Change of Plans

CHANGE OF PLANS
Most of you have heard by now that Mr. Bosch ruptured his achilles tendon last weekend (playing volleyball)... his surgery is planned for this Friday, March 16. He will not be returning to CMS until after Spring Break. So, in order to keep things running smoothly with the CMS Band Program, I will be responsible for the upcoming festivals and competitions for the CMS Jazz Band and Intermediate and Advanced Bands, in addition to the WVHS Bands. I will be communicating on a regular basis with your students, so please ask them for any new information regarding these events.

Here is the calendar:

Monday, March 19 - Jazz Band Concert @ WVHS (7:00 PM) (CMS and WVHS Jazz Bands) - separate handout will be sent home tomorrow

Saturday, March 24 - Jazz NW @ Mead High School (CMS and WVHS Jazz Bands) - same handout

Tuesday, March 27 - EWMEA Concert Band Festival @ Ferris High School (WVHS Wind Ensemble) - handout on Monday

Wednesday, March 28 - EWMEA Concert Band Festival @ EWU (CMS Intermediate Band) - handout on Monday

Thursday, March 29 - EWMEA Concert Band Festival @ EWU (CMS Advanced Band) - handout on Monday

Friday, March 30 - SPRING BREAK BEGINS!!!

During the next two weeks, I'll be "floating" between WVHS and CMS to rehearse with your kids and prepare them for some great performances. Mr. Curtis (substitute) will be assisting me at both schools. Please have your student practice their music at home and be to class on time (esp. CMS Jazz Band). In the meantime, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your support and I look forward to seeing many of you at these upcoming events.

Jim Loucks
Director of Bands - West Valley High School

West Valley Performances at the Spokane Shock Game

You can find videos of the West Valley Band, Colorguard, Dance Team and Cheer Team on the West Valley HS Band web site at wvbands.org. Enjoy!

NIC Jazz Festival

On Monday, January 30, the CMS Jazz Band performed at the North Idaho College Jazz Festival.
This was the best and most complete performance to date for this year's Jazz Band, and we have not hit our peak yet.

There is a recording of the performance, but it is a very large file, so I will try to edit it so it can be downloadable.

Next up:
March 19 (Mon) - District Jazz Night @WVHS Auditorium - 7pm
March 24 (Sat) - Jazz NW @Mead HS. This is an all-day event, and possibly evening if we make finals. The last festival of the year.

Do you tweet?

Did you know that you can follow CMS Bands on Twitter and on Facebook? Just click the link on the right side of the webpage, and follow us.

Upcoming Events

Please check the Google Calendar on the right side of the page for events. Here are some that are on the horizon:
Friday, Jan. 27 - End of 2nd Quarter (all assignments due by end of day)
Saturday, Jan. 28 - Solo/Ensemble Festival at U-Hi (optional)
Monday, Jan. 30 - Jazz Band @NIC Festival (during school day)
Thursday, Feb. 2 - WV Beginning Bands@Park Place Retirement Center (more info soon)
Monday, Feb. 6 - All-District Band Parent's Meeting (7pm)- please attend.
Monday, Feb. 27 - Beginning Band Concert@ WVHS (7pm)- dessert following.

NOTE: Change of schedule - the All-District Jazz Night, scheduled for Monday March 12, has been moved to Monday March 19, due to the WV Band Performance at the Spokane Shock nationally televised season opener on March 12.

2nd Quarter Bonus Week!

Hello all;

Like some of you, I was using the calendar that was sent out at the beginning of the year for the end of the quarter date. Turns out that the 2nd Quarter really ends on January 27, so that means that everybody will have an extra week to get assignments done.

EWU Jazz Festival

On Friday, January 13, the CMS Jazz Band spent the entire day and well into the evening at the 2012 Jazz Dialogue Festival at Eastern Washington University. The day was spent going to sessions to learn about jazz improvisation, music theory, and specific techniques for the different instruments. We also watched several other middle school jazz bands.
At 5:00pm, it was our turn to take the stage, and they did a great job! I was very pleased with their performance, especially considering the challenges that faced the group lately (losing a sax player and a trumpet player, and having two rhythm section people that were unable to attend). If these students work very hard, they could end up being our best ever Jazz Band at CMS.
If you would like to download a recording of our performance, click on the link under "Documents".
Next performance is January 30 at the North Idaho College Jazz Festival.