Honor Band Time 2

Honor Band Director Introduction

2

Rock Star Academy Opens

2

Solo and Ensemble Registration Form

3

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Special points of

interest:

Honor Band Info

Who is the Honor Band

Director?

Rock Star Academy

Opens!

Solo and Ensemble

Registration Form

March On Down the Road This Summer!

Festival Participants Hit It Out of the Rink!

2012

February

Strike Up the Band is going to take our act to the streets! We are looking for band members

who would be interested in participating in our Summer Marching Band program. This experi-

ence would include marching some Thursday evening summer parades and concluding with the

State Fair. This program is open to all band students. We are looking into having both a North

and Southeast marching bands. If you would like to participate in both, go ahead! The music

and marching will be the same for both bands. Registration form is attached to this email. Mini-

mum amount required.

Register now for Solo and Ensemble before we run out of available time slots! Solo and Ensem-

ble is available for 6th-12th grade students. This is a voluntary program for anyone in that age

range who would be interested. The dates of Solo/Ensemble will be March 14 from 3:30-7:30

p.m. and March 15 from 1:30 - 6:00 p.m. Music solos may be selected from the solos in the back

of your lesson book or from solo books used for Honor Band auditions. You may even learn the

complete solo rather than just the segments asked for your Honor Band audition for this year! If

you do not know what to play, your band director can assist you. If you have never partici-

pated in Solo/Ensemble, it is where you sit in front of a licensed music judge and they listen, cri-

tique, and comment on how well you play and what you need to work on. Your director can

give you more information on that as well. This is a great learning experience. Sign-up forms are

available online and in this newsletter on pg. 3. Your director also has forms available. Please

return the completed form along with the $5.00 registration fee to your teacher or mail to Kris

Knutson at 2400 Freeway Blvd., Brooklyn Center, MN 55430. Please make checks out to

Schmitt Music or Strike Up the Band. Deposit Account funds cannot be used for this fee. Please

call 763-398-5046 if you have any questions.

Register Now For Solo and Ensemble

I was going to say out of the park but it IS hockey season and tonight I am going to a Wild

game with my sister (a belated birthday gift!) This year we had nearly 100 students participate

in our two Festivals that were held at Immaculate Conception and St. John’s Lutheran Schools.

To see pictures of both events, check out our webpage at www.schmittmusic.com and go to

the Strike Up the Band page! We had several students that came back for their 2nd year and

plan on coming back for their 3rd! We even had one student who was at the 1st festival on the

21st come back on the 28th! So, for you that missed this great event, make sure that you check

the September newsletter next fall so that you can get the date on the calendar right away!

Page 2

Strike Up the Band Honor Band - It’s Time! All 6th-8th grade students are invited to audition for the Strike Up the Band

Honor Band! Honor band is a performing group for a select number of students.

Those chosen have the privilege of representing Strike Up the Band to family and

friends. It is an experience that your child will remember as they get the opportu-

nity to play with other talented musicians their age.

Auditions will take place for all students beginning Feb. 21 and continuing

through March. Your band director will notify me when the students at their

school that are auditioning are ready to audition. This year, to make auditions

completely fair, I will be traveling to all of the schools to hear auditions. The

audition will consist of an assigned scale, an assigned solo, and three short sight reading passages. Please note that percus-

sionists will audition on both bells and snare drum. Each student is required to purchase a copy of their audition solo.

You may order the required audition materials from your teacher. Order your materials as soon as possible! Students

should start working out the rhythm and learning the notes of the solo as soon as possible. The song list is attached to the

newsletter email.

This year’s Honor Band Rehearsal and Concert will take place on Saturday, April 28 at 7:00 pm. The location of this

event is St. Andrew’s Lutheran in Mahtomedi. Students should plan on arriving on April 28 at 10:00 am with rehearsals

running until 4:00 pm.

Please encourage your child to audition for this great opportunity. It promises to be an excellent learning experience and

a chance to meet students from other Strike Up the Band schools and home schools.

Further information regarding Honor Band will arrive after the auditions and be on our website. Contact Kris Knutson

for more information or for questions.

A native of La Crosse, Wisconsin, Mrs. Kimberly Graff completed her undergraduate

work in Secondary Music Education at the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse, and

earned her masters degree in Education - Professional Development from the Univer-

sity of Wisconsin – Eau Claire.

Mrs. Graff began her teaching career at Amery Middle School and has been in Rice

Lake, Wisconsin since 1989. Her primary responsibilities at Rice Lake Middle School

include 7th & 8

th Grade Concert Bands, Marching Band and numerous individual band

lessons. In addition, she assists with the Beginning Band and Jazz Ensemble. Under

Mrs. Graff’s leadership, the Rice Lake Middle School Bands have continued a strong

tradition of excellence, performing publicly in concert, festival, and convention set-

tings. Mrs. Graff is an active Wisconsin School Music Association adjudicator and past

member of the Wisconsin Middle Level Honors Band staff. In addition, she is a past

conductor of the National Band Association-Wisconsin Chapter Junior All State Band

as well as regional Honors Bands.

