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Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Color Guard and Percussion Mini Camps Lift Off


Members of the Color Guard and Percussion sections launched the 2019 season with the first of three "mini camp" days. These dedicated students joined the band's Student Leaders on campus as they also continued preparations for Band Camp 2019.














Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Monday, July 29, 2019

Marching Band Leadership Training Begins


The 2019-20 DGN Trojan Marching Band Drum Majors and Section Captains spent the day exploring leadership strategies, setting goals, and preparing for next week's Band Camp. The energy and enthusiasm for the upcoming season is unmistakable! 













7 Days to Lift-Off!

We are excited about the upcoming academic year, and we want to share several updates today that impact our Trojan Marching Band students as early as this weekend.


Marching Band Newcomers and "Big Sisters/Brothers"

New students to our Marching Band are assigned a "Big Sister/Brother" to offer peer-support during the start-up of the school year and offer help adjusting to the lifestyle of high school. The older "siblings" are members of our Trojan Marching Band Student Leadership Team (Section Captains and Drum Majors). If you have a child who is new to our Trojan Marching Band this year, they have likely already received a phone call from their assigned older sibling. New members of the marching band should have also received a welcome letter at home from their Section Captain.


Marching Band Newcomer Party - Saturday, August 3

Our student leaders are hosting a welcome party for our new Trojan Marching Band members, this Saturday evening, at the home of Drum Major Carissa Blumka. This annual gathering is a fun way for new Marching Band students to meet one another, and their student leaders, prior to the start of Band Camp on Monday, August 5. Attendance is not required, but strongly encouraged! This is a great way to break the ice and ask some questions before we hit the ground running at Band Camp. The gathering at Carissa's home will be supervised by parent chaperones, and not attended by DGN staff. We extend our thanks to the Blumka family for opening their home to host this year's party!

Date: Saturday, August 3
Time: 4 - 8 PM
Address: (see email)


Band Camp WikiHow

Mr. Smith has put together a document about our Band Camp, with suggestions to help students have a successful camp experience! We strongly encourage all Marching Band students to read the "WikiHow" this week, in preparation for Band Camp beginning on August 5. This resource can answer a lot of questions, and help everyone prepare to be successful during the entire week!


https://tinyurl.com/BandCampWiki



Trojan Marching Band Group Lunch

Next Monday is our first day of Band Camp 2019. The morning session (8:00 AM - 12:00 PM) is only for our NEW students, and our Student Leaders. However, when the morning session ends, we would like ALL of our Trojan Marching Band Members to eat together during the lunch break, therefore, we are expecting ALL members to report to the school at 12:00 PM for our group lunch. This year, we are so thankful to have had our lunch donated by the Friends of Fine Arts! All students will be provided a lunch, and this will be a great opportunity to come together as a Band Family and break bread together before we jump into the activities for the week.


Band Fees Update

Some families may remember in the April Kick-Off Mailing that there was a new item included on the band fees. This was to accommodate the purchase of a drill learning app, called Ultimate Drill Book, to facilitate student learning and more effectively spend our time in rehearsal. This technology is being used by bands across the nation, both at the competitive and collegiate levels. We are so pleased to say that District 99 will be covering the $10 subscription fee, so our band families will not need to pay for this out of pocket. More specific information about fees may be found in an email recently sent to all band families.


Speaking of marching band uniforms....


Did you forget to sign up for the required August 17th marching band uniform fitting?? If so, please check out THIS BLOG POST to learn how to sign up for a time slot!


http://dgnbands.blogspot.com/2019/06/sign-up-for-required-uniform-fitting_13.html


We cannot wait to get this year started, and we look forward to working with your family this year! If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Mr. Smith or Mr. Teague.


Monday, July 22, 2019

Commencing Countdown... to Band Camp 2019!

In just two short weeks, the Trojan Marching Band will begin Band Camp 2019 in a blaze of glory! This year's production "...and beyond!" is sure to be a great one, and on Monday, August 5th, we begin the season with one "small step" towards success! The schedule for the week can be found on page 6 in the April Kick-Off Mailing HERE.

This your friendly reminder to make sure you have everything you need to be healthy and succesful during Band Camp! Don't know what you need? No problem! Mr. Smith has his very own "Band Camp wikiHow" to help you be prepared. This is great resource for new students and parents! Click HERE to check it out!


Double check your part assignments HERE! *Some people have been adjusted!* Our goal is have the halftime show memorized by the end of band camp. Do your part and learn your part! Sheet music and recordings can be found HERE. GO PRACTICE.

Flutes! Piccolo auditions will take place during band camp! Be sure to look over those parts if you are interested.

Do you have questions about band camp, marching band, schedules, or anything else about the program? Please reach out and ask! We'd love to help in any way we can.



Leadership Team - we will see you next week! Trojan Marching Band, soak up your last couple weeks of summer. We can't wait to see you all very soon!

Saturday, July 20, 2019

DGN Bands To Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Moon Landing


"50 years ago today, people around the globe gathered at their radios & televisions to join two humans as they landed on the Moon for the first time. As they took one small step, a giant leap was accomplished." (@NASA)

This fall the DGN Trojan Marching Band will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing, with an eye toward future space travel, in their show entitled, "... AND BEYOND!"

Friday, July 05, 2019

July 4th Homecoming Surprise!


There was a lot to celebrate on July 4th, including a surprise homecoming that reunited DGN Band flutist Raegan Novak with her brother and United States Marine, Austin Novak. Lance corporal Novak, who is stationed at Camp Pendleton, CA, arrived just prior to the parade to surprise Raegan.

Thank you, Lance corporal Novak, for your service.






Thursday, July 04, 2019

District 99 Marching Band in 2019 Downers Grove Independence Day Parade


Congratulations to the student musicians and staff of the District 99 Marching Band for a wonderful performance in today's Downers Grove Independence Day Parade!