January 27- February 1

Jazz Band CMEA festival on Saturday! We will meet at Santa Teresa HS at 8:10 am in front of the theater. We'll warm up, then perform at 8:50, then sight reading, then group photo and dismissal around 9:50 am.

Jazz Band will be performing at the Joint Venture Conference downtown next Friday, 2/8. Call time for students is 6:30 (yes, I know it's early, but there will be doughnuts!). Students will miss periods 1-3. We do need parent drivers who can drive us to the gig and then back to school (about 11:30). This conference puts us on stage before about 1,000 of the valley's leading figures in business, politics and education and we've been a part of it since 2005!

The Band & Orchestra Benefit Concert is just 2 weeks away! Tickets are selling fast as we approach our goal of 2 tickets sold per performer. Be sure to order your tickets this week so that your student can earn their $5 account credit from each seat sold. Raffle tickets are also a great way to raise money for your student. Our grand prize is a $500 Apple gift card! Tickets are just $3 each or 4 for $10. Students earn 80% of the proceeds from raffle tickets they sell in advance. If your student has brought the tickets home, return the payment and the tickets (with name & phone number) in the envelope provided. If your student hasn't picket up a packet of tickets yet, encourage them to do so soon! I'm very excited about this event. Each ensemble has some fun music, plus we have great raffle prizes and some incredible items for our silent auction! You don't want to miss out- it's our most important fundraising performance of the year!

Rehearsal for Hello, Dolly this week is on Monday from 6:30-9:30. Please be ready to start rehearsal on time!

On a totally non musical note, the flu and all sorts of sickness are going around. Please, eat well, wash up often and get as much sleep as you can. We need everyone at their best for our performances!

January 22-25

The Band & Orchestra Benefit Concert is fast approaching! On Friday, we'll be taking photos during each of the three classes and students need to have their performing attire. Orchestra students should come dressed in their dresses and tuxes and bring a change of clothes. Wind Ensemble & Jazz band students should bring their clothes to change into during class time. These photos will then be available for purchase at the concert. VIP and Reserved tables have already sold out, but there are plenty of individual tickets still available. Raffle ticket pre-sales also kicked off last Friday. Much more information is available in an email I sent to all participating students and parents. If you missed that, get the details here.

On Friday, I distributed account statements to students in Jazz Band, Wind Ensemble and Orchestra. There are still many students who have yet to pay for expenses from the first semester. It is imperative that you either pay for those costs, or use the fundraising opportunities for the Benefit Concert to help you. Remember, students earn $5 credit for each ticket and 80% of the raffle tickets sold in advance. Fundraising info for the Benefit Concert is on the Benefit Concert page.

I'm glad to see the number of students participating in our Spring Trip continues to increase. I am looking for several more chaperones though. If you are interested, please contact me or get more info on the Spring Trip page. There are a few families who paid the original deposit and still have an extra positive account balance. In this case (and this case only, since it was my mistake), I am happy to give you Benefit Concert tickets and raffle tickets up to the value that you over paid. There are only a few families in this situation, but if you'd like to take advantage of it, please email me so that I can set aside your admission and raffle tickets.

Because there was no school on Monday, rehearsal for Hello, Dolly pit orchestra is Wednesday. Students have asked for rehearsal to be moved to 6:30-9:30. This will be our rehearsal time until after the ski week break in February.

January 14-18

Band & Orchestra Benefit Concert- This week, students will get raffle tickets to begin selling. Tickets sell for $3 each or 4 for $10, and students make 80% of that as account credit. The grand prize this year is going to be an iPad! Raffle winner need not be present to win, so sell those tickets to friends, neighbors and anyone else who wants to support our program and have a shot at an iPad! In addition to the raffle, we continue to collect donations for our Silent Auction including dinners, hotel stays, golf, entertainment packages and more. If you would like to help us purchase some of the things that go with the raffle and auction, please consider sending in a $10 donation to "Pioneer Performing Arts" and we'll include a free raffle ticket! VIP tickets are sold out, but we have several reserved tables (seats 6) and plenty of individual seats available. Students earn $5 to their account for every ticket in advance.

Today, I saw Brian Hubbard (11th grade, French Horn) perform with the Santa Clara County Honor Band. What a great performance! If you attended, be sure you turn in your Live Review this week to get your extra credit! I will not give extra credit for honor band reviews beyond the one week deadline.