Mrs. Graff lives in Rice Lake with her husband Dan and two children, Lindsey & Ben and 2 golden retrievers – Lucy

& Bailey. She enjoys playing saxophone, clarinet and percussion with the Rice Lake Comm/University Band and is an

active church musician and local community theatre director/performer/supporter.

Introducing Our Honor Band Director

Rock Star Academy in Brooklyn Center will be starting their first Level 1 8-week

session on Wednesday, February 22 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Space is limited so regis-

ter now! This is open to all beginning guitar, bass, vocal, keyboard, and drum set

players! Contact Kris Knutson for more information or go to www.schmittmusic/

rockstar to register!

Rock Star Academy Opens!

Page 3

Strike Up the Band Solo and Ensemble Registration Form

Student Name:

Instrument: Grade:

Parent Name:

Email: _______________________________________________________________________

Band Instructor:

School: Phone:_____________________________

There is a $5 participation fee for each student participating in solo and ensemble. Please send amount with form and make

checks payable to Strike Up the Band.

I would be available on the following days at the following times:

Please circle all available times.

March 14 March 15

3:30 1:30

3:45 1:45

4:00 2:00

4:45 2:15

5:00 2:30

5:15 2:45

5:30 3:00

5:45 3:15

6:00 3:30

6:15 3:45

6:30 4:00

6:45 4:15

4:30

4:45

5:00

5:15

5:30

5:45

We will email you with your day and time. Your teacher will have a schedule and we will also

post it on the Strike Up the Band website at www.schmittmusic.com. Please contact Kris

Knutson, Director of Education, at 763-398-5046 if you have any questions.

Classic Movie Instrumental Solos

This series contains 12 of the most famous

classic movie instrumental solos, all ar-

ranged and edited for the Level 2--3

player. Also included is a CD featuring a

full-performance version of each song, fol-

lowed by a play-along track. Titles: Cantina

Band * Concerning Hobbits * Ding-Dong!

The Witch Is Dead * Family Portrait *

Gonna Fly Now * Hedwig’s Theme * In

Dreams * James Bond Theme * Song from

M*A*S*H * Over the Rainbow * Raiders

March * Star Wars (Main Theme) * You’ve

Got a Friend in Me.

Cost: $10.99

Hot Items!

2400 Freeway Boulevard

Brooklyn Center, MN 55430-1799

Phone: (763)398-5046

Fax: (763)566-4763

E-mail: kris.knutson@schmittmusic.com

E-mail: SMU@schmittmusic.com

Strike Up the Band and

Orchestra Continuo

SCHMITT MUSIC

We’re on the web!

www.Schmittmusic.com

Schmitt Music began the Strike Up the Band program in 1965 to bring music

to metro area children in private and parochial schools where a full-time

band director was not feasible. In 1992 the program expanded to help home

school families allow their children to participate in group music.

Thank you for choosing to enroll your child and giving them the experience

of learning to play a band or orchestra instrument. With the weekly group

lessons, weekly band/orchestra rehearsals and concert performances, you are

enabling your child with the group music experience important to every

child’s complete education!

Aluminum Water

Bottle!

Every musician

needs to drink

plenty of water!

Available in differ-

ent colors.

Cost: $7.95

Happy Valentine’s Day! A great Valentine gift idea

for your parents -

play a song on your instrument just for them!

Star Wars - A Musical Journey

For the first time, Star Wars® A Musical Journey (Music from

Episodes I-VI): Instrumental Solos includes selections from all

six Star Wars® movies arranged for Flute, Clarinet, Alto Sax,

Tenor Sax, Trumpet, Horn in F, Trombone, Piano Accompa-

niment, Violin, Viola and Cello. The arrangements are com-

pletely compatible with each other and can be played to-

gether or as solos. Due to level considerations regarding keys

and instrument ranges, the wind instrument arrangements are

not compatible with the string instrument arrangements in

this series. Each book contains a carefully edited part that is

appropriate for the Level 2--3 player and a fully orchestrated

accompaniment CD. Each song on the CD includes a demo

track, which features a live instrumental performance, fol-

lowed by the play-along track itself. Also included is 4-color

art as well as black and white art from the movies.

Cost: $12.95

Pirates of the Caribbean

16 pieces from the swashbuckling

blockbusters, including: The Black

Pearl, Davy Jones, He’s a Pirate,

I’ve Got My Eye on You, Jack

Sparrow, To the Pirate’s Cave!,

Wheel of Fortune, and more.

Cost: $12.95

Any item can be ordered from your

band director!