Awards Banquet

Videos of our Awards Banquet performances are up on the videos page, courtesy of Andrew's Dad. H.A.G.S. everybody, and.....

thanks!!!

Billy Hill and the Hillbillies

Update: Billy Hill & the Hillbillies are at Big Thunder Mountain Ranch for the summer. I many or may not have already gone to DL during break!
 
I can't believe I forgot to post this! If you haven't seen Billy Hill & the Hillbillies at Disneyland, you are bad and you should feel bad! They are at the Golden Horseshoe* most days, so what are you waiting for? Go to Disneyland!



I recorded this version of "Orange Blossom Special" a few months ago. There are better and longer videos out there if you like this. My family sees them probably 75% of the time we go and they are fantastic every time.


*The Golden Horseshoe is air conditioned AND serves ice cream sundaes. Seriously, go.

Slideshow on video page

The slideshow from our Awards Banquet is on the Videos page. Thank you to the Seitz family for doing such a wonderful job!
I fixed the videos from the Spring Concert so you can actually watch them now.
And thank you all for the scrapbook, I absolutely love it! One of my 8th graders from Twin Peaks made a scrapbook for me probably 7 years ago. I still have it and cherish it, and I will cherish this one also. All of your comments are my favorite part and you did such a great job on the pages! I'll bring it in tomorrow so you can look at it if you haven't seen it already.

Spring Concert Thoughts and Videos

Our performances (and yes, me on the exercise chair) are now up on the Video page. Mrs. Halladay did a great job recording and y'all did a great job performing! We will definitely be able to use these for our Disney Community Arts application next year.

I had a blast on Friday night and hope you all did too. Besides playing well, I think adding opening narration to Sleepy Hollow and a lightsaber battle really entertained the audience. This was one of the most fun concerts I've done as a director. I felt really confident in our preparation and it showed in our performance. JWT turned out really well! You can hear the melody well and the transitions were clean. I felt that the accents in the background part were a little dull because of the size of the performance hall, but dynamics were good throughout.

The Symphonic Orchestra pieces were pretty rough, but not so rough that the audience would notice. The parts we rehearsed on Friday morning went great, but there were awkward sections where people were lost. Still, no one panicked and everyone stayed with me and we got back on track. During the shaky sections I felt confident that an entrance was coming up that would set us right. The strings were definitely watching and following so I tried to give obvious cues. The soloists nailed their parts - Jaime on trumpet, Sarah on flute, Mia on bassoon, Christine on clarinet, and Christina (of course). I'm glad Mr. Samson and I were able to give you that experience.

I'm off to practice - practice making cookies!

I Am The Doctor

I will upload all the videos that Mrs. Halladay took last night. The videos are all HD so it's going to take a while, but here's the first one! They all sound really good! The sound in the hall for the audience was much better than what we heard on stage.



And yes, I have the video of me on the crazy chair, it'll be up soon!

Be on time and practice

Mr Samson and I have both been saying it. Here it is again in written form for you visual learners.

It is crucial that you are on time to rehearsal this week! Wednesday we start at 6:50. Friday we start at 6:50. Be in your seat, music and instrument ready, by 6:50.
I am giving you the opportunity to play John Williams Trilogy because I know you like the music and are excited to play it. Be on time so we can put it together. Practice it at home so I'm not spending rehearsal time teaching you notes, rhythms, and dynamics.
I am giving you the opportunity to perform in a full orchestra because that hasn't been done at El Dorado for several years. Be on time so we can make the most of our limited rehearsal time. Practice it at home so we can make music, not just play notes.
I am working hard to bring you these opportunities. Respect that by being on time and practicing at home. And for those of you that aren't motivated by this, I'm also going to do it this way:

On Friday, be in your seat, music and instrument ready in the bandroom, by 6:50.
IF YOU ARE LATE ON FRIDAY, YOU DON'T PLAY IN THE FULL ORCHESTRA FOR THE CONCERT THAT NIGHT.
IF YOU ONLY PLAY IN THE ORCHESTRA/SINFONIA PART OF THE CONCERT, YOU ONLY GET 1/2 CREDIT FOR YOUR GRADE FOR THE CONCERT. YOUR FINAL GRADE FOR THE YEAR WILL TAKE A BIG HIT.

Sorry it has to be this way but sometimes this is the only way to motivate you.

Spring Concert Donations

Our Spring Concert with the Band Program is also a very important fund raiser for our program for next year. We all want to have fun experiences with Orchestra - Disneyland, professional orchestra concerts, etc. This is how you make that happen!
Donation bins will be behind my desk.