Wrapping It Up...

Dear Parents,

The spring trips and spring concert are behind us, and what a performance our bands had! We are now wrapping up the school year with final playing tests, Advanced Band auditions, and various uniform/instrument check-ins.

ADVANCED and JAZZ BAND SPRING TRIP
The 2019 Spring Trip took place last weekend and students had the time of their lives. Advanced Band performed in California Adventure on Thursday, and Jazz Band performed in the park on Saturday. Both bands performed with a local middle school where I first learned how to play saxophone as a 4th grader. We also had a clinic with Dr. Betancourt, the director of bands at Cerritos College. Along with making amazing music, students had a beach party, pool party, and 2 days in the theme parks to make memories that will last a lifetime.  A special thank you to all chaperones who helped make this trip so successful!  I uploaded pictures from this trip at the bottom of this post.  I also have live streams of both group's performances on our Facebook page: Carson Middle School Bands.

SPRING CONCERT
On Tuesday, all bands participated in their final concert of the school year. I am proud of all the students and all the groups for their fantastic performance. If you were unable to attend, a recording of this entire performance is also on the CMS Bands Facebook page. I am proud of all the musical accomplishments of our students this year, and the spring concert celebrated everything that took place, from successful fundraisers, to successful festivals, and everything in between.

FINAL PLAYING TEST
On Wednesday, I assigned a final playing test to all students in all classes. The link to this assignment with all the directions is at the top of this page. This will also be your student's final week of official citizenship grades.  I will begin finalizing grades next week, and will leave just 1 grade left for some groups: 8th grade promotion.

8TH GRADE PROMOTION PERFORMANCE
On June 5, 6th and 7th grade students from Intermediate and Advanced Band will perform for the 8th grade promotion.  This is mandatory for students in those bands and optional for all others. In addition, 8th grade students in Advanced Band will set up their instruments before lining up for promotion. During the ceremony, they will be invited to go to their instruments to perform 1 final song with the band.  Call time will be 12:30 PM in the band room. The ceremony begins at 1 PM and the students will be dismissed once all instruments and borrowed uniform items have been returned.

UNIFORM RETURNS
Advanced, Intermediate, and Jazz Band students will need to clean and return all machine washable uniform parts by Monday, June 3.  Keep all washed items hung up in the garment bag separate from the dry clean only items.

INSTRUMENT RETURNS
All students must return their school-owned instruments on Wednesday, June 5 unless they are participating in Summer Pops or Jazz Camps.

SUMMER POPS CAMP
Is your student wishing for more band after the school year is over? Wouldn't it be great to only have band each day and not have to balance it out with 6 other classes?  Well, you're in luck. I'm pleased to announce the inaugural Capital City Summer Pops! This ensemble will be put on by the Capital City Community Band and conducted by Mr. Jacques. Students will learn fun movie themes, marches, and pop selections. Rehearsals will be June 11-14 and 18-21 from 10:30 AM-12:00 PM each day, with a concert on the afternoon of Sunday, June 23. This camp is open to anyone who has been a member of their school's band program. For more information and to register your student, CLICK HERE.

SUMMER JAZZ CAMP
Are you also interested in a summer jazz band opportunity? Well, don't feel left out! The 5th annual Jazz Camp is also on June 11-14 and 18-21, and meets from 8:30-10:00 AM each day. Jazz Camp students must have at least 1 year of playing experience on their current instrument. No prior jazz band experience is necessary.  Students will also have the opportunity to be in both Jazz Camp and the Summer Pops bands.  For more information and to register your student, CLICK HERE.

Again, congratulations to all groups on fantastic festival performances, trips, and of course, the spring concert!  Thank you for helping me close up shop for the summer.  Enjoy the pictures from the spring trip!

-Mr. Jacques-

The final events...

Dear Parents,

What a year it has been!  What started with record enrollment has become a huge year with very successful students.  We will celebrate all their successes at our annual spring concert, which is so big this year that we're holding it in multiple parts. Read below for more information.

SPRING CONCERT

Our CMS Band spring concert will be on Tuesday, May 21 in the CMS Cafeteria.  Attendance is mandatory for all groups.  New this year: we will have 4 mini-concerts.  Students are required to attend their portion of the concert and may stay for any other portion that they would like.  Here are the performance details:

5:30 – Call time for Beginning Band and Concert Band in band room
5:45 - Beginning Band and Concert Band take stage

6:00 – Part 1: Beginning Band and Concert Band

6:00 – Call time for Intermediate Band in audience
6:25 - Percussion Ensemble, Intermediate Band takes stage

6:30 – Part 2: Intermediate Band

6:30 – Call time for Jazz Band in audience
6:55 - Clarinet Choir, Jazz Band takes stage

7:00 – Part 3: Jazz Band

7:00 – Call time for Advanced Band in audience
7:25 - Advanced Band takes stage

7:30 – Part 4: Advanced Band

8:15 – Approx. end of concerts. Please help clean up cafeteria before going home to celebrate!

