04/03/05: Great job everyone at the March 22nd concert! We should thank Conn.College for allowing us to perform in their beautiful chapel; it was new, fun experience for all of us. Your parents should have receive information about Bingo Night in the mail (if not, let Mr. Marsland know); please give the envelope with your name on it, and the ticket money, to Mr. Marsland by Thursday/Friday, April 7th/8th. For more information, click here. The next Music Boosters meeting is Monday, April 11th; if you can attend please do so. We are planning to travel to the middle schools either Thursday, April 7th (day 3), or Monday, April 11th; we would be missing periods 5, 7, and 1. There is a Tri-M meeting this Wednesday, April 6th; if you cannot attend please contact any of the officers. We'll be voting on the Pops theme, and perhaps nominating new members. (Note: induction is April 28th at 7pm). We are done with our concert outfits for the year; please have them dry-cleaned by Wednesday, April 13th. The Virginia Beach trip is quickly approaching; start thinking about who you want to room with. For our adjudication, we are planning to perform: Lincolnshire Posy (movements 1, 2, and 6--possibly 5), and Variations on a Korean Folk Song. Once again, congrats to everyone at the March 22nd concert; keep practicing!!

03/20/05: Aaaah, our concert's in 2 days!! I hope everyone's excited, because playing at Conn.College is going to be a lot of fun!! Don't forget: on Tuesday we're leaving at 7:30am sharp, so don't be late; we're [hopefully] only doing a run-through, so make sure you know your part pretty well. We should be back at SHS in time for lunch--you'll be missing periods 8 and 2. Unfortunately, fitting in sectionals before the concert's not going happen, but I'm hoping that we'll have at least 3 per section before the Pops Concert (we'll discuss this at our next Band Council meeting). Congratulations to the Jazz Ensemble for placing 4th at the Berklee Jazz Festival! And also, congratulations to All-State participants Jeff Lewis and Jacob Rathbun! At this point, we do know that we'll be traveling to the middle schools, but we're unsure of the date and specifications (I'll update you later on this). Make sure you arrive at Harkness Chapel on Tuesday by 6:30; remind your family members/etc. to bring their tickets and have the correct ticket price circled (ask Mr. M. if you're confused). Boys, you'll have a room [at CT Coll.] to hang your tux jackets after the concert; please remember to bring another jacket to wear home! By now, you should have turned in: all Virginia Beach payments, all money/forms for the Bulb fundraiser, and money/unused tickets in your envelope. Directions to Harkness Chapel are at the top of this page; if you want specific directions from your house, go to www.mapquest.com. Please do the following: join the mailing list, post at the Forum, check the sub-content whenever possible, go to the Interact page. Thanks a lot! Good luck on Tuesday, everyone!!!

03/06/05: Good job, everyone at Wednesday's rehearsal--in order to be fantastic, we need to work individually and in sections. The concert's quickly approaching; our next rehearsal will be sometime during the next couple weeks, most likely during period 3. (And don't forget the rehearsal the morning of the concert; we'll get there by bus). As you know, the concert will at Harkness Chapel @ CT Coll. We'll be receiving directions soon. This year we're offering a pre-sale of tickets for the concert and, in addition, tickets will be available at the door. Ticket prices are $3 for adults; $2 for seniors and children under 18. The final Virginia Beach trip payment is due March 15th!! Also, just as a heads-up, there will be a trip meeting on May 5th in the new SHS cafeteria (if it's done by then) at 7pm. Parents & students should attend this very important meeting. Please give your Bulb Fundraiser forms to Mr. Marsland by this friday; all profits raised from this fundraisers goes directly to your individual account to be used towards this trip (or future trips). In addition, this year spending money accounts are being set up for those of you have balances exceeding the amount of the trip payment. Seniors, you guys should have received applications for scholarships in the mail. This year the Music Boosters will award 6 senior scholarships in the amount of $300 each--awarded at our annual awards banquet in May. Reminder: all concert attire must be returned dry-cleaned by Wednesday, April 13!! PLEASE tell everyone you know about this site, & I strongly recommend that you join the mailing list; right now, I'm the only one one it. Also, posting on the forum would be nice too. Recently I changed the Wind Ensemble rankings; it should be correct now. However, if there's a mistake please let me know. There's a Music Boosters meeting March 14th, and an important Tri-M meeting March 15th. Hopefully, sectionals will start soon (check back here later for updates). Again, keep practicing!!

