BUSSEY MS BANDS: Journal

I've added a new section on the website - Downloads. You can click on this tab and then proceed to download and print many different things - exercises to practice, articles to read, music enrichment forms, etc. Go browse!

Congratulations to the 2010-11 Band Director Award Recipients: Jaylah Thompson, Beginning Band; Yessenia Cabrera, 7th grade Honors Band; and Lindsay Waddleton, 8th grade Honors Band.

Also, congratulations to Lindsay Waddleton and J'Son Turner for earning spots in the top band at North Garland High School as Freshmen! Way to go!!

Frank Ticheli is the Composer-in-Residence for the Lone Star Wind Orchestra this year. While at dinner with him and his wife prior to our "Angels of Light" concert on April 25th, I learned that he student taught at Bussey Middle School - back when Jim Jeter was the head director. I thought, "Wow! What a small world! How cool is that? Frank Ticheli was a student teacher for the Bussey bands!" I think I may have to make a certificate and have him sign it so that I can frame it and hang it in the Bussey Band Hall. OR, better yet...I may have to do a fundraiser and commission him to write a piece for the Bussey Band program.

21 Bussey Beginning Band students participated in the 2010 Young Excellence Solo and Ensemble Contest held at Hudson Middle School today. Of the 21 students, 5 received ribbons and 15 received medals! Mrs. Tucker is very proud of her students! Way to go!!

Both the Bussey Beginning Band and Honors Band performed at the Sandy Lake Fun Festival today and made Mrs. Tucker proud. The students represented themselves, the band program, and the school well today with their behavior. They were punctual, respectful, and focused.




The Honors Band received a I rating for their performance. They played "Lexington March" by John Edmondson. Mr. Edmondson was one of the judges and really appreciated the Honors Band performing his piece. The students chose to perform this piece especially for Mr. Edmondson. Mrs. Tucker is so proud of the students' performance and focus today.

Just FYI: There will be a bus for transportation to the Solo Contest at Austin Academy this Saturday. It will depart from Bussey at 10 AM. It will leave Austin Academy at 4 PM to go back to Bussey.

The rehearsal on February 18th has moved to February 16th, and the time has been shortened an hour (4-5 PM instead of 4-6 PM). Please note this change and make arrangements. Mrs. Tucker has the opportunity to use a new school Flip Camera for the Band program as long as she attends training. The training is on the 18th. Thank you for adjusting!

Click on the links below to hear recordings of our 2010 UIL Selections (you will have to click on the icons to listen to each recording):

Lexington March by John Edmondson: http://www.penders.com/p/430400/lexington-march
Sakura (Cherry Blossoms) by Michael Story: http://www.penders.com/p/8971900/sakura-cherry-blossoms
Our Kingsland Spring by Samuel R. Hazo: http://www.penders.com/p/17663800/our-kingsland-spring

$5,000 Matching Grant Challenge for Fine Arts Grants

An anonymous donor has made a $5,000 matching grant challenge to the BEST Foundation for the Betsy Henderson Fine Arts Grant Program. This means for every dollar that is contributed to the grant fund, it will be matched up to a total of $5,000. This is a great way to make a final tax deductible contribution before the end of the year.

The Betsy Henderson Grant was established in 2005 for the specific purpose of funding creative and innovative programs in the GISD Fine Arts Department. The grant is named for retired Fine Art Coordinator Betsy Henderson.

Contributions can be made to the Henderson Grant by mailing a check to the GISD Best Foundation, PO Box 460517, Garland, Texas 75046-0517. Please specify Henderson Challenge.

Congratulations to Erika Brito and Lindsay Waddleton for earning spots in the 2009 Garland ISD All-District Bands. Bussey has not had any students in the bands in a long time. Erika, 8th grade flute player, made the Symphonic Band and Lindsay, 8th grade bass clarinet player, made first chair in the Honors Band. Both have earned spots on the 2009-10 Bussey Band Wall of Fame.


Lindsay Waddleton, first chair Bass Clarinet, GISD All-District Honors Band


Erika Brito, flute, GISD All-District Symphonic Band

The following students will be the first on the Bussey Band Wall of Fame for the 2009-10 school year for their great work at the Summer Band Camp:

Yessenia Cabrera, flute
Adrianna Welch, oboe
Jose Gonzalez, clarinet
Lindsay Waddleton, bass clarinet
J'Son Turner, baritone saxophone
Chris Balleza, trumpet
Mayra Duarte, horn
Evelyn Ibarra, trombone
Jordon Castillo, tuba
Oscar Cruz, percussion

Congratulations!

This year's Bussey summer band camp will be shorter and more beneficial to the students. 10 AM-noon will be sectionals with some GREAT teachers. Flute - Karen Eichinger, Oboe - Melissa Bosma, Clarinet - Sam Ross, Bass Clarinet - Nancy Lawrence, Saxophone - Chris Dickhaus, Trumpet - Jay Ellsmore, Horn - Angela Winter, Trombone - Jason Freeman, Euphonium/Tuba - Andrew Jones, Percussion - Sam Naishtat. Then there will be leadership workshops in the afternoon for the Band Council members. And there will be lots of fun, of course! Camp is MANDATORY for all 2009-10 Bussey Honors Band Students.

