Jazz Band Auditions Auditions will take place November 24th & 25th in the Band Director’s Office. All students who wish to play in Jazz Ensemble I must audition. Please sign up for an audition time on the sheet located in the band room. Students may audition after school or during an open period. The following instruments will be auditioned: Alto Sax, Tenor Sax, Trumpet, Trombone, Piano, Guitar, Bass, Percussion (Drum Set) No drum set auditions Monday after school. All students should play the bracketed section of music provided for their instrument.

From the Director Welcome to the first edition of the O+Gorman Band’s e-Newsletter! Many thanks to Christine Brandner and the Executive Committee for getting this publication started – we hope it is an easy way to keep you updated on the activities of the Instrumental Music Program. Moving from marching season into the concert band season does not necessarily allow much time for reflection, but I can say a few things definitively. One is that I truly enjoy working with, getting to know, and making music with your students! Thank you for sharing them with me. The other is that the program we have does not work without the tremendous outpouring of support from parents and families. From the bottom of my heart I thank you for everything you’ve done for me and for the program in my first year. I look forward to working with you throughout the rest of the year, and I hope that this newslet-ter provides another useful avenue of communication between us. See you at the concert in December!

Sincerely, Ben Koch

Notes from the President Hello all O’Gorman band parents and welcome to the inaugural edition of

Noteworthy! We are excited to launch the first in what will be a series of

steps taken by the Band Boosters and Mr. Koch to enhance

communications in this department over the course of the next year.

I would like to recognize the efforts of Sidney Frey in making this

publication possible. She will be gathering information from committee

and executive chairs as well as from Mr. Koch directly. She will then

make sure the articles are formatted and distributed to the entire active

email list for our Band Department. We will be providing this

information to all band families the week following our Band Booster

Meeting in an effort to provide a summary to those who could not make

the meeting. Super thanks to you Sidney for your efforts on this!

I am hoping that all of you who can, will continue to bless us with your

presence at our monthly meetings. We value everyone’s attendance at

those monthly meetings as it provides us an opportunity to obtain

feedback and pick up on some great ideas we would not otherwise hear.

Please continue to make efforts to attend! We do realize, however, that

not everyone can attend, and we are hoping this is an additional way that

we can pass on timely information to band families.

I extend to all of you my first official Christmas greeting for 2014! May

your holiday be filled with Peace and

Christmas Blessings!

That being said, our next Band Booster Meeting will be scheduled for

January 14th at 6:30 in the Band Room.

Christine Brandner, Booster Club President

Don’t forget to support your favorite activities during the magazine drive! Mark “Band” in the lower right hand corner of your order forms!

Parents – we are beginning to plan for our 2016 spring band trip. The

following people have stepped forward as willing volunteers for this

committee. My official list is....

Ben Koch, Sheila McQuade (Chair), Casey Tomac,

Dawn Tomac , Michelle Wolf, Sidney Frey

This coming February we will actively begin meetings outside the realm

of our regular Booster meetings to assist Mr. Koch in formulating the

plan and establishing the logistics for the trip- spring 2016. Your future

updates in this publication will come from Mr. Koch and Sheila McQuade.

More information will become available by this coming summer (2015)

regarding location, cost and payment options. We will also be needing

chaperones for this trip. When we get our official commitments in from

the students, we will be able to determine the number of chaperones

needed. We hope you will consider volunteering to assist. Thanks to all

of you for your interest!!

Dates to Remember November 28 Drumline participates in Parade of Lights December 11 7:00pm Winter Band Concert December 9 5:45pm First Pep Band Performance (see list for complete performances) January 14 6:30pm Band Booster Meeting (Band Room) February 3 Solo/Ensemble Contest @ Augustana College February 23 7:00pm OGJH/OGHS Combined Jazz Band Concert May 11 7:00pm Spring Band Concert

DATE EVENT REPORT TIME

Tuesday, Dec. 9 GBB v Brandon Valley 5:45

Friday, Dec. 19 BBB v Lincoln 5:45

Tuesday, Jan. 6 GBB v SF Christian 5:45

Friday, Jan. 9 GBB v RC Stevens BBB v RC Stevens

4:45

Thursday, Jan. 15 BBB v Brookings 5:45

Thursday, Jan. 29 BBB v Roosevelt 5:45

Friday, Jan. 30 GBB v Lincoln 5:45

Friday, Feb. 6 GBB v Washington 5:45

Saturday, Feb. 7 BBB v AB Roncalli 5:45

Tuesday, Feb.24 BBB v Washington 5:45

Monday, Mar.2 GBB Districts (TBD) 5:45

Tuesday, Mar. 3 BBB Districts (TBD) 5:45

Thursday, Mar. 5 GBB Districts (TBD) 5:45

Friday, Mar. 6 BBB Districts (TBD) 5:45

Saturday, Mar. 7 GBB Regions (TBD) 5:45

Tuesday, Mar. 10 BBB Regions (TBD) 5:45

All students are expected to attend all events. In the case of an absence, please notify the director as much in advance as possible. Attendance will be taken – 85% or higher

is required for lettering points.

Pep

Band

Sch

edul

e Band Trip

...to the following students who performed as part of the Augustana Band Festival this last weekend: Mira Yousef, Olivia Roers (Honor Band); Sam Lacasse, Ben Merritt, Maggie Eckerstorfer, and Nathaniel Pekas (Gold Band); and Kimberly Schulte (Blue Band). ...to the following students who were selected to perform in the East Central Honor Band at South Dakota State University on December 1, 2014: Olivia Roers (Jazz Band); Liesel Julsrud, Andrea Veloira, Desiree Mercer, and Katie Drummond (Concert Band). The free-of-charge concert will be given that night at 7pm at the SDSU Performing Arts Center. ...to Olivia Roers, who was selected to play in the High School Honors Performance Series Concert Band! Participants are selected from among the nation’s top high school students based on a recorded audition. The event will take place in February in New York City, and the concert will be given at Carnegie Hall.