Mark Kellogg - Eastman School of Music

Downers Grove North Brass students attended an area recital of Mark Kellogg, Professor of Trombone and Euphonium at the Eastman School of Music. Thanks to North Central College for allowing us to spend a few minutes with Professor Kellogg following his excellent concert. Thanks are also extended to Low Brass teacher Catie Hickey for facilitating this opportunity for our students.

Please Vote!

Our DGN Color Guard / Winter Guard could really use our collective help!

We are in a tight-race in an online voting contest.  The top three schools will receive free or significantly discounted equipment (a performance tarp) for the upcoming competitive season.  Realistically, it may be hard to surpass the current 1st and 2nd place schools.  But we can leapfrog into 3rd place with your help!

If you use Facebook, please use a computer (voting does not work from most mobile device browsers), and go to the following link to vote:

https://www.facebook.com/winterguardtarps/app_1464472930504366

You will only be allowed to vote once.

Scroll down until you see our school (probably listed 3rd or 4th), and support our team!

Voting ends on September 30th.

See a video from our Guard about WHY your support would be incredibly helpful ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EveaVWeoZk

We really appreciate your support, and please ask your friends to support us to with their vote!

"Animal" at the 2014 DGN Junior High / Middle School Band Night

450 musicians from DGN, Herrick Middle School, Jefferson Junior High School, and Westview Hills Middle School combined to perform "Animal" at the 2014 DGN Junior High / Middle School Band Night.

DGN Band Welcomes 250 Guest Musicians

The DGN Trojan Marching Band played host to 250 Junior High and Middle School instrumentalists from Herrick, Jefferson and Westview Hills as a part of the annual "Junior High Night" at a North High football game.  

Congratulations to all of the talented and dedicated students who performed last night, and a special thank you to our DGN students for being gracious and welcoming hosts.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Game Day Schedule (September 19, 2014)

5 PM – DGN Band students arrive in ball cap, band t-shirt, marching band shoes, black socks, and shorts (leggings also ok).  Set up instruments and report to EAST practice field with instrument and music.

5:15 PM – Jr. High/Middle School band guest musicians join DGN Band on field.  Section warm-up activities.

5:30 – 5:50 PM – Rehearsal of “Animal” on field with guest musicians.

5:50 – 6:10 PM – Final Half-Time & Pre-Game Rehearsal

6:15 – 6:30 PM – Change into full uniform.

6:30 PM – Report to Field House for Uniform Inspection, Spirit Session, etc.

6:50 PM – Drum Line moves to Underground Track

7:05 PM (approx.) – Drum Line & Guard bring team to field.

7:10 PM (approx.) – DGN Band Parade of Track

7:20 PM (approx.) – DGN Band line up for Pre-Game

7:25 PM (approx.) – Pre Game

7:30 PM (approx.) – Kick Off / Play & Cheer in Stands. 1^st and 2^nd Qtr. Small group visits to Jr. High / Middle School students in end zone.

8:15 PM (approx.) – Half Time Performance / Drum Line plays for Student Section following Half Time

8:40 PM (approx.) – Second Half / Play & Cheer in Stands.

9:30 PM (approx.) – Post Game Performance of Schools Songs / Alma Mater. Parade to Field House.

9:45 PM (approx.) – Sing Alma Mater / Dismissal

2014-15 Band Officers

Congratulations to the following students who were elected as Band Officers for the 2014-15 academic year. 

President: Belle Banke

Vice President: Anthony McMahon

Concert Band Class Representatives: Audrey McDaniel & Marz Tingzon

Symphonic Band Class Representatives: Becky Donnelly & Jeremy Pike

Wind Ensemble Class Representatives: Adam Mills & Hannah Thompson

Band Staff positions will be announced early next week.

Trojan Band Featured Nationally on CBS

Congratulations to the students of the Trojan Marching Band for their excellent work this morning as a part of the CBS-2 Morning Show.

 

What was seen on TV was only a small portion of the great work that took place on the field.  CBS was thrilled with your music and the decorum you demonstrated. They were amazed at how quickly and cohesively our band responded to last-second requests to form the CBS logo on field.  Vince Gerasole, the field reporter, was effusive in his praise of every aspect of your interactions with the network this morning. 

 

An unexpected honor today was the fact that CBS producers in New York, following the Twitter feed of CBS-2 Chicago, decided to tap into Chicago's feed, and broadcast our "CBS Eye" logo nationally.  We've been receiving congratulations messages from people all over the United States today. 

