October 14-21
This week we will break down Saturday; the good, the bad and the ugly. We will then talk about moving forward. Saturday had a lot of ups and downs.
The good: We were able to get out to the parade and begin our competitive season! Competing and performing requires growth over a period of time, and we were able to get our band review together for a very solid first run. The band ended up in third place with a 88.7. Guard ended up in 4th place with a 82.8 (a really strong opening number!) and Drum Major Chelsea Leyva was third overall in the band review with a 88. Congrats to all of the performing groups in a tough class. The final order was:
1) Norco 2) Shadow Hills 3) Loara 4) Kennedy 5) Cypress
We also won showmanship for the class with a very impressive 266 out of 300. Showmanship combines all elements of the show (band, color guard, drum major). You can check out the performance on youtube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kiCNiCnNrQ
Perhaps the biggest “good” of all was the tremendous support that we had from our parent volunteers. Kids were hydrated, fed, and taken care of. We had the perfect amount of folks and it was really appreciated and uplifting to see. Thank you all!!!!
The bad (well, the areas of improvement),
We didn't march or play as well as we could have. When you watch the video, you'll see that we really RUSHED the march. Once the tempo took off that way, our playing got really rough and our feet were a mess. We were in last place in the class in music (from one judge, the other had us in 2nd) and our marching number had 24 errors! We can do better, and we will do better. The bones for a great parade band are there, we just need a little more poise when we get to the line (something that will grow as we move forward).
The ugly,
We didn't make it to the Valencia tournament. Here's the story:
Originally when we were going to be doing the double day (street and field), I entered our transportation information as one long trip. Once it became obvious that it was better to make it two separate trips, I called our transportation department to make the change. I spoke to them on Tuesday and gave them all of the necessary information for both trips. I then called on Thursday to confirm.
It never made it into their online system. When I called on Saturday to talk to dispatch, I asked them if we could share Savanna's busses. They said no. I asked if there is a possibility to grab drivers, they said they'd “try.” So I called the show site and asked them to push back our performance time, which they were willing to do, but no drivers ever took the call.
This is a nightmare scenario for a band director. All of the work that students and parents put in, and all of the sacrifice to make yourself available, only for no busses to show up. I'm really sorry, and I'll make sure nothing like this ever happens again.
I also want to make it up to the students, and get them to another show. I've contacted my alma mater, John W. North in Riverside, and I asked them to open up a spot in their show for us on Thursday November 7th (Day after band spectacular). They've agreed, so we are adding that show! This show will be the week of Savanna, and WILL count as a qualifying number for championship consideration.
Rest assured, I'll be talking to transportation on Monday to work through this, and to make sure it's the first and last time something like this happens.
Ok, moving forward, we have our FIRST (now its our first) field show competition this week. We will be at Glover Stadium for a show hosted by Kennedy High School. Let's all use our frustration and disappointment with this Saturday to fuel our rehearsals all week. We are on at 7:15pm, so here's what the schedule looks like:
3:30pm Call at school to warm up and rehearse 4:30pm Load
5pm Leave for Glover
7:30pmPerform in 5A
9:15pm Awards
10pm Back to school to unload and dismiss
This week we have a special masterclass opportunity for ALL clarinet and saxophone players. Dr. Chika Inoue (from the LA Philharmonic) will be at Loara for a 3pmmasterclass. All of our single reed payers ought to be in attendance. It'll end at 4:30pm.
Here's what the week looks like (All rehearsals will be for field show):
M – Masterclass 3pm
T – Late Start rehearsal schedule
W – 3-6 Rehearsal
Th –
F –
S – Kennedy FT
S- Trophy Building 10am in the Loara Band Room (For Our Tournament)
This week we will break down Saturday; the good, the bad and the ugly. We will then talk about moving forward. Saturday had a lot of ups and downs.
The good: We were able to get out to the parade and begin our competitive season! Competing and performing requires growth over a period of time, and we were able to get our band review together for a very solid first run. The band ended up in third place with a 88.7. Guard ended up in 4th place with a 82.8 (a really strong opening number!) and Drum Major Chelsea Leyva was third overall in the band review with a 88. Congrats to all of the performing groups in a tough class. The final order was:
1) Norco 2) Shadow Hills 3) Loara 4) Kennedy 5) Cypress
We also won showmanship for the class with a very impressive 266 out of 300. Showmanship combines all elements of the show (band, color guard, drum major). You can check out the performance on youtube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kiCNiCnNrQ
Perhaps the biggest “good” of all was the tremendous support that we had from our parent volunteers. Kids were hydrated, fed, and taken care of. We had the perfect amount of folks and it was really appreciated and uplifting to see. Thank you all!!!!
The bad (well, the areas of improvement),
We didn't march or play as well as we could have. When you watch the video, you'll see that we really RUSHED the march. Once the tempo took off that way, our playing got really rough and our feet were a mess. We were in last place in the class in music (from one judge, the other had us in 2nd) and our marching number had 24 errors! We can do better, and we will do better. The bones for a great parade band are there, we just need a little more poise when we get to the line (something that will grow as we move forward).
The ugly,
We didn't make it to the Valencia tournament. Here's the story:
Originally when we were going to be doing the double day (street and field), I entered our transportation information as one long trip. Once it became obvious that it was better to make it two separate trips, I called our transportation department to make the change. I spoke to them on Tuesday and gave them all of the necessary information for both trips. I then called on Thursday to confirm.
It never made it into their online system. When I called on Saturday to talk to dispatch, I asked them if we could share Savanna's busses. They said no. I asked if there is a possibility to grab drivers, they said they'd “try.” So I called the show site and asked them to push back our performance time, which they were willing to do, but no drivers ever took the call.
This is a nightmare scenario for a band director. All of the work that students and parents put in, and all of the sacrifice to make yourself available, only for no busses to show up. I'm really sorry, and I'll make sure nothing like this ever happens again.
I also want to make it up to the students, and get them to another show. I've contacted my alma mater, John W. North in Riverside, and I asked them to open up a spot in their show for us on Thursday November 7th (Day after band spectacular). They've agreed, so we are adding that show! This show will be the week of Savanna, and WILL count as a qualifying number for championship consideration.
Rest assured, I'll be talking to transportation on Monday to work through this, and to make sure it's the first and last time something like this happens.
Ok, moving forward, we have our FIRST (now its our first) field show competition this week. We will be at Glover Stadium for a show hosted by Kennedy High School. Let's all use our frustration and disappointment with this Saturday to fuel our rehearsals all week. We are on at 7:15pm, so here's what the schedule looks like:
3:30pm Call at school to warm up and rehearse 4:30pm Load
5pm Leave for Glover
7:30pmPerform in 5A
9:15pm Awards
10pm Back to school to unload and dismiss
This week we have a special masterclass opportunity for ALL clarinet and saxophone players. Dr. Chika Inoue (from the LA Philharmonic) will be at Loara for a 3pmmasterclass. All of our single reed payers ought to be in attendance. It'll end at 4:30pm.
Here's what the week looks like (All rehearsals will be for field show):
M – Masterclass 3pm
T – Late Start rehearsal schedule
W – 3-6 Rehearsal
Th –
F –
S – Kennedy FT
S- Trophy Building 10am in the Loara Band Room (For Our Tournament)
