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Saturday, September 26, 2009

London 2011 Tour Orientation Meeting / Tour Blog Launched







A new London 2011 Tour Blog has been launched to provide DGN Band students (current and future) with pertinent information relative to the 2010-2011 performance invitation. Click on the logo above (or here) to be redirected.

Parents/guardians of students who anticipate being enrolled in the DGN Band during the 2010-2011 academic year will be receiving - by email - an invitation to attend a Tour Orientation meeting on Wednesday, October 21, 2009 (7 PM), in the Clarence Johnson Auditorium. Details will be distributed electronically to families by October 1.

Homecoming '09 Football Game Video

A Hard Day's (Homecoming) Night



It was a long day ("A Hard Day's Night"?!) for members of the band, with many performances spanning the events of Homecoming 2009.

Images include the Marching Band at the Homecoming Assembly, DGN Fine Arts Teacher Barb Hertko, who was honored in the parade as one of our 2010 retiring teachers, the Color Guard in the Parade, and shots of Alumni Band members with their family members who are current members of the Trojan Marching Band.

London Calling










































Continuing coverage of the band's invitation to perform in the London New Years Day Parade (2011):


Thursday, September 24, 2009

Homecoming Week Celebrations Continue

Members of the Trojan Band perform in the Main St. Lobby on Thursday morning for Homecoming.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

London Invitation Covered by ABC-7 News














Click on the image above to be redirected to the ABC-7 story and video from tonight's newscast.

DGN Band Invited to London - 2011























Click on any thumbnail for a larger image.

Dear North High Band Families:

We are extremely pleased to share with you some very exciting information. Today our school, and our band program specifically, was honored with an invitation to perform in the 2011 London New Year’s Day Parade.















The highly prestigious traditional turn of year celebration in the UK capital is established as the biggest event of its kind anywhere in the World. More than 10,000 performers from all corners of the globe entertain a street audience of around 500,000 – and a global TV audience of tens of millions. Patrons of the event include the Lord Mayor of Westminster, the Archbishop of Canterbury and senior representatives of the American community in London.

Lord Roger Bramble – the Deputy Lieutenant of London – Her Majesty The Queen’s Representative – traveled to North High School today to meet with members of the band and to extend the invitation to participate in the 25th Anniversary London New Year’s Day Parade on January 1, 2011. Accompanying Lord Bramble to North High this afternoon were Mr. Robert and Ms. Geraldine Bone, Directors of the London Parade.

This prestigious invitation, offered to a small handful of college and high school bands in the United States each year, honors the hard work, dedication and musicianship of our students. This includes our seniors, who – while contributing to the selection through their musical gifts – will not be enrolled at North High at the time when the band will make the trip. It also recognizes the tremendous support our school enjoys from parents and guardians. To each, we send our congratulations and gratitude.

All students enrolled in a curricular band course for the 2010-2011 school year will be eligible to participate in this tour. More information will be forthcoming in the next month about tour details, eligibility requirements, and opportunities for students to fund-raise in anticipation of the tour. As you can imagine, a “once in a lifetime” tour of this magnitude will only be successful if we work together to maximize resources and make every effort to support students who wish to participate and give them the tools they need to raise the funds associated with participation. In the meantime, we encourage students to begin saving now. We will also be sharing this information with current 8th grade band students who will be at North High next year so that they might also begin a process of fundraising.

We encourage families to begin learning about the London New Years Day Parade. Please visit:

www.londonparade.co.uk

Congratulations!

Brayer Teague, Fine Arts Department Chairperson
William Miller, Music Teacher and Director – Trojan Marching Band

Monday, September 21, 2009

IMEA Audition - Masterclass Videos from NIU

Are you trying out for IMEA this fall? If so, you might be interested in seeing some of the educational masterclass videos offered by Northern Illinois University.


Check back in the days to come as they plan to add additional instruments in the future.


Sunday, September 20, 2009

Cross-Town Collaboration








Congratulations to the members of the North High Trojan Marching Band, the South High Marching Mustangs, the North High Chamber Choir, and the South High Madrigal Singers for their combined performance of the National Anthem just prior to the start of the annual Cross-Town Showdown. Conducted by North High music teacher (and South High alumnus) Dr. Frank Piekarz, over 300 student musicians shared their musical gifts with the District 99 community.



































Following the shared performances at half-time, Drum Majors from both bands exchanged gifts in a show of unity and support.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Busy Weekend for Trojan Marching Band





































The Marching Band's weekend included a home football game on Friday night (with guests from Herrick Middle School, Jefferson Jr. High School and Westview Hills Middle School), and a trip to Northwestern University in Evanston on Saturday morning to perform at Ryan Field.

Congratulations to all the band members on their hard work and dedication!


Saturday, September 05, 2009

Marching Band Thrills Audience at Home Opener



The accolades are pouring in via email after the Trojan Marching Band performed under the lights for the first time in 2009. Congratulations to all the members of the band for their hard work during Band Camp, and in the weeks that have followed, to prepare for the season.

Video of the pregame and halftime shows from 9.4.09 are posted here. Students are encouraged to view the video as a learning tool as we prepare for a busy upcoming week. Due to the holiday weekend, and two performances this coming week (Sept. 11 & 12) we will not be able to take time during class to review the video.

Jazz Audition Call Backs

The following students are asked to report on Tuesday, September 8th (times listed below), to play additional audition material. Final class rosters will be posted (on this Blog) by 6 PM on Tuesday, September 8th. The first rehearsals/class periods for both Jazz Lab Band and Jazz Ensemble will take place on Wednesday, September 9th.

Call Backs:

Trumpets (6:45 - 7:05 AM): Megan Dylla, Sam Fiala, Mike Garritano

Alto Sax (7:00 - 7:20 AM): Brendan McBride, Augustine Calvino, Ryan Ford

Drums (6:45 AM - 7:15 AM): All percussionists who auditioned.

Bass (7:15 - 7:45 AM) Marisa Bellie, Steve Janke, Thomas Svoboda, Jessica Royston

Guitar (7:15 - 7:45 AM)John Janke, Alex Baggio, Connor Dimmick

* Guitarists should come prepared to demonstrate improv solo abilities in the Key of F.
* Percussionists should come prepared to demonstrated the following grooves: fast swing, medium rock, medium Latin.
* Bass players should come prepared to walk bass lines (without the use of music) in the following keys: Bb, F, C
* All others will play from the required etude "For Gil."

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Scheduling Updates for the Trojan Marching Band

Revised Marching Band Rehearsal Time for Thursday, September 3rd – Due to Open House scheduling and the use of the Band Room for parent break-out sessions, we need to modify the start and end times of our Marching Band Rehearsal. Guard and Drumline will meet at 5pm as regularly scheduled. All wind players will meet 15 minutes earlier than scheduled at 5:15 pm. All students will be dismissed at 8:45pm (15 minutes later than normally scheduled).

Game Day Call Time – Our first Marching Band performance is this Friday at the DGN vs. Willowbrook Home Football Opener! Call time for band students will be 5pm. Please note that this is also a 1:30pm dismissal day for students.

Northwestern Band Day Schedule – We are working to finalize the information sheet regarding our Marching Band trip to Northwestern University for Band Day 2009. In the meantime, please note that the call-time for students on September 12th will be 5:45am with a return time back to DGN of approximately 4pm. Kickoff for the game is scheduled for 11am.

Thank you for your attention to these scheduling details!