Another year has ended. While there were many new firsts this past year, there are still more things to make better. I am looking forward to more positive beginnings next year.

I thank the students for their hard work this past year and I look forward to lots of help from the new student leaders on the 2009-10 Band Council.

About 20 band students went to the Six Flags Reward trip. Here are a few pictures from that day of fun:

Here are some pictures taken before one of the Beginning Band Instrument Test Drives:

Here are some end of the year Bussey Band pictures:

Flute:
Jennifer Aniston
Alanis Morrisette
Halle Berry
Celine Dion
Alyssa Milano
Gwen Stefani

Clarinet:
Rainn Wilson
Julia Roberts
Robert Pattinson
Gloria Estefan
Eva Longoria-Parker
Jimmy Kimmel
Allan Greenspan
Steven Spielberg

Saxophone:
Jennifer Garner
Bill Clinton
Roy Williams
Vince Carter
David Robinson
Bob Hope

Trumpet:
John Glenn
Drew Carey
Stephen Tyler
Prince Charles
Richard Gere
Shania Twain
Eric Lindros
Samuel L. Jackson

Horn:
Ewan McGregor
Vanessa Williams
Otto Graham
Henry Cisneros
Katherine Heigle

Trombone:
Bill Engvall
Nelly Furtado
Katy Perry
Tony Stewart

Euphonium:
Neil Armstrong
Andy Samburg

Tuba:
Malik Rose
Dan Akroyd
Aretha Franklin

Percussion:
Mike Anderson
Tommy Lee
Eddie George
Dana Carvey
Walter Payton
Johnny Carson
Mike Piazza

Congratulations to the following students:

Honors Band Director Award: Brandon Dickson

Beginning Band Director Award: Jose Gonzalez

Hero Award: Lindsay Waddleton

Rhythm Tournament Champion: Sofia Zamarron

Anchor Award: Joseph Offutt

Honors Band Most Improved Award: Abigail Garza

Honors Band Best Attitude Award: Vanessa McCoy

Honors Band Outstanding Musicians: Vanessa McCoy, Lisa Nguyen, Samantha Sanchez, Kai Starks, Abigail Martinez, Lindsay Waddleton, J'Son Turner, Brandon Dickson, Mel Byrd, Heather Lemond, Joseph Offutt, Maika Mauga

Beginning Band Most Improved Awards:
Jorge Huerta (flute), Amy Evans (oboe), Tori Pomeroy (clarinet), Jose Caballero (saxophone), Jesus Palomares (trumpet), Mayra Duarte (horn), Steven Ortiz (tuba), Ricky Saldana (percussion)

Beginning Band Best Attitude Awards:
Yessenia Cabrera (flute), Anissa Gonzalez (clarinet), Morelia Ramirez (saxophone), Molly Davila (trumpet), Jessica Leguizamo (horn), Kentrell Lutcher (trombone), Oscar Cruz (percussion)

Beginning Band Outstanding Musicians:
Laura Rosas (flute), Adrianna Welch (oboe), Lindsay Waddleton (clarinet), Cristal Jimenez (trumpet), Morgan Manning (horn), Eric Dunavin (tuba), Jesse Arroyo (percussion)

This has been a topsy-turvy year. The H1N1 virus (swine flu) and the TAKS test hit just before the Spring Concert this year - so we didn't have rehearsals the whole week before our concert. There were scheduled after-school rehearsals, but many kids didn't show up because of the swine flu scare. At any rate, it was a concert to remember. Mr. Tucker wrote a piece called "Cool Beans in Little Mexico" for the Honors Band to premiere at the Spring Concert. It was meant to be a grade I, but ended up an easy grade III. The kids did their best, but didn't have enough time to truly learn it well. It was neat to have them work on a piece written just for them by a living composer though - "Mrs. Tucker's husband!" We also were able to perform our concert in an actual auditorium this year instead of the Bussey MS Cafeteria - Todd Toney, Todd Payne, and John May were wonderful hosts and got everything set up for our concert at their Auditorium at North Garland High School (thanks, guys!!). And to top it all off, the concert was on my birthday!

The Beginning Band got Straight 1's at Sandy Lake again this year. Here are some pictures from that fun day:

Despite being a small band and having off-balance instrumentation, the Bussey MS Honors Band performed to the best of their ability at the UIL Concert & Sight-reading Contest. There were confidence problems which led to poor balance, intonation, and tone. However, the students were focused and attentive and so I am proud of them for that. It's not always about the ratings, but about the growth that happens in the students.

The Honors Band participated in Lakeview Centennial High School's Festival on the Lake Band Contest yesterday and received a Silver Medal. Way to go! Only two more weeks until UIL!

Here's a link to the story:

http://www.toledofreepress.com/2009/03/27/composer-excited-to-premiere-his-work-at-ut-festival-of-new-music/

Here are a few pictures of the kids hangin' out after school:

The Honors Band participated in the GISD Pre-UIL Band Contest on Monday, March 9, 2009. This was the first band contest many of the students had ever been to. The band students were on time, they were focused, and they followed directions very well. Mrs. Tucker was very proud of how they conducted themselves at the contest. The students learned many lessons at the contest that will benefit them when they attend Festival on the Lake on March 26th and then UIL on April 8th.