Every year
All Town Band Concert
Reminder:
All Town Band Concert
This Thursday, March 3rd
Show up: 6:00pm
Burlington High School Wooden Gym
Performance: 7:00pm
Wear: White top, dark bottom
Bring: instrument, music and stand
All grades 4th-12th will perform
Burlington All-Town Band Concert
I hope you all had a very nice vacation. I hope everyone’s ready to practice because after our Winter Concert, there is little time to prepare for our Annual Burlington All-Town Band Concert. It will be in March and include all bands from every school in the town. All of the fourth graders will play together in one big band (includes Francis Wyman, Pine Glen, Fox Hill and Memorial students), while all of the 5th graders will perform together as well. We will also hear the Middle school bands (yes, including our Concert Band) and the High School will play for us also. The concert will end with a grand version of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” played by every band student in the town. We are really looking forward to this!!!! More info to follow.
Practice makes permanent.
It’s that time of year to remind students to practice their instruments. There are scales to learn and songs to perform, especially with concerts coming in January, March and May. Remember to practice small sections slowly, until you can play them up to speed. Then try adding music before and after these sections. If you just practice the entire song over and over again, chances are you are going to mess up in the same place every time. Practice does not make perfect, it makes permanent. Don’t learn those sections (the hard ones especially) permanently wrong. Take it in small sections and take it slow. Once you learn how to play it correctly, you’ll have it up to speed in no time.
Good luck! I know you can do it!
ps. Don’t forget to go to your weekly small group lessons.
Percussion students
All percussion students should be prepared with snare sticks, a practice pad and a bag to put their current and future sticks (soft mallets, etc). You can purchase these at Leonard’s Music in Bedford or National Music in Woburn or any other music store of your choice. Just ask for a “stick bag.” Click here for the link at Leonard’s Music:
All percussion students need to practice their snare drum technique, so they are expected to have a 2 sided practice pad.
Looking for Christmas presents?
As a student matures, their sound improves and they start to need better equipment. A great start is a mouthpiece. Here is a suggested list:
Burlington Public Schools – Suggested Mouthpieces by Level
Woodwinds
Clarinet – Beginner/Intermediate: Dolce
Advanced: VanDoren 5 RV Lyre Mouthpiece (not the B45)
Bass Clarinet – Beginner/Intermediate: Dolce
Advanced: Consult Private Teacher
Alto Sax – Beginner/Intermediate: Dolce (Medium Chamber) or Selmer C*
Advanced: Caravan
Tenor Sax – Beginner/Intermediate: Dolce or Selmer C*
Advanced: Caravan or Rascher
Bari Sax – Beginner/Intermediate: Dolce or Selmer C*
Advanced: Caravan
Single Reeds: Beginner – VanDoren 2.5, Intermediate – VanDoren 3, Advanced – VanDoren 3.5/4
***For Dolce and Caravan Mouthpieces, please support our local music stores by contacting them first! If they do not have those mouthpieces in stock, please check http://www.dolcemp.com/ and https://caravanmouthpieces.com/.***
Brass
Trumpet – Beginner (Elementary): Bach 7C
Intermediate (Middle School): Bach 5C
Advanced (High School): Bach 3C, 1.5C
French Horn – Beginner/Intermediate: Schilke 27 or Holton-Farkas
Advanced: Schilke 29/30
Trombone/Euphonium – Beginner (Elementary): Bach 12C
Intermediate (Middle School): Bach 6.5 AL
Advanced: Bach 5G or Schilke 51(D)
Tuba – Beginner/Intermediate: Conn Helleberg
Advanced: Consult Private Teacher
Check out new page on blog
Click on the Schedule page for lesson schedule and upcoming events.
October 16: MSMS bands to play at high school footbal game
There is a very exciting opportunity for all MSMS Concert Band and Symphonic Band members. The high school band has invited us to play with them on Friday, October 16 at a home football game. We’ll be learning a version of the Star Spangled Banner and some tunes for the stands (including one of our favorites: Let’s Go Band. More details to follow, so save the date.
Summer lessons with Mrs. Gendron
Lessons available for flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, french horn, trombone and percussion
Catch up with classmates or even get ahead. Preparing to move on to middle school or high school? Want to get into Symphonic Band? Learning a new instrument? This is a perfect time for individualized instruction and usually the fastest way to learn. My name is Kerry Gendron and I am currently a band director at the Francis Wyman Elementary school and at the Marshall Simonds Middle School. Take weekly lessons or just schedule them as you have time. I play 15 instruments and am ready to teach this summer.
Where: 1 Pine Ridge Rd, Burlington, MA
Times: Tuesday – Thursday at your convenience (doesn’t have to be weekly, and I am flexible with the schedule when I need to be)
Other: Lessons take place at my residence. Lessons will be private, but groups are welcome.
Price: $20 per half hour; $14 each for groups
Email me at kerrygendron15@gmail.com
Starts the week of June 29, 2015.
