March 11, 2020 - Update on Upcoming Band Events

Dear band families,

The school has made some preliminary decisions about upcoming events in light of the recent public health concerns around COVID-19.

1.  Minneapolis Tour, March 13-15  Our trip this weekend is still on.  The school is closely monitoring the situation in Minnesota in case anything changes, but at this time they do not believe that the situation warrants cancellation of events for this weekend.  Please make the individual decision that is best for your family, and know that the school will not be able to offer trip refunds at this time.

2. Large Group Festival, March 18  The University of Wisconsin-Madison has followed many colleges in canceling events, which means that our large group festival is also canceled.  Our guest clinicians are still booked, so we will still have our own performances and clinics at Middleton High School during the school day.  (Other schools will not be attending.)  See the new schedule below.

5 --- 8:25-9:52 --- Chamber Winds Block 1  6 --- 10:00-11:27 --- Concert Band Block 6  7 --- 12:42-2:09 --- Cardinal Band Block 7  ASR --- 2:17-3:44 --- Wind Ensemble Block 3

3. Basie Jazz Festival, April 22-24 In light of the many unknowns in the future, the school has decided to preemptively cancel our trip to Kansas City.  Trip monies will be refunded.

There are no decisions on any other events at this time, and unfortunately, we do not have any more information to share.  Please reach out to school administration with questions.

Finally, just a friendly reminder to check reliable sources for your news - be careful on social media! - and communicate as you make whatever decisions are necessary for your family.

Best regards,

--  Michael Ver Voort

Music Teacher & Director of Bands  Middleton High School  (608) 829-9680  mvervoort@mcpasd.k12.wi.us

March 6, 2020 - March 18th Concert Band Large Group Festival Information

Hello band students and parents, Please find below some information on our large group festival this year.  This is a large part of the annual calendar for many schools, but Middleton hasn't participated in one for many years.  We're excited for students to have the opportunity to play for feedback and to hear other groups from around the state! What is a large group festival? Basically, think solo & ensemble festival but for full band.  Each band performs for a panel of judges, who then give the band a rating 1 through 5.  Additionally, there will be a clinic session after the performance with one of the two guest clinicians for the day.  It's a great opportunity to receive feedback on our performances, see other great bands from around the state, and work with some awesome clinicians. Where is this large group festival?  We (Middleton) are hosting/organizing this event at the UW School of Music downtown.  Although there are still a few venue questions, the current plan is for students have the opportunity to perform in the new Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall in the Hamel building. Festival Schedule  Everything will take place on March 18th.  Each of our bands has a different performance time; due to the number of bands participating and bus schedules, some are during school and others are after school.  We have shuttle buses running back and forth during the day, but parents may drive their students if it is easier. Block 6 Concert Band -- bus leaves 9:45am, warm-up 10:30am, bus returns 1:45pm Block 1 Chamber Winds -- bus leaves 10:45am, warm-up 1:30pm, bus returns 4:15pm  Block 7 Cardinal Band -- bus leaves 5:00pm, warm-up 6:00pm, bus returns 9:15pm  Block 3 Wind Ensemble -- bus leaves 6:15pm, warm-up 7:30pm, bus returns 10:30pm Is this a required performance?  Yes, this is a concert performance and part of the class.  More importantly, it will be the culmination of several months of effort for all of the bands.  Missing even one player makes a big impact on the whole.  There's no "bench!"  If you have an unavoidable conflict (out of town, etc) and have not yet communicated with the teachers, please email as soon as possible so we can make arrangements to minimize the impact on the other students and on the score of the group. Who are the guest clinicians?  Our clinicians are Cheldon Williams from the University of Texas - Austin and Kathyrn Wert from Liberty University.  They are both phenomenal conductors and musicians, and we're really excited for the bands to work with them. Is it a competition like marching band?  Think of it more like solo & ensemble - there is no direct comparison between schools, but students do care about their performance results.  A number of high performing schools from around the state will be there, so we want to show our best! Can I come?  All performances are free and open to parents (schedule below).  We could also use three or four parent volunteers during that day - email Mr. Brown (dbrown1@mcpasd.k12.wi.us) if interested. Performance Schedule  10:00 Beloit HS  10:45 Stoughton HS  11:30 Middleton HS (Block 6 band)  12:15 Fond du Lac HS 1  1:00 Oregon HS  2:30 Middleton HS (Block 1 band)  3:15 Fond du Lac HS 2  -- Dinner Break --  7:00 Middleton HS (Block 7 band)  7:45 Sun Prairie HS  8:30 Middleton HS (Block 3 band) --  Michael Ver Voort Music Teacher & Director of Bands  Middleton High School  (608) 829-9680  mvervoort@mcpasd.k12.wi.us Please do not respond via the email client Reply button. Your response to the Campus Notification will not be delivered to the person who originated this message

March 6, 2020 - Ticket Sales NOW OPEN for Spring Supper 2020.

Dear Band and Orchestra Parents,

Spring Supper Concert and Auction is Saturday April 4, 2020.    Dinner and Music start at 5:30 pm.  

TICKETS are now on sale.    ($5 per person discount for advanced purchase)    https://www.middletonbandorchestra.org/spring-supper-tickets-info-2020

AUCTION DONATIONS:  Thank you to those who already contributed.  We are looking for MORE donors.    https://www.middletonbandorchestra.org/spring-supper-donate-volunteer-2020

Event info, and volunteer sign up for the event:    https://www.middletonbandorchestra.org/spring-supper-tickets-info-2020

For questions, please contact Kim Mackey.   mhsbopaspringsupper@gmail.com