As the summer concert season is upon us, it has given me an opportunity to reflect on how much music is a part of our lives.  Not just pricey concerts at Summerfest or the Bradley Center but all the smaller Concert in the Park venues, parades and even backyards.  Think about an average day and how much you listen to music.  Its on in the car, its on at home, its on your Ipod or your MP3 player, its on in the gym, the elevator (OK we can argue about Muzak later), etc.

Now think about the benefits of  music education for our children.  Studies have shown that children who participate in playing a musical instrument :

• perform better in math , science and communication skills and score higher on the SAT and ACT
• are more self disciplined which leads to better study and work habits
• are less likely to become involved with drugs or alcohol
• are better problem solvers and creative thinkers
• are better "team" players

Did you know that music majors are the most likely group of college grads to be admitted to medical school!  Makes more sense now when you look at the results of all the studies of children who participate in music education vs. those who do not.

Music has always been a  part of every culture and should always be a part of every school curriculum, it's a benefit our society cannot afford to lose!

Musically,

The Band Bunch

Your Heavy Metal is music to our ears!

It's time for the annual metal recycling drive sponsored by the Band Bunch. 

Bring your copper, brass, aluminum, stainless steel, cast iron, aluminum cans and siding, faucets, wires, etc for recycling.

SATURDAY, MAY 29th

8:00am  -  NOON

MENOMONEE FALLS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL STADIUM PARKING LOT

  It's a great way to help the environment and help the Band Bunch. 

All proceeds benefit the Menomonee Falls Band program.

Please visit: www.bandbunch.org for a complete list of acceptable and unacceptablemetal items.

Welcome to the Spring Concert Season!

It's a busy time in the band program as you will see with all the concerts coming up. 

The MFHS bands have returned from their trip to Boston/New York which featured performances at the Lincoln Center, tickets to Blue Man Group and Mamma MIa and many other memorable events.

Now it's time for all the bands to turn their attention to the final concerts of the 2009-2010 school year.  Many opportunities exist for the public to enjoy the music.   Please consider attending one of the many performances. 

• Thursday, May 13th the 7th and 8th Grade Bands perform at 7:00pm at NMS
• Tuesday, May 18th the Concert and Symphonic Bands perform at 7:30pm at MFHS
• Wednesday, May 19th the Freshman Band and Jazz 1 perform at 7:30pm at MFHS
• Saturday, May 22nd is Jazz & Java (tickets required) at 7:00pm at MFHS
• Monday, May 31st is the Memorial Day Parade featuring the MFHS and NMS Bands!
• Wednesday, June 2nd the MFHS Wind Symphony and Orchestra perform at 7:30 pm at MFHS
• Thursday, June 3rd the 6th Grade and North Jazz Bands perform at 7:00pm at NMS

What a great opportunity to hear all the talented and dedicated musicians in the Menomonee Falls Music program.  It is sad and frustrating to see the severe budget cuts facing the Menomonee Falls music programs.  The  enrollment in the music programs continues to grow yet somehow it was felt that despite the increasing enrollment, staff should be cut!  Many studies have shown that students who participate in a music program develop greater success in society, greater success in school, greater success in developing intelligence and greater success in life!  That doesn't sound like an area where you would want to cut your staff!  The students have collected hundreds of signatures on petitions and written letters on behalf of the current staff and structure of the music program, unfortunately it does not apppear to be enough.

The 2010-2011 music calendar may look a lot different.

Musically,

The Band Bunch

This Wednesday, March 31st, Culver's of Menomonee Falls will donate 10% of sales to the Menomonee Falls Band Bunch. 

All you need to do is present the coupon at the time of purchase and 10% will go to the Band Bunch! 

Go often, eat lots, have lunch, supper and then dessert!  The offer is good all day long!

Coupons can be easily printed from the Band Bunch website.  Just go to www.bandbunch.org and click on the Culver's coupon.

Proceeds from fundraising efforts go directly back to band students in the form of scholarships.

Help us support the awesome band program in Menomonee Falls and many thanks to Culver's for their awesome support.