Congratulations, again, to all of our students and Band families on a job well done. We all have great reason to feel proud of our DGN and District 99 community today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apollo Duo

Students in all three band classes were treated today to a fabulous performance by the Apollo Duo. The ensemble is in the midst of a 5-week tour through Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Kentucky.

Get Involved! Band Officers + Band Staff + Drum Majors = Band Board

Student leadership is a very important part of our success as a band organization, and our current system is the result of a process that has evolved over many years.

There are three different groups of students that will make up the “Band Board.” They are 1) the Drum Majors, 2) the Band Staff, and 3) the Band Officers. Each of the groups are explained below.

The Band Board will meet once each month with the directors (typically at 9:30 AM on a “Late Start Day) and will be asked for input on a variety of issues relating to the band activities of North High School. The Band Board is also in charge of planning the Band Awards Banquet at the end of the school year, as well as preparing “Tour Books.”

•             Band Officers: Band officers will be elected Wednesday, September 17. Offices include: President, Vice-President, and three Class Representatives from each concert band class. If you are interested in running for a Band Officer position, please indicate so by visiting the website listed below, and filling out the online interest survey. You must complete the survey by Sunday, September 14, 2014.

•             Band Staff: Band Staff positions include Music Librarians (one or two for each band class), two Equipment Managers, two Publicity Chairs, and two Historians. Students interested in any of the above positions should visit the website listed below, and fill out the online interest survey. You must complete the survey by Sunday, September 14, 2014.

•             Drum Majors: Are selected through an audition process each Spring. The are the conduit to the Band Board from the Marching Band Leadership Team.

Want to get involved?  You should!  It’s easy to sign up … but you need to take 3-minutes to complete this survey, no later than this coming Sunday, September 14.

http://tinyurl.com/DGNBandBoard2014-15

Video Footage of Band Day at the University of Illinois

Congratulations once again to the members of the Trojan Marching Band on an outstanding performance this past weekend!
    

Big 10 Halftime - WOW!

Congratulations to the members of the Trojan Marching Band for a terrific performance at today's University of Illinois football game!

Parade of Bands at U of I

Good Morning from Memorial Stadium

The DGN Trojan Marching Band is on field with the Marching Illini this morning preparing for today's performance at the halftime of the Illinois vs. Western Kentucky NCAA Division I Football game.

Go Illini! Go Trojans!

Jazz Class Lists: 2014-15

Class rosters for the 2014-15 Jazz Ensemble course may be accessed by clicking here, or reading both pages of the embedded file below.

Many thanks are extended to each student who expressed an interest in the jazz curriculum and spent time preparing the audition materials.  Students came well-prepared, making it a very competitive audition cycle.  If you auditioned, were not placed in a jazz class this year, but will be at DGN again next year, we truly hope you will come back out for auditions.

Jazz classes begin this coming Monday, September 8th, at 7:00 AM.  See posted list for additional details.

Jazz Call Backs (Friday, September 5)

Thank you to all of the students who have participated in the 2014-15 jazz auditions.

The following students are asked to attend a Jazz Audition Call-Back on Friday, September 5, at 7:00 AM in the Band Room.  Please bring your instrument, and the sheet music for Billie’s Bounce, and IND Line.  (We will not use “The Jazz Me Blues.”)

All students who auditioned for our jazz curriculum courses (including those who we did not need to hear during the call-back) are asked to check this website Friday evening for full results. 

Allison Burke

Luc Collo

Evan Culligan

Katie Donnelly

Jackson Hansen

Theresa Hutto

Daniel Igoe

Anthony McMahon

Quinn Post

Jackson Rummler

Michael Thompson

Marz Tingzon

Breanna Yano

Our Guard Needs YOUR Vote (and your help spreading the word ...)

Our Guard has entered a contest in an attempt to win a new floor tarp ($1,000+ value) for their competitive Winter Guard season. Why?  Well, you should watch the super-cool video they put together (shown below).

But most importantly, they need YOUR VOTE!  And the vote of your friends.  And the friends of your friends.  Because - when it comes right down to it - which school will win is not about who is truly most deserving (we are of, course) ... but rather who gets the most votes online!

To vote, click here, or on the link below.  This will redirect you to the Facebook Page of the company that is sponsoring the contest.

http://tinyurl.com/voteDGNguard

Once you get to the voting page, you will need to scroll and look for the "Downers Grove North Winter Guard" in order to cast your vote.  The order of the schools is randomized each time the page loads, so you may have to scroll a bit to find DGN.

Thank you to all the members of the Guard who contributed to producing this effort, especially our Captains and our coach Ms. Zaragoza.

Don't forget to vote.  And don't forget to ask others to do the same.  Use Social Media to make this effort go viral!