02/13/05: I have a change to make, & I want to make this clear for everyone--not all first-ranked players are the section leaders (meaning, just because you're the top player in your section doesn't mean you're going to be the section leader). If you're confused, ask Mr. Marsland. It's not necessarily the best players who are the section leaders; it's those who have the most experience. Oh and, by the way, the Wind Ensemble page will be changed once I get the newly-ranked list. Also, there will probably be pictures here soon, and possibly sound clips--keep checking...There will be a Tri-M meeting on Tuesday after-school; please dress up (there will also be a yearbook photo). Let Jay Pelham know if you can't attend...Congratulations to All-State participants: Jeff Lewis, who made 1st chair tenor saxophone; and Jacob Rathbun, who made 5th chair trumpet, jazz ensemble!!...Attention: the concert is not March 2nd, it's now March 22nd--at Harkness Chapel [Connecticut College]. However, there will be a rehearsal at SHS on March 2nd, as well as a dress rehearsal at Harkness Chapel on March 21st...Congratulations to all Thames Valley Wind Symphony participants, and thanks to Mr. Adsit and Mr. Marsland!!...You should've received your written section of the mid-term exam back; those who were exempt from the performance aspect received 100s on that section. (Note: the written only counted for 20% of the exam grade)...The Virginia Beach trip balance is due to Mr. Marsland ASAP!--If you don't know how much you owe, ask...Anyone who hasn't seen the leadership video--and would like to--may ask Mr. Marsland for another showing...Section leaders should start planning sectionals after February vacation. Try to fit in 2 sectionals before the March 22nd concert (all members of the section should be required to go to at least one)...Keep practicing!!

01/30/05: Hopefully you've all received back the results from the seating auditions; if you don't know your sectional ranking ask Mr. Marsland. Those who are ranked first in each section are the Section Leaders (more information on that will be coming soon). There's an important Band Council meeting this Wednesday; please try to attend, because we'll be watching a leadership video (and eating brownies). Thanks to everyone who helped out at the Pasta Dinner on Friday, and thanks to the Jazz Ensemble for the entertainment. If you didn't already know, our March 2nd concert will be performed at Evans Hall (Connecticut College). The first Thames Valley Wind Symphony rehearsal is tomorrow night (click here for dates)--you can only perform at the TVWS concert if you attend all the rehearsals. Virginia Beach payments should be almost done; ask Mr. Marsland to find out your remaining balance...PLEASE start posting on the forum!! I don't want to delete it, but there's really only one other person besides myself posting there. And PLEASE let everyone know about this web site, because I've talked to many other band members and they never even knew this site existed. At the Band Council meeting Wednesday I'll talk to Mr. Marsland about ways to "advertise" the site...I started adding the new sectional rankings, but I don't know the rest of them for sure. You should expect to see the entire, correct list up within the next couple of weeks.

