BUSSEY MS BANDS: Journal

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.

The kids were being kids at the Bussey Summer Band Camp this year.



Austin Elendt in the trombone locker.

Fernando Martinez


Line for the Nachos!

Heather Lemond in the Hallway on the way to Lunch.

The CLARINET Section won the Bussey Honors Band section of the week for 2/23/09 - 2/27/09! Kai Starks, Nallely Moreno, Abigail Garza, Edith Ventura, Javier Garza, and Jamaree Davis will receive extra credit this week.

Congratulations to the 2009 Bussey Band Solo & Ensemble Contest participants! Austin Elendt played a solo and earned a I rating!!


The Trumpet Quartet (Jorge Pineda, Brandon Dickson, Austin Elendt, and Chris Balleza) earned a II rating!


The Percussion Quintet (Maika Mauga, Bernard Aguilar, Jason Gill, Milton Martinez, and Fernando Martinez) earned a I rating!

The Saxophone Quartet (Abigail Martinez, Victoria Mobley, Lindsay Waddleton, and J'Son Turner) earned a I rating as well!

Congratulations to Sofia Zamarron for winning the First Annual Bussey Band Rhythm Tournament! She won $25 cash and will receive a plaque at the Spring Concert and Awards Ceremony on May 4th at the North Garland High School Auditorium.

The SAXOPHONE Section won the Bussey Honors Band section of the week for 2/16/09 - 2/20/09! Abigail Martinez, Jason Carbajal, Victoria Mobley, Lindsay Waddleton, Vincent Chamness, J'Son Turner, and German Vargas will receive extra credit this week. Way to go, saxes!! Two weeks in a row!!

The SAXOPHONE Section won the Bussey Honors Band section of the week for 2/9/09 - 2/13/09! Lindsay Waddleton, Jason Carbajal, German Vargas, J'Son Turner, Victoria Mobley, Abigail Martinez, and Vincent Chamness (not shown) will all receive extra credit for this week.

There were four students who successfully counted the first rhythm page to go on to Round 2 of the First Annual Bussey Band Rhythm Tournament: Thomas Freye (7th grade oboe player in the Honors Band), Kai Starks (7th grade clarinet player in the Honors Band), Lindsay Waddleton (7th grade tenor saxophone player in the Honors Band as well as beginner clarinetist), & Sofia Zamarron (8th grade trumpet player in the Honors Band). These four students will move on to Round 2 on Friday, February 20th to decide who is the Bussey Band Rhythm Champion!!!

The OBOE Section won the Bussey Honors Band section of the week for 2/2/09 - 2/5/09! Thomas Freye will receive extra credit for this week.

My greatest reward in teaching is witnessing or hearing of the success of my students long after they were my students. Many of the first students I taught (at DeSoto West JHS) are still involved in music at the college level and remember many positive experiences from when they played in my bands in middle school. I am so proud of them. I look at the students I'm teaching today, and I hope that I touch or inspire them in some way to love playing their instrument and to continue playing their instrument in some form or fashion for the rest of their lives.

Unfortunately, the Band Program lost the battle with the Choir Program last year in our battle to sell the most Fundraising Items. We WILL NOT lose again! Please help us show everyone we are not losers and buy, buy, buy!! The money we raise from the yearly fundraiser pays for buses to contests and other fun trips (we can't go on fun trips if we don't have the money to pay for them). :o) Our yearly fundraiser begins this Tuesday (September 30th).

Congratulations to the following student officers:
President - Brandon Dickson
Vice-President - Austin Elendt
Secretary - Nallely Moreno Mendez
Secretary Assistant - Abigail Garza
Librarian - Abigail Martinez
Librarian Assistant - Edith Ventura
Historian - Heather Lemond
Historian Assistant - Emily Duarte
Percussion Manager - Bernard Aguilar
Quartermasters - Lisa Nguyen & Jorge Pineda

Today was day two of the week-long band camp. There were more students in attendance today, and the camp is shaping up to be a lot of fun. If you have not come to camp yet and are enrolled in band next year, it is not too late! Please come!!! You can see the schedule on the calendar.

Please do not forget to attend the 2008 Band Orientation today at 6:00 PM in the Bussey Band Hall. You will receive your band camp music, your all-district music, you can check out a school-owned instrument (oboe, bassoon, horn, euphonium, and tuba), and you can purchase your accessories and pay your band fees.

You will also find out who your 2008 "brother" or "sister" is! There will be some team-building exercises as we go over the handbook together.

See you then!

I'm excited about this upcoming year's Summer Band Camp (August 11-15th)! We already have a great line-up of teachers for the sectionals!:

Flute: Jennifer Fast
Clarinet: Kim Tosch
Saxophone: Sarah Roberts
Trumpet: Frank Reed
Horn: Michael Boggs
Low Brass: Mark Finley
Percussion: Brandon Knight

The school phone lines are not working very well. If you need to contact Mrs. Tucker, please email her at kjtucker@garlandisd.net. Thank you.

If you still owe band fees or never returned your school-owned instrument, please call (972) 494-8391, extension 50226 to schedule an appointment to pay those fees and/or return the instrument. Your report card will be held and you will not be able to begin the school year next year until this is taken care of. Thank you!

The Spring Concert was an event to remember. The Beginning Band opened the concert with their two Sandy Lake tunes (Regal March & Montego Bay) as well as a new piece they worked up in just a couple of weeks (The Tempest). The Symphonic Band followed with three exciting pieces (Intensity, Rite of Passage, & Dragon Slayer). The Honors Band then played three tunes they also learned in a just a couple of weeks (Fire Dance, Dark Forest, & Serengeti Dreams). Then all three bands combined (7 rows of chairs on the cafeteria stage and the floor in front of the stage) to play Star Wars (man, that was pretty cool!). Mr. Lira, Mrs. McHenry, and I also gave out many awards.

Special congratulations to our 2008 Band Director Award Winners: Abigail Martinez, Bernard Aguilar, Lindsay Waddleton, Louis Chamness, and Fernando Martinez!

Thank you to all of the students, parents, North Garland High School directors, Bussey faculty and administration for all of your support and hard work this year. It sure has been a roller-coaster, but at the end of the ride I can say that I am better for having taken the ride. I feel that we (as a band program and family) have grown quite a bit this year - we've grown to be better players, better friends, and better people all around. Thanks again for the memories.

The Beginning Band performed very well at the Sandy Lake Band Festival on April 18th. They received top ratings from all of the judges. Other directors at the festival even said they thought our band should have won best in class because each student has good characteristic sounds - that our players have no one to hide under because we are small in numbers.

The Honors Band performed very well at UIL last week. The focus and attention was great, they played well, and made HUGE improvements since last year and since the beginning of this year.
I am proud of the band's accomplishment at UIL. We scored a 2, 2, 3 on stage and a 2, 2, 3 in sight-reading. The band will only get better. Thanks for everyone's support this year!

The Honors Band is currently preparing for the biggest performance of the year - UIL (the music equivalent of the State TAKS test) on Wednesday, April 9th. The band has attended two Pre-UIL contests and has consistently performed better. With intense concentration and focus, the Honors Band will do well at UIL. Please keep the students in your thoughts and send those well-wishes their way.

Congratulations to Michael Bicknell, Olivia Chapa, Miranda Craig, Jessica Curtis, Andrea Garza, Abigail Martinez, David Mendez, and Lisa Nguyen for performing very well at the Garland ISD Solo & Ensemble Contest at Austin Academy for Excellence today!!! There were 7 medalists and 1 ribbon winner!!!! All received an award! I am so proud of all of these students! They are well on their way to even more success on their instruments in band.