Percussion Summer Schedule
This information is for students/parents involved in the Percussion clinics/auditions/practices. It’s quite long but should contain much of what you need to know as we finish auditions and head in to summer.
My apologies if I failed to include today (Monday, May 8) and next Monday, May 15 as practices for both battery percussion (results already posted) and front ensemble percussion (results TBD) from 3:45 – 6:00. They were on the flyers. We are very excited about the entire group of students we have participating and hope to be able to post results for our Front Ensemble very soon. Below is a letter from Mr. Dennis Crosby, our Percussion Program Coordinator and also teaches our battery (marching percussion – snare, quads, basses). Ms. Leong (which is her maiden name btw – Leah Farris) is our Front Ensemble instructor. Both are accomplished musicians and highly experienced educators in the percussive arts. Check out their bios on our About –> Leadership page atwww.buckhornband.com )
We had a very successful Indoor Percussion season because of everyone’s hard work and we plan on challenging all the students to raise the bar even higher this season.
Battery Summer Rehearsals.
June 1st
Basses 9am-1pm
Snares/Quads 12pm-4pm
June 6th
Snares/Quads 9am-1pm
Basses 12pm-4pm
June 8th
Basses 9am-1pm
Snares/Quads 12pm-4pm
June 13th
Snares/Quads 9am-1pm
Basses 12pm-4pm
June 15th
Basses 9am-1pm
Snares/Quads 12pm-4pm
June 20th
Snares/Quads 9am-1pm
Basses 12pm-4pm
June 22nd
Basses 9am-1pm
Snares/Quads 12pm-4pm
June 27th
Snares/Quads 9am-1pm
Basses 12pm-4pm
June 29th
Basses 9am-1pm
Snares/Quads 12pm-4pm
July 6th
Basses 9am-1pm
Snares/Quads 12pm-4pm
I know the dates might look a little confusing so here’s another way to think of it.
Basses practice from 12pm-4pm on All Tuesday rehearsals
and from 9am-1pm on All Thursday rehearsals.
Snares and Quads will practice from 9am-1pm on All Tuesday rehearsals
and from 12pm-4pm on All Thursday rehearsals.
This overlapping schedule will allow much more sub-sectional time (individual instruments) where we can give our students more individualized instructions, and by alternating the days, both groups will get to enjoy the morning rehearsal block where the heat isn’t so exhausting.
*This worked very well for us last year, but we know that for some, having a parent/sibling available to give rides can be tricky. We encourage carpooling and we also have lots of students who drive and would be glad to give rides. Therefore, we ask that students please plan ahead and use the BHS Percussion Facebook group to coordinate if a ride is needed. Not having a ride is NOT an excuse for missing practices.
Front Ensemble Summer Rehearsals
June 1st 12pm-4pm
June 6th 12pm-4pm
June 8th 12pm-4pm
June 13th 12pm-4pm
June 15th 12pm-4pm
June 20th 12pm-4pm
June 22nd 12pm-4pm
June 27th 12pm-4pm
June 29th 12pm-4pm
July 6th 12pm-4pm
*The band has an absentee policy regarding summer rehearsals which allows students to miss 2 practices (3 if absolutely necessary) for family vacations, church camps, or another legitimate conflict. We teach students much more than just percussion, including effective communication skills. A hugely important part of success in high school and future life is, of course, planning. Students/parents should notify myself and/or Mr. Souder of any absences well ahead of time so effective plans can be made for practices. It goes without saying that attendance during our summer rehearsals are crucial to the success of the group and one of the main reasons we are seeing such rapid improvements in our percussion students over the last year. It’s the only part of the year where we get to go back to the fundamentals and reeaally learn foundational concepts. Everyone’s position in this ensemble matters and each student’s contributions effect the success of the group – this is the ultimate team sport!
What Members Need To Bring:
- breathable summer clothing
- tennis shoes (NO SANDALS or “skater shoes”!! We run and are on pavement sometimes.)
- hat or visor
- sunscreen
- ***gallon water cooler (for brief, frequent water breaks)
- music binder (with sheet protectors, music, and notebook paper)
- pencils
- highlighter (for all bass drummers)
- drumsticks/drum pads and/or mallets
If anyone has any questions regarding anything I’ve covered, or something i didn’t mention, please feel free to contact me.
Most of the day-to-day information will be posted through our BHS Percussion Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/129860740441124/
This is a closed group, so someone will have to accept your request to join to be added into the group. This is set up this way for more safety and privacy of our students.
I hope everyone has a great summer!
-Dennis C.