I didn't want to make these winter rehearsals mandatory. We had pretty good attendance at the first one, about 130 out of 150 came. The second and third rehearsal was less due to the RCP show rehearsals. Being the flexible, understanding, band director I am, I told the RCP people to go home and rest, understanding how tired they were from the late nights before the show. Then tonight, we only had a handful of people who went away and had a very low showing with a total of 72, about half of the band. Then we did something we have NEVER done here with the Roslyn Marching Band. I had the drum majors call members who were not here. Now this is the part that blew me away. Many were at home, out socializing, and/or relaxing while the other half of our band was working hard at rehearsal. Some of them were even those same people that I showed flexibility with. This is very upsetting and actually somewhat shocking. Conflicts are one thing, but deliberately relaxing is totally unacceptable, while team members are hard at work. In addition, we have some of the top teachers in the country working with us, with half the band missing. Captains were even missing, without so much as a text or an e-mail to me. So here it is, rehearsals are now mandatory. Students who miss will be out of the program. If you have a conflict I will be flexible and understanding but I will need a note. I didn't want to do this but at this point it is just not fair for people to miss one of our 10 rehearsals during the school year while others are hard at work. And it isn't even a school night.
Anyone who knows me doesn't really need me to reiterate this but I will. Captains and/or officers who blew this off without e-mailing or calling me need to do so immediately, for obvious reasons. Anyone who wants a position of leadership in the future and is blowing off rehearsals without telling me has probably lost their chance at a leadership role. Don't worry if you are on vacation, at the airport, etc. but you need to tell either Julie Clark, our President, Jenn Feldman, our CEO or myself. Captains and Officers missing need to text me, nobody else.