Musically,

The Band Bunch

We are excited to announce the Menomonee Falls School Districts Solo and Ensemble Festival on Saturday, March 20th, 2010 at North Middle School from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

On this day there will be over 500 performances from seventh to twelfth grade Band, Orchestra, and Choir students. These students will perform selections that they have been preparing under the guidance of the music directors. The selections range in difficulty from class A, B, to C, with a class A piece being the most difficult. The performances are then critiqued by a judge. This year’s event will host 14 guest judges. The Festival is a great opportunity for students to perform for a judge and get helpful suggestions on how to improve their playing in a performance setting. After the student is done performing their piece for the judge, the judge will then offer a couple suggestions on how to improve the performance and fill out a score sheet with comments that the student will receive later. On this score sheet, the student will receive a rating on their performance ranging from a 1 to a 3. Students that perform a class A piece have the opportunity to earn a 1* rating, which also gives them the chance to attend a special performance night, Night of Stars, and perform their selection one last time.

Solo and Ensemble is the largest event within the school district, and would not be possible without the help, guidance, support and dedication of all the music directors and many parent volunteers.
 

Musically,

The Band Bunch

It is always one of the most anticipated concerts of the school year.

Yes, the annual "Pops" Concert at North Middle School will be held on Wednesday, February 24th at 7:30pm.  This years "Pops" Concert will feature the North Jazz ensembles under the direction of Mrs. Holst and Mrs. Schickert, the 8th grade Band under the direction of Mr. Fox and the 9th grade Band under the direction of Mr. Woger.  The "pops" Concert has traditionally featured music from many diferent music genres including Jazz, movie scores, marches, rock anthems and musicals.  The concert this year will be a great opportunity for the 8th grade band students to get a chance to see what awaits them at the High School as they listen to the 9th  grade band conducted by Mr. Woger.

The "Pops" Concert is free and the entire community is invited to an exciting evening of entertainment.

Flyers will be available at the concert for the Tazino's fundraising night.  On Sunday, February 28th from 4:00pm until 8:00pm, Tazino's will donate 10% of all sales to the Band Bunch!  This is a great opportunity not only to support a local business but also to support the Band Bunch in their effort to raise funds for scholarships.  You must  present the flyer in order for the Band Bunch to get  the credit so if you are unable to attend the concert you can go to the Band Bunch website at www.bandbunch.org and print the flyer directly from our website! 

Thank you Tazino's!

Musically,

The Band Bunch

On Thursday, February 18th the Menomonee Falls High School Band program will present concerts by the Concert Band, Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony.  The concert will be held in the high school auditorium beginning at 7:30 pm and is open to the community.

The Concert Band, under the direction of Mr. Zens will be performing music by Ralph Vaughan, Hugh M. Stuart, Anne McGinty and Elliott Del Borgo.  These selections have a greater difficulty level than what this band has traditionally performed and their effort will be seen in the performance.

The Symphonic Band, under the direction of Mr. Johnson, will feature highlights from "Jesus Christ Superstar".   With lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew LLoyd Webber "Jesus Christ Superstar" won a Tony in 1972 for Best Original Score and the album reached #1 on the  Billboard charts in 1971

The Wind Symphony, under the direction of Mr. Zens, will perform a piece called "Song to the Moon" which is a transcription of an aria from Antonin Dvorak's opera "Rusalka".  Featured in this piece is a MFHS Senior who plays oboe and English horn and plans on majoring in music either at UW-Madison or the University of Minnesota.  The Wind Symphony will also perform music from Gordon Jaacob, John Philip Sousa and will feature the saxophone section in a movement from Gordon Goodwin's "Diffusion for Saxophone Quartet".

Mr.Woger will be a guest conductor with the Wind Symphony on Joseph Schwantner's "In evening's stillness..."

Three great band, three great conductors, over 150 great band students!  Hope to see you there!

Welcome to the Menomonee Falls Band Bunch Blog!

The Band Bunch was established in 2005 by a group of parents who were interested in assisting the band directors with promoting the music education of students in the Menomonee Falls public schools.  The Band Bunch assists with organizing volunteers, raising funds for scholarships and guest instructors and coordinating events such as Jazz and Java.

In just a few years of existence the Band Bunch has provided:

• thousands of dollars in scholarships for college and music camps
• helped fund professional musicians to provide music clinics and performances for students
• helped fund new marching percussion instruments/equipment for Menomonee Falls High School and Middle School
• provided new marching uniforms for Menomonee Falls High School
• and  much, much more

Our goal with the blog is to keep the community informed of:

• upcoming band concerts and band events
• community events, such as the semiannual Metals Recycling Drive (save your aluminum cans and metal for Spring)
• highlights of current band students and their music aspirations
• follow up with alumni and their music accomplishments
• current happenings in the band program

We are very proud to support the amazing Menomonee Falls Band Program!

Let us know what you think!

Musically,

The Band Bunch