Weekly Band News: April 25 – May 1

April 28, 2021
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  • Spring Flower Delivery will be Wednesday, April 28th from 5:00-6:00 pm in the FRONT Parking Lot of OCHS.  We will need a minimum 5 students from the Symphonic II Band to help sort orders and load cars, please consider staying after school that day to assist.  Thank you in advance!  
  • Photos for the End of Year Video are needed by April 30th.  Please see below for details on uploading. Contact Katie Fuller at [email protected] if you have any questions or any issues.
  • New Band Director update:  The candidate screening committee met last Thursday and has narrowed down the candidate pool to 4 candidates.  In person interviews will be conducted this Wednesday.
  • We will need additional parent volunteer help for the following items:

BAND PHOTOS

Photo purchase deadline is May 6th. Individual photos are $20 for 4-5 digital photos to download (individual photos only available if student chose to have one taken.) The group band shots are available for print only. 8×10 is $10 and 11×14 for $15 (Symphonic I, Symphonic II, or Composite).  Payment can be made with cash (Please use dropbox in band room. Place payment in a sealed envelope with students name and order information.) via PayPal [email protected] or Venmo @Mark-Kersting-1. Individual Digital files will be in a Dropbox folder that will be emailed.  Any questions may be directed to Mark Kersting at [email protected].
 

SAVE THE DATES

KMEA GROUP RECORDINGS
Performance recording sessions:
Symphonic II: THURSDAY, April 29th from 4:00-7:00 p.m. (includes dressing in concert black, set up, recording session and photo (?))
Symphonic I: FRIDAY, April 30th from 4:00-7:00 p.m. (same as above; return equipment to band room afterward).

The Band Banquet is scheduled for May 21st at 6:00pm in the OCHS Gym. 

Spring Concert May 27th at 7:00pm.  The concert will be in the OCHS Gym.  Recordings will be made available for purchase by Main Office Productions (Brad Ritchie).

Important Dates—Summer and Fall 2021
Please note that summer dates and/or times may be changed or adjusted at the discretion of the new band director.
 
Marching Band Reading Session
          Last Day for Students (TBA);
          4:15-5:30 p.m. at OCHS
 
Summer Band Rehearsals
          Mondays and Thursdays
          Starts July 5th through the first day of the school year
          6:00-8:30 p.m. at OCHS
 
Oldham County Day Parade
          July 17th (a.m.; schedule TBA)
 
Band Camp Week
          July 26-30
          8:30 a.m—8:30 p.m. DAILY
          OCHS
 
After school rehearsals (marching band)
          Every Thursday; August 12—end of season
 
HOME FOOTBALL DATES FALL 2021 (required performances)
August 27th v. Shelby County
September 10th v. Meade County
October 7th (THURSDAY) v. Eastern (7:00 start)
October 22nd  v. GRC (we will not play this game-fall break)
(Fall Break     October 18-22)
October 29th v. Bullitt East (Senior night)

 

REHEARSAL SCHEDULE 

Band rehearsals will take place immediately after school on Tuesdays for Symphonic II and Wednesdays for Symphonic I from 4:00-5:15.  

Parents and spectators will not be allowed to attend the rehearsals due to the restrictions.
If parents or their student are uncomfortable with this arrangement, they should let me know they will not attend. Please email with concerns [email protected]

 

KMEA ASSESSMENTS

Assessment events will be virtual this year; solo and ensemble festival and concert assessments at the district level will be video/audio recorded and submitted for evaluation to KMEA.  Instructions have been posted to GOOGLE Classroom concerning the online entry process through Collabra (much like the All State audition process).  All OCHS students are required to perform ONE EVENT for the Solo/Ensemble assessment but can enter more than one event if they wish (I would recommend no more than three total events).

Mr. Rogers has been working to produce a virtual KMEA assessment recording for our two concert bands, using the large meeting rooms at the Arvin Center to facilitate whatever social distancing requirements we may be dealing with as we go forward.
 
