District Festival Rating!

Hello Everyone!

I know what you want to do! You just want to scroll down to the bottom and find out what the rating was.

DON'T!!!

Even if you just can't hold on, please go back and read through this post. There are many comments that we received that will help us tremendously as we continue to improve! :-)


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Dear Band Members,

Let me preface all of this by saying how proud I am of you. I can't tell you how many people in the district came up to me to say how glad they were that Strasburg was finally back out and doing District Festival. During All-District Band, I told Ryan Dempsey, the band director at Sherando High School, to give SHS a slot at the Festival this year. He laughed and said, "Really?! We haven't seen you guys up here in years!"

District Festival is a great opportunity to have experts in the band world come out and give feedback on your group's performance. The event gives me ideas on how to improve our performance level as well as tips for you guys to further yourselves as ensemble musicians.

Below are the scores for each individual caption. Keep in mind that there are some things that one judge might think you did "good" on and another may think you did "superior" on. It just depends on their opinion on how you performed in that particular area. Nothing was "fair" or "poor" (IV or V), so you know that we are on the right track. As we listen to our performance on Monday I think you'll agree with everything these judges say. It's how we apply the knowledge and experience that we've gained that make this event a great asset to us.

You know me. You know that I'm all about the music and about making connections with the people in the audience. Personally, a number assigned to a band's performance indicating its quality does little for me... it's the comments from fellow professionals in the field that I value most and appreciate, because they let us know how we connected with them. They are here to help and they are honest! :-)

Enjoy!

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VBODA District XIV Concert Festival
Sherando High School
March 7, 2009


***Concert Performance - 10:30***
Heron Bay
Whispers of the Wind
Fanfare for the Third Plant (yes, plant... that's what the program said)

Tone: Ratings of III, II, and III

Comment Highlights:
- Each instrument has a certain "characteristic" or "proper" sound. When we get loud as a group, we lose that "band" sound and it becomes unpleasant to listen to.
- Louds must be controlled and appropriate for the balance of the group; softs must be supported with good breath.
- We have to listen better to eachother. The word "blend" came up a lot!
- A suggestion was to sing more in class, which we'll do! :-)


Intonation: Ratings of III, III, and II

Comment Highlights:
- "Overplaying led to pitch issues on Saucedo ["Fanfare"]..."
- We need to listen down to the bass voices (tuba, bari sax) to check ourselves. Always adjust yourself to line up with them!
- A lot of folks are not supporting their sound and it affects our intonation; therefore, we'll be doing more breathing exercises to help with that.
- Chord tuning was an issue. We do well with major chords (we've been working a lot with that... "pick 1,3, or 5" and so on); now we have to move on to other things.


Technique: Ratings of III, III, and III

Comment Highlights:
- Most rhythms "okay" but not consistent. This is a listening issue we can address. Remember about all that talk of being "aggressive"? :-)
- MANY comments on articulation issues. I will take responsibility for that simply because I've been focused on other things. I will work to correct this in rehearsals.


Balance: Ratings of III, III, and III

Comment Highlights:
- Holy Trumpet, Batman!
- We need to do more layering parts in class. The judges thought that you guys don't quite know what parts to listen for in a given section of music. That has to do with how I approach rehearsals, so I can help with that.
- Phrasing issues. If you have a musical idea that needs to be expressed, rise to the occasion! Watch me! I will help show you what parts need to be heard with my conducting, usually by pointing or cueing.
- We NEED more dynamic contrast. Guess what we're doing for warm-ups! :-)


Interpretation: Ratings of III, III, and III

Comment Highlights:
- One judge remarked how great some of the solo lines were, but there were so many balance issues that she couldn't enjoy some of the stuff! See above.
- Expression is key. If you feel like your part needs to do something besides sit at one dynamic level, take a chance and try something! 9 times out of 10, if you use your ear, it will be appropriate to the music.
- "Watch balooning." When you articulate the notes and you try to be expressive, think of the LINE of the music, not the individual NOTE. Don't attack something with a "waAAah" sound if it's not appropriate for the style of music.
- Fast and loud = fine for us. We just have to keep things light and we've got that pretty much down. It's the smooth/lyrical stuff we need to really work on as a band.


Musical Effect: Ratings of III, III, and II

Comment Highlights:
- Overplaying and trying to compensate for smaller size, etc., detracts from the quality of the performance. A smaller group will not be as big or full as a larger group... but that's okay because every ensemble has its own sound that needs to be explored. Don't be heros!
- Be musically sensitive and aware of what's going on around you. Don't be a bull in a china shop doing your own thing! Listen and share!
- Our effectiveness is hampered by our balance and articulation issues; the judges see potential in this group. (cool! I agree!)
- They commented on how this music was appropriate for you guys and well within your grasp. I do intend to prepare Grade 4 pieces with you guys for Spring Trip. Get ready!


Other Factors: Ratings of I, I, and II

Comment Highlights:
- The judges unanimously appreciated your discipline and attentiveness to me on stage, enough to even make special comment about it. I stayed and watched some other groups and I must say that I agree; you guys represent yourselves very well and I thank you for that. I am very lucky. :-)
- One judge commented on the how much they liked our pieces. Our selections have only been on the district playlist for about a year now, so they enjoyed hearing some new music. You helped me decide what to play, so I have to pass on some of the credit to you. Thanks!


Concert Ratings: III, III, III



***Sight-Reading Performance 10:50***


Technical Accuracy: Rating of III

Comment Highlights:
- Note accuracy... comes with practice and experience.
- Note lengths... how many counts does a half note get? I mean come on! :-)


Flexibility: Rating of III

Comment Highlights:
- Even though we're sight-reading, you have to listen to other parts to line up the rhythms. He especially commented on the back and forth sections between brass and woodwind.
- Watch me! I was hugely exaggerating the dynamics... go for it! I'll show you if you do too much!


Interpretation: Rating of III

Comment Highlights:
- We have to shape our phrases more. Once we get dynamics down pat, we can dig into some style stuff. First things' first, folks!


Musical Effect: Rating of III

Comment Highlights:
- It's all about the artistry. Dynamics again!
- Intonation came back... we have to listen down to bass voices.


General Comments: Rating of II

Comment Highlights:
- Good focus for the most part! But... "some glassy eyes." Tired? :-)


Sight-Reading Rating: III


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Overall Event Rating: III

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To give you some perspective on the scoring, there were only 3 or 4 out of 20-something groups received a "I" rating. Some very established ensembles in the area received "II" and "III" ratings that normally do not, so this year, the judging was pretty tight. I hope you enjoyed and will properly apply these comments provided by the judges when we come back this week.

Have a great evening and a wonderful weekend! :-)

Mr. Szuba