Sun Valley Middle School Spartan Band

2012-01-20T14:00:00.000-05:00

Union County Honor Band Nominees

2012-01-20T11:13:00.002-05:00

The following Sun Valley Middle School band students were nominated to particpate in the Union County middle school honor band clinic on February 17-18:

Christine B - flute

Samantha H - flute
Rachel - bass clarinet
Mickey - bass clarinet

Makenna H - alto saxophone

Blaise R - trumpet

Megan L - french horn

Will S - baritone

Emmanuel A - tuba

Hunter C - percussion

This year's guest conductor is the world renowned composer Michael Sweeney. He will coach the honor band students through two days of rehearsals and then perform and concert with them on Saturday, February 18 at 1:30 in the Porter Ridge High School auditorium.

Mr. Sweeney has chosen five musical selections for the clinic and concert. Four of those pieces are listed in theUNION COUNTY HONOR BAND LISTENING LIBRARY to the right of this post. The fifth piece is not listed because it is not yet published or recorded. In fact, it has never been performed before! Mr. Sweeney composed this piece especially for this clinic to be premiered by our honor band students. We are so proud to have a commissioned work from Mr. Sweeney for the student musicians of Union County and we are very excited to hear the finished product at the concert!

It is an honor to have Mr. Sweeney working with our students and ALL BAND STUDENTS should make it a priority to attend the concert on February 18. Seeing Mr. Sweeney in concert is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

Upcoming Performances

2012-01-17T13:03:00.000-05:00

Our second semester performances have been scheduled. Here is a list of our upcoming performances. Mark your calendars now!

UNION COUNTY HONOR BAND CONCERT
featuring Michael Sweeney

Saturday, February 18 at 1:30 pm

Porter Ridge High School

MPA PREVIEW PREFORMANCE
Tuesday, March 6 - TIME TBA

Sun Valley High School AUDITORIUM

UNION COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL MPA PREVIEW

Tuesday, March 13 - TIME TBA

Cuthbertson High School Auditorium

7th GRADE MPA PERFORMANCE
Thursday, March 15 - DURING SCHOOL DAY
Wingate University Performing Arts Center

8th GRADE MPA PERFORMANCE
Friday, March 16 - LATE AFTERNOON
Wingate University Performing Arts Center

6th and 7th GRADE SPRING CONCERT
Monday, April 30 at 7pm
SVMS gymnasium

8th GRADE & JAZZ SPRING CONCERT
Monday, May 7 at 7pm
SVMS cafeteria stage

8th GRADE PERFORMANCE AT KNIGHT'S GAME
Tuesday, May 29 - TIME TBA
Knight's Stadium - Fort Mill, SC
Admission - $8.00

DISTRICT HONOR BAND RESULTS

2012-01-08T22:34:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to the following musicians for earning a seat in the 2012 south central district middle school honor band:

Will-Baritone, 1st chair
Makenna-Alto Sax, 4th chair
Megan-French Horn, 8th chair

These students have earned the opportunity to attend the South Central District Bandmasters' Association middle school honor band clinic on January 27-28 in Hickory, NC. They will spend two days rehearsing under the direction of well known composer James Swearingen. At the conclusion of the clinic, the students will perform a concert under the direction of Mr. Swearingen.

Participating in this honor band is a very high honor. We are VERY PROUD OF YOU!!!

Percussion Results

2011-12-10T17:13:00.001-05:00

After auditioning over 30 students for percussion, the following students were determined to be the best fit for percussion:

Ben G.

Skyellar H.

Noah M.

Danielle W.

Percussion students will be in the 5th period woodwind class next week. Their P.E. and SKILLS teachers will remain the same.

New percussion students should go to Music & Arts and trade their rental instruments in for a Percussion Learning Kit (PLC) as soon as possible. You will also need to purchase two new Ed Sueta beginning band books: one for mallets and one for drums.

New percussion students will spend all week working on mallets in class so that they can get caught up with the rest of the band before winter break. Please email Ms. Craven with any questions - leslie.craven@ucps.k12.nc.us

Concert Highlights

2011-12-01T11:06:00.002-05:00

We have had a very successful concert season at Sun Valley Middle School this year. Here are some highlights from our fall and winter performances:

6th Grade Beginning Band:
Freedom's Road by Paul Lavender
Bandroom Boogie by Michael Sweeney
Pirate's Cave by Mark Williams
Gallant March by Paul Lavender
Clarinet Spotlight
Trumpet Spotlight
Trombone Spotlight

7th Grade Concert Band:
Paragon by Mike Story
Battle of the Instruments by James Stryska
Winter Wonderland arranged by Michael Sweeney
Jingle Bell Rock arranged by Michael Sweeney

Jazz Band:
Bubbert Goes Retro by Mike Steinel

Thanks to all who submitted such great film footage!

PERCUSSION AUDITIONS

2011-11-30T14:16:00.002-05:00

Click HERE to see the percussion audition schedule.

In the next few weeks we will be holding auditions for the 6th grade band members who are interested in auditioning for percussion. No prior experience on percussion is required to audition, however it helps if the student has some experience with PIANO. Students will be selected on the basis of how well they adjust to the instruments, how well they read percussion rhythms, their work ethic in class, and their commitment to practicing at home. Only three or four students will be selected to play percussion.
Students selected to play percussion are expected to remain in the band program at least until the end of their 8th grade year.
Please note, “percussion” is NOT learning how to play a drum set. In band class, playing percussion involves learning traditional concert percussion technique on instruments such as orchestra bells, xylophone, bass drum, snare drum, timpani, and cymbals.

