting I heard that another rumor was circulating that the band does not support the community. This is the third time I heard this comment in two days. What band are they talking about? We have done all the home games, pep bands, community parades and events, as well as anything we have been asked to do. We had planned on doing the "Friday Night Lights" this year. Last year we couldn't get it together in a week, but we added it to our schedule for this year and from now on we will proudly do it. The community is the most important entity to our school. The Roslyn Marching Band has continued to support the sports program and the entire school district whenever called upon. I don't know how this rumor got started either.
Read the Website.
Any of these rumors could have been totally banished by simply reading the roslynband.com website. We are getting 150 hits a day, so somebody is definitely reading it.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Division Ave Show Wrap Up
The Recap
What can I say! We did it! We accomplished our goal for the week, to win the class and to beat bands we never beat before. It was a beautiful day, perfect weather for a marching band competition and it ended up great for us, scoring above 70 at our first show. I can remember a few years ago where we wouldn't even touch that number until the end of the season. I am so proud of all of you! The colorguard stepped up and got it done, the impacts were more powerful than last week, and the confidence was way up! Great Job Roslyn!!!
The Scoop
Now to the nitty gritty! We had five breakdowns, that is, places where the band was not together. That is definitely a major issue. Fortunately, our General Effect Visual and General Effect Music scores were high enough to keep us in the first position. In terms of the other 4 judges, we were behind in Field music, Ensemble music, Field Visual, and tied in ensemble visual. In order to maintain our status we must once again, keep practicing. The field music judge told me in the post contest meeting that people were coming in and out, playing some portions and not playing other portions of the music. This is due to people not having their parts down. Everyone must practice, I cannot stress this enough! As far as the breakdowns are concerned, once again, band members do not know their parts well enough. Also, the band members must understand their responsibilities playing their music, marching, and keeping together. The center of pulse must be shifted as we discussed in rehearsals. Right now, our show is off at times which is not acceptable as we get into the season. We caught a pass on it this week but if we don't lock up our tempos and stay together, our 1st place position will be short lived! We will be working exclusively on locking up our tempos this week. And now onto the last thing, the volume. For a band our size, we should be twice as loud as we were today. It was better than last week but still not rivetting! We must do that without overblowing. Once again, parts not down well enough. Let's practice and get these problems taken care of! The judges loved the show, the concept, the energy, and understood everything we were trying to convey to the audience. We just need to be cleaner, tighter, and more musical. All these things will be reached through individual practice at home.
The Weekly Goal
Our goal is not only to maintain our lead on Long Island Small School 2 class but to create a spread underneath us. We want to get better, cleaner, more powerful, and more together, thus generating a more exciting show. We want to win the class at the dome, pure and simple. Our goal is lofty, but we can do it. This week we just took a step closer to becoming Champions! After this weekend, we are a force to be reckoned with, and everyone on Long Island knows it! Let's push ahead!
What can I say! We did it! We accomplished our goal for the week, to win the class and to beat bands we never beat before. It was a beautiful day, perfect weather for a marching band competition and it ended up great for us, scoring above 70 at our first show. I can remember a few years ago where we wouldn't even touch that number until the end of the season. I am so proud of all of you! The colorguard stepped up and got it done, the impacts were more powerful than last week, and the confidence was way up! Great Job Roslyn!!!
The Scoop
Now to the nitty gritty! We had five breakdowns, that is, places where the band was not together. That is definitely a major issue. Fortunately, our General Effect Visual and General Effect Music scores were high enough to keep us in the first position. In terms of the other 4 judges, we were behind in Field music, Ensemble music, Field Visual, and tied in ensemble visual. In order to maintain our status we must once again, keep practicing. The field music judge told me in the post contest meeting that people were coming in and out, playing some portions and not playing other portions of the music. This is due to people not having their parts down. Everyone must practice, I cannot stress this enough! As far as the breakdowns are concerned, once again, band members do not know their parts well enough. Also, the band members must understand their responsibilities playing their music, marching, and keeping together. The center of pulse must be shifted as we discussed in rehearsals. Right now, our show is off at times which is not acceptable as we get into the season. We caught a pass on it this week but if we don't lock up our tempos and stay together, our 1st place position will be short lived! We will be working exclusively on locking up our tempos this week. And now onto the last thing, the volume. For a band our size, we should be twice as loud as we were today. It was better than last week but still not rivetting! We must do that without overblowing. Once again, parts not down well enough. Let's practice and get these problems taken care of! The judges loved the show, the concept, the energy, and understood everything we were trying to convey to the audience. We just need to be cleaner, tighter, and more musical. All these things will be reached through individual practice at home.
The Weekly Goal
Our goal is not only to maintain our lead on Long Island Small School 2 class but to create a spread underneath us. We want to get better, cleaner, more powerful, and more together, thus generating a more exciting show. We want to win the class at the dome, pure and simple. Our goal is lofty, but we can do it. This week we just took a step closer to becoming Champions! After this weekend, we are a force to be reckoned with, and everyone on Long Island knows it! Let's push ahead!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)