Students will receive full credit for being in their correct concert dress, showing up on time, being prepared, and having professional performance and audience etiquette. We will also be celebrating the successes of all our students at each concert by presenting awards. 

FINAL GRADE NEWS
Students will have until May 30 to make up any tests or complete their final. This year's final will be posted on Google Classroom by Wednesday morning, and it will be due at the end of the day on Thursday, May 30. With the exception of the 8th grade promotion performance, this will be your student's last grade. Students auditioning for Advanced Band or Jazz Band must complete it as a video in order to be considered. 

8th GRADE PROMOTION
Band students who are not graduating will participate in 8th grade promotion on June 5 at 1:00 PM. This event is mandatory for all 6th and 7th grade band members. Call time will be immediately after school in their blue band polos and black dress pants. Students will be dismissed as soon as everything has been returned to the band room and any school instruments are turned in.

SUMMER POPS CAMP
Is your student wishing for more band after the school year is over? Wouldn't it be great to only have band each day and not have to balance it out with 6 other classes?  Well, you're in luck. I'm pleased to announce the inaugural Capital City Summer Pops! This ensemble will be put on by the Capital City Community Band and conducted by Mr. Jacques. Students will learn fun movie themes, marches, and pop selections. Rehearsals will be June 11-14 and 18-21 from 10:30 AM-12:00 PM each day, with a concert on the afternoon of Sunday, June 23. This camp is open to anyone who has been a member of their school's band program. For more information and to register your student, CLICK HERE.

SUMMER JAZZ CAMP
Are you also interested in a summer jazz band opportunity? Well, don't feel left out! The 5th annual Jazz Camp is also on June 11-14 and 18-21, and meets from 8:30-10:00 AM each day. Jazz Camp students must have at least 1 year of playing experience on their current instrument. No prior jazz band experience is necessary.  Students will also have the opportunity to be in both Jazz Camp and the Summer Pops bands.  For more information and to register your student, CLICK HERE.

That's it for now. See you all on Tuesday evening.

-Mr. Jacques-

The Final Festivals

Dear Parents,

We just completed our final run of festivals, and what a rewarding few days it has been!

• Last Friday, the Jazz Band participated in the Reno Jazz Festival, and earned straight "Excellent" ratings, as well as placing 9th in the middle school band division! After beginning to attend this jazz festival 5 years ago, this is the first time we have placed in the top 10.  Congratulations!
• Last Tuesday, the Beginning Band and Concert Band classes combined and performed their first festival in Fernley, earning straight "Superior" ratings! What a way to start their lives in band.
• Last Wednesday, the Jazz Band performed at the Northern Zone Jazz Festival.  This festival was a showcase of area bands and was not judged. 

I also want to give a special "thank you" to all the chaperones who attended and helped support these trips. If you were unable to attend, I have recordings on our "Carson Middle School Bands" Facebook page. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

May 11 - Intermediate Band Spring Trip 

May 15-19 - Advanced Band/Jazz Band Spring Trip

May 21 - CMS Band Spring Concert

UPCOMING REHEARSALS

May 6 - Advanced Band, 1:30-4:00

May 7 - Jazz Band, 2:30-4:30

May 8 - Advanced Band, 2:30-4:30

May 10 - Intermediate Band, 2:30-4:30

May 13 - Advanced/Jazz Band, 1:30-4:00

May 14 - Advanced/Jazz Band, 1:30-4:00

GRADE NEWS
This week, students are turning in their final practice log of the school year.  Heading into testing, students should be feeling confident on their parts with minimal stress so they can focus on testing. After we finish testing, I will assign a final playing test that doubles as the Advanced/Jazz Band audition. Just a reminder: students can make up any playing tests up until the last week of school.

SUMMER POPS CAMP
Is your student wishing for more band after the school year is over? Wouldn't it be great to only have band each day and not have to balance it out with 6 other classes?  Well, you're in luck. I'm pleased to announce the inaugural Capital City Summer Pops! This ensemble will be put on by the Capital City Community Band and conducted by Mr. Jacques. Students will learn fun movie themes, marches, and pop selections. Rehearsals will be June 11-14 and 18-21 from 10:30 AM-12:00 PM each day, with a concert on the afternoon of Sunday, June 23. This camp is open to anyone who has been a member of their school's band program. For more information and to register your student, CLICK HERE.

SUMMER JAZZ CAMP
Are you also interested in a summer jazz band opportunity? Well, don't feel left out! The 5th annual Jazz Camp is also on June 11-14 and 18-21, and meets from 8:30-10:00 AM each day. Jazz Camp students must have at least 1 year of playing experience on their current instrument. No prior jazz band experience is necessary.  Students will also have the opportunity to be in both Jazz Camp and the Summer Pops bands.  For more information and to register your student, CLICK HERE.

Have a great weekend, and best of luck to your students during testing week!