Congratulations on being selected for the 2019 District III 7th and 8th Grade Honors Band! I just wanted to write a quick note to introduce myself as your conductor for this year's festival. I've been teaching middle school band for the past fifteen years and am currently the Director of Bands at Cape Elizabeth Middle School. I am truly honored to be your conductor and am really looking forward to working with you in April.
As a band director, I think one of the biggest challenges is selecting exciting, demanding (but appropriate), and inspiring music for our students to play. Not all music is created equal, so it is important that we select carefully. I believe that Danse Carnivale, Colonial Song, Awakening Hills, and Patton will allow us to experience a tremendous variety of musical styles, techniques and challenges. I am really passionate about ALL of the pieces that I have programmed, and I hope that you will share my enthusiasm or at least have an open mind. :)
I have no doubt that all of you will work extremely hard in preparing your music for the festival. I've linked recordings to all of the pieces below. Please use these recordings to help in you preparation- listen to them as frequently as you can. It is my hope that we can come together in April and really make music. Again, I am so excited to be your conductor and I look forward to working with such a talented group of young musicians!
Mrs. Ramsey
RECORDINGS- Click the song title to access
Danse Carnivale- Randall D. Standridge
Colonial Song- Percy Grainger/arr. Wagner
Awakening Hills- Richard Saucedo
Patton- Gerry Goldsmith/arr. Ford
TEMPO MARKINGS AND NOTES
Danse Carnivale
Tempo: Alternates between: Quarter=122/Quarter= 72
-We will be skipping the first ending at m. 64 and jumping right to the second ending (no repeat back to m. 49)
-Light and crisp articulation throughout. Lots of space.
Awakening Hills
Tempos:
mm. 1-59 Quarter= 130
mm. 62-83 Quarter=84
mm. 86-94 Quarter= 70
mm.96-103 Quarter=66
mm. 104-end Quarter= 130
-I may do a solo or soli flute and alto 1 part between m.67-83, depending on ensemble balance. All flute/alto 1 students should be prepared to play these parts.
-The bari sax should be prepared to play the bassoon cues mm. 69-76. We will figure out what we need balance-wise during rehearsals.
Patton
Tempo: Dotted Quarter=112
-Bouncy, light articulation
-If the snares need to leave out the flams in the 2/4 section to help with cleanliness, that's OK with me.
Colonial Song
Tempo: Quarter= 88
-In rehearsal, we will work on the ebb and flow of the tempo. (Hopefully, all intentional!) There will likely be lots of stretching of phrases.
**Also, if your school utilizes SmartMusic, all four of these pieces can also be accessed on SmartMusic.
As a band director, I think one of the biggest challenges is selecting exciting, demanding (but appropriate), and inspiring music for our students to play. Not all music is created equal, so it is important that we select carefully. I believe that Danse Carnivale, Colonial Song, Awakening Hills, and Patton will allow us to experience a tremendous variety of musical styles, techniques and challenges. I am really passionate about ALL of the pieces that I have programmed, and I hope that you will share my enthusiasm or at least have an open mind. :)
I have no doubt that all of you will work extremely hard in preparing your music for the festival. I've linked recordings to all of the pieces below. Please use these recordings to help in you preparation- listen to them as frequently as you can. It is my hope that we can come together in April and really make music. Again, I am so excited to be your conductor and I look forward to working with such a talented group of young musicians!
Mrs. Ramsey
RECORDINGS- Click the song title to access
Danse Carnivale- Randall D. Standridge
Colonial Song- Percy Grainger/arr. Wagner
Awakening Hills- Richard Saucedo
Patton- Gerry Goldsmith/arr. Ford
TEMPO MARKINGS AND NOTES
Danse Carnivale
Tempo: Alternates between: Quarter=122/Quarter= 72
-We will be skipping the first ending at m. 64 and jumping right to the second ending (no repeat back to m. 49)
-Light and crisp articulation throughout. Lots of space.
Awakening Hills
Tempos:
mm. 1-59 Quarter= 130
mm. 62-83 Quarter=84
mm. 86-94 Quarter= 70
mm.96-103 Quarter=66
mm. 104-end Quarter= 130
-I may do a solo or soli flute and alto 1 part between m.67-83, depending on ensemble balance. All flute/alto 1 students should be prepared to play these parts.
-The bari sax should be prepared to play the bassoon cues mm. 69-76. We will figure out what we need balance-wise during rehearsals.
Patton
Tempo: Dotted Quarter=112
-Bouncy, light articulation
-If the snares need to leave out the flams in the 2/4 section to help with cleanliness, that's OK with me.
Colonial Song
Tempo: Quarter= 88
-In rehearsal, we will work on the ebb and flow of the tempo. (Hopefully, all intentional!) There will likely be lots of stretching of phrases.
**Also, if your school utilizes SmartMusic, all four of these pieces can also be accessed on SmartMusic.