Fitting as the third week of school comes to an end I find myself with some sort of sickness. But the show must go on! We have our second marching band competition this week at Trenton HS. I was pleased with our opening score last week at Woodhaven (57.60) but not that thrilled about being 3 of 3 bands in our flight. Its nice scoring in a competitive range though. I can remember just about 3 years ago scoring in the 30's during the first week....we have come a long way.
In the class room, the band classes seems to be going ok. I have tons of good kids and some pretty good musicians. I also seem to have a few people who are...well, let's say still learning. I hope they keep working and do not get discouraged. It can be very overwhelming when the person next to you is much better than you. It seems to be a really great 9th grade class and I think if they all stick with it the Truman Bands will be good for many years to come.
What's new is the choir..for me any way. The kids in there are very nice and seem very willing to deal with 'the band guy' as i do my best to let them put on a great show. I am really excited to have the choir kids learn the tunes I select and make some great music. I read an interesting book by a former band director turned choir director this summer. Much of what he wrote is true...music is very universal. I may not be the best vocal teacher, but I do know music and how to be successful performing it. I truly am looking forward to our choir concerts this year!