Start of concert season

I really enjoyed working with everyone this fall season. We had a fantastic end to our season, and were justly rewarded for our efforts. (For a list of everything we won, check out Mr. Aguilar's blog and be amazed.) Our band had a great dynamic, a great focus, and a great end. I am honored to have been a part of that.

Of course, even though the fall season is over, we don't slow down. The hornline and percussion are working on music for our Winter Concert on Wednesday, December 12. We will be performing with the jazz band, orchestra, and color guard. There will be a bake sale, so be sure to bring your wallets! We are in the middle of fundraising for our Disneyland trip this March. The students are selling See's candies, and the band gets an amazing 50% of the profit! The percussion is in training for their winter season, as are the guard. The guard is going to be performing a show inspired by "The Dreaming Tree" by Dave Matthews, and the percussion will be performing a yet-to-be-named show by Mr. Aguilar. We will all be going to Disneyland during Spring Break, where we will march down Main Street. This is a fun trip and I hope everyone goes. At the end of February, McClatchy will be hosting our very own drum and guard show, which will require a lot of effort from everyone, but it will be a lot of fun! Around this time we're going to start having pledge nights in preparation for our Play-a-Thon. For a full update on everything we're doing, check the calendar on the front page.

However, all this is a long way off! So let's just relax and enjoy the ride. It should be fun!

Again, thank you to everyone for such a great fall season. The band members - hornline, percussion, and colorguard - did a great job and I'm very impressed. And we couldn't have done it without the parents and their wonderful support. Our cheering section at Fairfield was very loud! The dinners were always delicious. Also, thank you to everyone who played a role in getting the flowers for the seniors. It was a very kind gesture and I, for one, was very touched. Thank you to everyone who helped make this season so fantastic!

Fall season is almost over!

I can't believe that there are only two weeks left in the 2007 fall season! We have two shows left: Merced and Fairfield. (After that, we will be performing in the Santa Parade, if you'd like to count that as a performance.) I am very excited for these two shows, because I know we will do well. The band has been working very hard, and it paid off at the Lodi Band Review. I have been very impressed with the behavior of the band. If we can keep up the intensity for two more weeks, we can do amazing things at Merced and Fairfield, just as we have been doing all season.

To date, our trophy count is up to eight. Let's bring home some more!

I'd like to thank everyone for their hard work yesterday. I know it was a crazy schedule with the parade, game, and competition, but everyone coped very well and we did great.

So keep bringing all your enthusiasm to school, practice, sectionals, and competitions! We haven't had many problems with this, but just a reminder: hornline and drumline need to bring black socks to competitions. Drumline members need to wear red shirts, hornline members need to wear black shirts, and everyone needs to wear boxers. Please be prepared for the weather and bring warm clothing for after our performances! Dress in layers. I'm very excited for the rest of the season (can I say it any more?)! I don't want to miss any of your bright shining faces at practice, so please don't get sick or injured! Band is no fun without the whole band there. (Besides, you would leave a hole in the drill.)

See you at practice,

Sara

Fall season update

Hey everyone!
Our fall season is going along splendidly, and I'm very impressed with the band. We're close to finishing drum solo, and then we'll be rushing into Closer drill. Our first performance is this Saturday! We'll be performing our Opener at halftime at the football game, which will be at McClatchy at 1 p.m. It's going to be a lot of fun, and it will be good practice for our first competition, which is in two weeks! Oakmont Band Review is on October 13, and I'm really excited. We should all be focusing a little more to help prepare. In addition to better focus on the field, everyone should be making sure they have black socks, a black shirt, and boxers before our performance on October 6.
Our schedule is up on this website, but everyone should mark November 3 as a big day! We have the Homecoming Parade, Homecoming football game, and then the Lodi Band Review. (The Homecoming Dance is October 27.)
I look forward to the start of show season. With this year's band, it is going to be incredible!

First week of band camp!

The first week of band camp is offcially over, and we're doing well! Donovan and I are continually impressed by the band's focus, hard work, and effort, despite the heat. We've gotten a lot of work done both musically and drill-wise. Many sections are close to memorizing Opener (Open Storm), our ensemble performances of our music are improving, and our marching is looking great.

Next week we're going to start doing drill for our actual show. If we keep up the momentum we had this week, it should be a breeze. On Thursday (August 30), we will be performing for the freshmen at Freshmen Orientation. Everyone must be in the band room at 8:00 am on Thursday. We will end at noon, but everyone needs to be back at the band room at 4:00 pm for Unity Games! The band will perform for their parents at 6:30 pm in the Lunch Quad, and the parents will recieve information about the upcoming season. Bring a picnic dinner!

Remember to bring plenty of water -- the weather shows no sign of cooling off! Hats, sunglasses, sunscreen, and shorts are all very good ideas.

I'm really excited about the upcoming season! It's going to look like a great season.

Summer update

Hi everyone! Hope your summers are going very well. Here's what's been going on:
Freshmen lists are out and have been given to the section leaders. I know a lot of section leaders have been waiting for them before they start holding sectionals, so now those section leaders can begin. Each section should be holding at least four sectionals before band camp.
The calendar is up on the website, so now you can all see what's going on.
The arranger has slowly been sending music to Mr. Aguilar, so we now have Opener (Into the Storm), Ballad (Eye of the Storm), and a Closer (Into the Light). You should all be practicing the music! If your section leader hasn't given it to you, they will soon. Drummers, there is no music for the time being - Mr. Aguilar will be arranging your parts and hasn't written them yet. Everyone else, please try and memorize Opener by the start of band camp.
Band camp starts in less than a month! The first day will start with freshmen breakfast at nine, and the rest of the band will come at one. August 30 will be the parent night, which will be held in the lunch quad. Bring your family and a picnic dinner and prepare to perform for your parents. Parents will recieve information about the band.
I hope your summers are going very well. If you have any questions, email me at skewin@sbcglobal.net. Donovan and Mr. Aguilar will return from tour with Mandarins in August, so you can forward your questions to them, but you shouldn't expect a response for a few weeks.

Farewell

It has been an awesome year this year and I just wanted to let everyone know that I had fun being the Head Drum Major for the school year of 2006-07. It was honor to work for not only such great classmates, but also Mr. Aguilar and fellow board members. This year has been an excellent year and I wish Sara and Donovan good luck for next year. See you around everybody and take care. Good luck with whatever your dreams and goals are and farewell from your Ex-Drum Major.

David Mori