Students selected to play percussion who are currently renting from Music & Arts can simply trade their current instrument in for a “percussion learning kit” which contains orchestra bells, a snare drum, a practice pad, and necessary sticks and mallets. Students who are not currently renting are strongly encouraged to rent a “percussion learning kit” from Music & Arts. A drum set does NOT meet the instrument requirements for practice at home because it does not have a bell set.

Students must have parent permission to audition for percussion. Click HERE to view the audition permission form. AUDITION PERMISSION FORMS ARE DUE BY FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2!!!

If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Craven at leslie.craven@ucps.k12.nc.us or 704.296.3009.

Pep Band Night 2011

2011-09-18T20:52:00.003-05:00

The 8th grade band performed with members of the Sun Valley High School "Spartan Sound" Marching Band at Friday's home football game. With 62 members in this year's 8th grade band, we DOUBLED the size of the high school band for the night and had a blast playing pep tunes in the stands, watching the half time show, and getting a behind the scenes view of life in the marching band. Thank you to Mr. Reynolds, student leadership, and members of the Spartan Sound for the effort you put in to planning and preparing for pep band night. You helped make our experience an amazing one. Here are some images from Friday night's performance...

Sun Valley Musicians Perform at Just Chillin'

2011-09-12T13:10:00.000-05:00

Sun Valley band students are nearing the end of their Bank for Band fundraiser. Many students have put in a great deal of time looking for investors and, as a result, our piggy banks are filling up. One group fo 8th grade musicians thought of a creative way to use their musical talents to reach out to the community for donations. These students formed a small ensemble and performed live music at Just Chillin', our local frozen yogurt shop. They prepared their music, conducted themselves, and even made their own advertisements for the event. Their hard work paid off and several people made donations when they spotted the quintet performing on Sunday afternoon outside of the yogurt shop.

We are proud of the effort these musicians put into going the extra mile to reach out to the community with their music. Thank you for your hard work Kalina, Hanneh, Aliyah, Cara, and Katie!!!

Band Camp 2011

2011-08-01T19:35:00.003-05:00

Full band camp began today at Sun Valley High School. Although the marching band consists primarily of high school students, several 8th graders from our own Sun Valley Middle School band are marching this year! You can follow the daily progress throughout band camp at this LINK.

This year's show is called "Boo!" and it is based on music from In the Hall of the Mountain King. Chad and Becky, the drum majors at Gardner Webb University, are the marching instructors for camp this year. They are helping us make some improvements to our basic marching technique this year so camp began with a THOROUGH review of attention, parade rest, marking time, and the step off. We are also working on building our mental and physical strength. I was very impressed with the focus, discipline, and determination in the block today. Check out these images from Day 1.

2011-08-01T19:33:00.000-05:00

The first step is the most important and the toes should point up into the air. Toes to the nose, gang. Toes to the nose!

ASBDA Invitational Clinic

2011-06-11T21:12:00.000-05:00

Key Signature Flash Cards

2011-03-21T09:00:00.002-05:00

7th and 8th grade band students are reviewing key signatures this grading period. Key signatures should be memorized well enough that students can recognize them on sight in a matter of 3-5 seconds. Use the electronic flash cards below to help you memorize your key signatures!!!

TREBLE CLEF
SHARP KEYS
FLAT KEYS
SHARP & FLAT KEYS COMBINED

BASS CLEF
SHARP KEYS
FLAT KEYS
SHARP AND FLAT KEYS COMBINED

TREBLE AND BASS CLEF COMBINED
SHARP KEYS
FLAT KEYS
SHARP & FLAT KEYS COMBINED

MASTER MUSICIANS

2010-11-03T19:47:00.000-05:00

November's Master Musician is Dr. Dawn Perry of Wingate University. Dr. Perry, an accomplished trombone player, is Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Wingate University in North Carolina where she conducts the Symphonic Band, Jazz Ensemble, and Pep Band and teaches courses in instrumental methods and conducting. Dr. Perry received both Masters and Bachelors Degrees in Music Education from Appalachian State University. Prior to her appointment at Wingate, Dr. Perry taught for ten years in the public schools of North Carolina and Texas.

Dr. Perry has long been a supporter of and contributor to the Sun Valley Middle School band program. We are honored to have her in our band room working specifically with the low brass players this month and look forward to hearing them grow in the coming weeks!

MASTER MUSICIANS

2010-10-07T20:53:00.002-05:00

October marks the beginning of our "Master Musician" program. Beginning this month, professional musicians from the greater Charlotte area will visit the band room on a weekly basis to coach Sun Valley musicians in a small group setting. Each month, we hope to have a different master musician in residence.

October's featured Master Musician is Mrs. Emily Higgins (flute). Mrs. Higgins is an active performer in the Charlotte region and has a full studio of private lesson students at Music and Arts Center. If your child wishes to take privately with Mrs. Higgins, please call 704.341.0000 for lesson details.

Learn more about Mrs. Higgins and listen to clips of her performing HERE.

We are so excited to bring this wonderful resource to our Sun Valley students. Funding for this project is provided by proceeds from Bank for Band.

Used Instruments for Sale

2009-08-02T00:53:00.001-05:00

TROMBONE
My name is Sherry Wentz. My son used the instrument for about a year and a half but has graduated and no longer uses it. The brand and model number is Benge 165F. It is in good condition and includes the original case. We are asking $500 for the instrument. Any interested students may contact us at bwentz001@carolina.rr.com.

TROMBONE
Lee Anne Mooney is selling a Jupiter Capital Edition CEB-630 beginner trombone for $300. She can be reached at 704.698.0006 or by emailing ladiscochick@yahoo.com

CLARINET
My name is Janet Smith and I have a Selmer clarinet (CL300) in excellent condition that I'd like to sell. If you are interested, please call 704-989-1751.