Music
Welcome to Music at Northwestern Middle School! We take great pride in our students and their accomplishments, and we think we have some wonderful programs to offer. Please feel free to contact our teachers for more information. Thanks, and lets make this a great year!
Band/Jazz Band/7th Grade Music - Mr. Lesieur - jlesieur@nwr7.org, 379-7243 x2627
Chorus/7th Grade Music/8th Grade Music - Mr. Fidlar - cfidlar@nwr7.org, 379-7243 x2625
General Info Our performance at the Pet Parade went great! Good job to the percussion section who carried the brunt of the load, never stopping playing for 30 minutes. Our new uniforms looked amazing and really took us to the next level. And as always the entire band came through and sounded fantastic! Great job everyone! Thanks to all the parents who helped with the parade, from chaperoning to all the help with the uniforms. Even though we had some growing pains getting used to the new system of measurement with our new uniforms, it all worked out in the end. Thanks to those parents and students who needed to make changes to have a uniform that fitted properly. Our new software system did not work as promised. A big thank you to Janice and Emma Place for spending many hours making changes to the uniform assignments so we could at least get close for most students!!! Fantastic Festivals was a huge success. The kids had a wonderful experience, were very well behaved at both the school for their performance and at Six Flags. Both band and jazz band earned a Gold Rating, the highest ever given to a middle school ensemble! We will find out later in June how we placed among all the middle school bands and jazz bands that attended Fantastic Festivals this season. Stay tuned! If you did not have a chance to hear our spring concert on Monday, May 7th, it is being broadcast on Charter Cable on Friday at either 6 or 8 PM, and again on Sunday at either 6 or 8 PM. It will also be archived in their On Demand library on line for those who don't subscribe to Charter Cable or who would like relatives out of the area to watch and listen. A letter was given to students before spring break with details of all our upcoming spring events. If you did not receive one from your child you can download one from the bottom of this page. Charter Cable channel 13 recorded our winter concert. You can go to their website (ctv13.net) and watch/listen. Once at their website, click on Programming, then VOD Archives. Next, in the drop down box at the top select Local Events (CTV 13), and our concert should be listed. Enjoy, and thanks, Charter Cable! Listening Perhaps the single most important aspect of playing a wind instrument is getting a great sound/tone. There are many elements that comprise a great tone such as correct breathing, using enough air, proper tonguing, a solid embouchure (the position of the lips on the mouthpiece), etc. Another element that comprises a great tone is knowing what your instrument truly sounds like when played by a master musician. Hearing a great sound and attempting to emulate that sound is an often overlooked element of playing. Here is a short list of a few great players on each wind instrument in band. Students should regularly be listening to these musicians either through youtube or by purchasing CD's or downloading songs by them. For those serious students, this can make the difference between having a good tone or having a great tone. Enjoy these wonderful musicians!!! Flute: Jean-Pierre Rampal, Emmanuel Pahud, William Bennett Clarinet: Richard Stoltzman, Larry Combs, Sabine Meyer Oboe: Allan Vogel, Wayne Rapier, Elaine Douvas Bassoon: Judith LeClair, Jeffery Lyman, Arthur Grossman Alto Saxophone: Eugene Rousseau, Donald Sinta, Steven Mauk Tenor Saxophone: Lynn Klock, Roger Greenberg, Harvey Pittel Trumpet: Alaan Vizzuti, Carole Reinhart, Phillip Smith, Wynton Marsalis, Maurice Andre (piccolo trumpet) Horn: Dale Clevenger, Mason Jones, Barry Tuckwell Trombone: Joseph Alessi, Mark Lawrence, Christian Lindberg Euphonium: Brian Bowman, Adam Frey, Tormond Flaten Tuba: Arnold Jacobs, Patrick Sheridan, Sam Pilafian Grading SmartMusic has been assigned for the 4th quarter, which so far only consists of the band piece Peregrin as the final test for the year. Please be sure you are staying on top of these assignments as more will be added later in the quarter! Students who have missed band lessons should be making them up after school for 1/2 credit - 50% for a lesson grade is better than a 0%! Students should see me to schedule a time to do this before the end of the quarter. Students are being graded on scales at their band lessons. Students who failed at a scale or missed performing them because they were not at the lesson need to make them up before the end of the quarter. These scales will go into Powerschool as a single test grade right before the end of the quarter. Summer Info Hard to believe, but I am already receiving information about summer music programs so I guess it isn't too early to start thinking about them! Below I will post links to all the summer music programs that come my way so you have some way of choosing if that is something you and your child are interested in. As always, feel free to call or email me if you have any questions. Western Connecticut State University (Danbury) - http://www.wcsu.edu/summermusic/ -they offer $100 off tuition for any student who made it into the Northern Region Music Festival University of New Hampshire's Summer Youth Music School (SYMS) - http://www.unh.edu/music/index.cfm?ID=944E3F6C-C5C7-4BD8-1C7CE753B93B1426 University of Hartford's Summer Masterclass series - http://harttweb.hartford.edu/community/summer/default.aspx Upcoming Dates Friday, May 11th - Jazz Cabaret Saturday, May 19th - Winsted Pet Parade Monday, May 28th - Norfolk & Winsted Memorial Day Parades Our Jazz Cabaret is scheduled for Friday, May 11th at 8 PM. Students should be in the band room for warm-ups at 7:30. We perform first again this year and should be done by 8:30 for those parents who can't stay for the whole evening. I would encourage you to remain and listen to all the groups - it really is a fun night! Here are links to listen to the pieces we are currently performing. If for some reason you can't access the music through the link, go to www.jwpepper.com and in the "search" category, enter the name of the song. In some cases you may also need to enter the name of the arranger as well: Satin Doll - http://www.jwpepper.com/2470823.item Bossa Bonito - http://www.jwpepper.com/10014327.item Groovin' Hard - http://www.jwpepper.com/2476769.item Orinoco Cocoa - http://www.jwpepper.com/10049683.item#viewer-tab Take the "A" Train - http://www.jwpepper.com/10066743.item Kansas City - Can't find a recording anywhere!!! Sorry! Students will be exposed to music education during 45 days of class. They will have the opportunity to learn some basic piano skills in our keyboard lab, as well as explore the world of composition. Students will also continue to have the opportunity to further their singing skills through the use of traditional folk songs. Students in this class will be exposed to a greater appreciation of music. Students will have the opportunity to further their musical skills through singing, games, piano playing, and composition. Band
Jazz Band
7th Grade Music
8th Grade Music
| Band | |
 Beginning of year band letter | downloads: 84 | type: pdf | size: 34 kB |
| 2011-2012 Band Policies and Procedures | downloads: 60 | type: pdf | size: 41 kB |
| Student Fees and Student Contract | downloads: 89 | type: pdf | size: 28 kB |
| Important Band Info - local music stores, etc | downloads: 80 | type: pdf | size: 34 kB |
| 2011-2012 Calendar of Events | downloads: 125 | type: pdf | size: 28 kB |
| Band Lesson Schedule - April 12th - April 27th | downloads: 38 | type: pdf | size: 29 kB |
| Letter to parents about upcoming spring events | downloads: 96 | type: pdf | size: 40 kB |
| Marching Shoes Order Form | downloads: 31 | type: pdf | size: 62 kB |
| Permission Slip - Pet Parade and Memorial Day Parades | downloads: 59 | type: pdf | size: 65 kB |
| General Music | |
| 7th Grade Music Course Overview - Lesieur | downloads: 53 | type: pdf | size: 12 kB |
| Jazz Band | |
| Jazz Band Rehearsal Schedule - Spring 2012 | downloads: 93 | type: pdf | size: 11 kB |