If you participated in the We Care Coffee fundraiser, please get your money turned in right away!

Musicians for Hello, Dolly! should check out the new page on my blog which includes rehearsal schedule and performance information.

Jazz Band will be performing at the 8th grade recruitment night Thursday in the gym. Call time is 6:00 and we'll perform from about 6:30-6:50. Students will be dismissed as soon as we are done cleaning up at about 7:00. Recruitment night is casual performance in jeans and band polo. For CMEA on Saturday February 2, we will meet at Santa Teresa HS at 8:10 am. We'll warm up, then perform at 8:50, then sight reading, then group photo and dismissal around 9:50 am. The Joint Venture gig downtown is Friday, February 8. We'll meet at school early at about 6:30 am and return to school for classes after lunch. We will need parent drivers that morning! Both the CMEA festival and the downtown gig are formal performing attire.

Spring Trip is coming up fast! There is still time to get your contract & deposit in this week. We need a few more chaperones! If you can help, please send in a contract and deposit, or if you have questions, send me an email. All the info is here.

January 8-11

Welcome to the Spring 2013 semester!

The Band & Orchestra Benefit Concert is in just 33 days (February 9, 7 pm)! Concert and ticket information is all online at the Benefit Concert tab at the top of the page. Be sure to get your tickets ordered in advance because your student earns an account credit for each ticket sold.


If you participated in the We Care Coffee fundraiser, you need to turn in your money this week! As a reminder, for each Gourmet Grab Bag you turn in $130 and make $50 account credit and for each Mini Grab Bag you turn in $52 and make $20 account credit. Checks should be payable to "Pioneer Performing Arts."

Sign-Ups for our Spring Music Trip are past due. We have over 75 students signed up, but there are more who still need to get their form and deposit turned in! Also, I am looking for about 3 more parents who would be willing to accompany us as a chaperone. Complete info, including the tour contract is on the Spring Trip 2013 tab above. We'll have a great musical experience with clinics and the SF Symphony and fun times as well. I hope all students in Jazz Band, Wind Ensemble and Orchestra are able to participate.

Jazz Band has a busy schedule this six weeks. On Thursday the 17th we'll be performing at the 8th grade recruitment night here at the school, details tba, but expect to be here from about 6-7:15. The CMEA Jazz Festival on Saturday, February 2 is at Santa Teresa HS. I have requested a morning time, but don't have the details from the host yet. Once I know more, I'll pass that along. On Friday, February 8 we will again be performing for the Joint Venture Silicon Valley State of the Valley conference downtown. We have the morning shift again and students should plan to miss periods 1-3 that morning. We will need parent drivers for kids and equipment that morning, with a possible window of 6:30 am to noon. Once I get our specifics, I'll let you know.

Students interested in performing as part of the pit orchestra for Hello, Dolly! need to let me know this week. We are looking for up to 3 violin, 1 viola, 1 cello, 1 bass, 4 reed players who can double (I fl, cl, alto; II cl, alto; III cl, tenor; IV cl, bass cl, bari), 3 trumpets, 2 trombone, 2 percussion and a guitar/ banjo. Look for rehearsals to begin next week. I anticipate one or two nights a week (about 6-9:30, based on student scheduling) until ski week. After ski week, rehearsal will kick into high gear with Monday to Thursday nights 6-10. Performances are March 15, 16, 20-23 at 7:00. While missing a performance is non-negotiable, it may be possible for a member of the pit to have conflicts the earlier rehearsals by advance notice. All student musicians are given a semester elective credit for their work in the production! I can also assure you that there are no rehearsals on Fridays, weekends, or over the ski week. The only Friday/ Saturday commitment is the performances themselves.

Extra Credit Live Review Opportunity- All band students can go to the Santa Clara County Honor Band performance on Sunday, January 13 at 2:00 at Evergreen Valley HS and earn double credit on their spring semester Live Review! Many students earned a lower grade in the Fall Semester because they simply chose not to do or turn in their written work. Don't let this happen to you- start the semester off strong!

Finally, if you've not looked at the 2012-2013 Performance Calendar, please do so. All of our events are scheduled in advance (most of them before the year even starts) so that you can plan accordingly.