01/09/05: Just a reminder--this week will be the seating auditions. Unfortunately, you will not be able to have one-on-one time with Mr. Marsland because he cannot stay after school. In place of that, you will be recording your audition on a tape (if you don't know what parts you're supposed to play, see the sheet posted outside the band room). We will take as much time as possible out of Band classes this week, so you can record your audition in the tech room; make sure you bring a blank cassette tape with your name on it. If you want to, you can record it at home, but you can't record it on a CD or any other recording device...Again, congratulations to all CMEA students--good luck at All-State to those of you who qualified...Tell all your fellow band members to go the forum, because no one ever posts there! If no one posts there at all within the next month, I'll delete it...We still don't know where our next concert is going to be; if you have any ideas let Mr. M. know...Please send us any pictures you have to contribute to the site, because--right now--there are none. Thanks a lot!!...Anyway, good luck this week, everyone! And don't forget, this will determine section leaders, as well as sectional rankings and part assignments. :)

12/19/04: It's almost Christmas vacation!! Just as a reminder, start practicing the seating auditions piece (if you haven't already) because auditions will be taking place during the second week of January--it's coming up fast! So take a little time over Christmas break and practice, because these auditions are extremely important; they'll determine sectional rankings, as well as part assignments and section leaders. Don't stress out about it though...Congratulations to all CMEA participants, and good luck! (I will post the list of names later on)...As you can see, I have changed the layout--this is actually my first web site from scratch, w/ no templates! Sign the guestbook or email me your comments because this web site's for you guys...The next Virginia Beach payment is not due until January 14th ($100). Make sure you don't miss the deadline, and if you haven't already given Mr. Marsland the last payment you should let him know why...If you missed last week's Tri-M meeting let either Mr. Stanley, Mr. Marsland, or Jay Pelham [president] know...Keep up the good work, and don't forget: practice, practice, practice!! :)

11/28/04: Thanksgiving vacation's almost over--nice job everyone at the game on Thursday! It was fun, despite the fact that it was rainy & cold. Sadly, football season is over, & that was the last game for seniors :( Our next parade isn't until Memorial Day (end of May '05); hopefully it won't be cancelled...Zap-a-Snack forms are due tomorrow (November 29th)! Don't forget to bring your money and form(s) in to Mr. Marsland!! (make checks payable to "SHS Music Boosters")...Our winter concert is this Thursday at 7pm; report time is 6:30pm in concert dress (if you haven't picked up your outfit please do so ASAP!)...CMEA Auditions are this Saturday--pay Mr. Marsland your $5 (1 audition) or $20 (2 auditions). Report time TBA. There will most likely be a "scale party" sometime this week. Don't forget to practice, pratice, practice!! Reminder to CMEA auditioners: if you get a score of 180 or above, then you are exempt from the performance portion of the mid-term exam. If you receive a score lower than 180, you have to play your solo piece for the performance part of the exam. Good luck everyone!! :)

10/27/04: We've had a pretty good start to the year so far--2 parades done, 2 to go. You're all probably excited for Virginia Beach, but unfortunately it's not until May! But don't forget: the first payment deadline is November 5th ($150)!! Magazine sales have started; please sell as many as possible. The money from your sales goes directly towards your cost of the trip. We'll soon be receiving information about a new fundraiser--Zap-a-Snack. A representative from the company will be coming in soon to give us some samples (i.e., cookies!). If you're planning on auditioning for CMEA Region Festival on December 4 you should have your music by now; start practicing!! If you failed to turn in your Uniform Test you received a zero; if you were missing any items please replace and/or find them ASAP. Please check out the new Band Forum (link above). Hopefully the site will soon be linked from the main SHS web site. Well, that's all for now!!

9/04: Unfortunately, due to construction, there will be NO BAND CAMP this summer. This may seem like good news for some people, but for others it is not. Band camp is usually the time when upperclassmen introduce the freshman to marching; since there will probably be two Wind Ensemble class periods this year, scheduling time to practice the music will not be easy. However, there will be a full-Band rehearsal on September 9th (that's right, the first day of school) from 6 to 9 pm--maybe followed by ice cream (yipee!!). Marching uniform fittings will be on Monday and Tuesday of the following week (September 13-14) during the school day. For our tentative 2004-5 schedule go to the interact page. We are all looking forward to a terrific year, and especially the proposed Virginia Beach trip; good luck freshman!! Hope everyone had a fantastic summer!! ;)