After discussing with Arvin staff, the following dates are available:
 
Dress rehearsals:

Rehearsals previously scheduled for 4/21 and 4/22 at the Arvin Centered have been changed back to regular after school rehearsals.  Band Photos will be taken on 4/22 after school.  Additional Information will be given in the coming weeks.
 
Performance recording sessions:
 
Symphonic II: THURSDAY, April 29th from 4:00-7:00 p.m. (includes dressing in concert black, set up, recording session and photo (?))
Symphonic I: FRIDAY, April 30th from 4:00-7:00 p.m. (same as above; return equipment to band room afterward).
 
Students on sports teams or who have after school employment obligations have more than one month to get these dates cleared and should do so immediately to ensure they will be rehearsing and performing with the band on these dates.  
 
The broad time frame is to ensure we have enough time deal with the fact that we won’t be "just down the hallway" to perform, must dress in concert attire after school on our "performance" days, and any other logistical issues.  If we finish early, that means our planning was solid and we were efficient in our use of the time we had.
 
This will be a big step in the direction we need to be going and will provide the opportunity of a traditional outcome for our work during this crazy time.  The recordings produced will be posted on YouTube for parents/relatives/supporters to view.

 

PHOTOS AND VIDEOS NEEDED

As you know, each spring our Photo Coordinator creates the End-of-Year Band Video for our graduating seniors and the rest of the band members. This year has been especially challenging with getting pictures of our band members. With few public appearances to pull from, it’s important that we capture as many photos and videos as we can of our band members. We are asking you for help in doing this.
 
Please do the following by no later than April 30, 2021:
 
1. Find any band pictures or videos taken this year already, preferably in a .jpg (photo) and .mp4 (video) format.
 
2. Take pictures of your band student practicing at home or putting on a family performance.
 
3. Create a folder on your desktop and save all of your photos and videos in the folder. 
 
4. Rename the folder in the following format using your band student’s name: 
last name_first name (Example: Fuller_Katie)
 
5. To upload your folder to the right location, do the following:

  • Click on this link: Photo Upload
  • Drag and drop the folder you created into the Google folder that opens up and says, "Drop files here"

If you have any questions, please send one email to the following two email addresses:

[email protected]; [email protected] 

 

VOLUNTEER AND SHADOWING OPPORTUNITIES

The OCHS Band Boosters is needing volunteers for open positions for next year.  Board positions are elected positions called out in the By laws and include the officer positions and the class reps.  Committee Positions are non-elected positions.
After surveying those currently serving, the following positions are open for next year:
Board (all positions except Treasurer are up for elections but the following do not have someone rerunning): 

  • Treasurer – Elect

Committee Coordinators 

  • Script Gift Cards Coordinator
  • Hospitality Co-coordinator to work with previous year’s coordinator.
  • Letterman Jacket/Spirit Wear Coordinator
  • Picture Coordinator
  • All District Co-chair to work with previous year’s coordinator.
  • Alumni Coordinator

In addition, all committee positions are always open to shadowing or additional help.  The committees below will have Senior parent next year and would be great to have someone shadowing next year that could take over the following year: 

  • Sponsorships
  • Mums Sale Coordinator
  • Directory
  • Instrument Rental
  • Band Website Support
  • T-shirts

Please email me at [email protected] if you are interested in filling any of the roles listed above or if you are interested in shadowing any committee.  If you would like more details on each position’s role, please feel free to email me at [email protected] or contact the current coordinator. 

 

BAND BOOSTER LEADERSHIP

Board Members for 2020-2021
President – Chad Adams
Vice President – Brandon Gossett
Secretary – Sandy Walker
Treasurer – Lisa Zahradnicek
Senior Member-at-Large: Sonya Cook
Junior Member-at-Large: Katie Fuller
Sophomore Member-at-Large: Stephanie Skeens
Freshman Members-at-Large: Natalie Dorris and Kristin Goodloe