Solo festival and more!

It's hard to believe that it is already the end of the first semester, marking the midway point in our school year. Hopefully it will get warmer from here!

Over the past three weekends, two dozen students have performed at high school, junior high, and jazz solo festivals. Many of our students received the "Outstanding" rating, with a few achieving near-perfect schools. Congratulations to all of our students who participated, and especially to Alex Z., who will be 2nd trumpet in the All-County JH Jazz Band; Devon C., who will be the drummer for the All-County HS Vocal Jazz Ensemble for the 2nd year in a row; and Talor M., who will be 1st clarinet in the All-County JH Band.

December events

December is a great time for music here in the ERSD! We have three outstanding concerts in the next two weeks, and we invite you to join us and support these students, their hard work, and all that they have already accomplished. Concerts are:

• This Monday, December 9: 7-12 Instrumental Concert. HS Band, JH Band, HS Jazz Band, JH Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble, and Celtic/Róisín Dubh under the direction of Mark Gowman
• Monday, December 16: Elementary Band & Choral Concert. Intermediate Band, 5-6 Choir, Elementary Jazz Band, 3rd Grade Choir, and 4th Grade Choir under the direction of Lindsey Borden, Mykel Sapienza, and John Palocy.
• Wednesday, December 18: 7-12 Choral Concert. HS Chorus, Select Choir, and Junior High Choir under the direction of John Polvino.

Next Saturday, December 14, several of our music groups will also be performing as part of the East Rochester Christmas Festival. 

We hope to see you!

Photo opportunity for HS parents...

The 2012 HS Band

I want to let you know that tomorrow we will be taking a group picture of the combined HS Band, Jazz Band, and Percussion Ensemble just before the concert begins, at approximately 6:55 pm.

I invite you to bring your camera and take your own photo.

Concert Monday!

I am so excited about Monday's concert! The kids have all been working hard and are playing great. Some are the best I have ever heard in my time at ER.

Information was emailed to the address I have on file on November 25 and was also given to students. I will be out of the building at the NYSSMA conference from Thursday afternoon through the weekend. Any last-minute questions, please contact me via email or the contact button on the website.

Thanksgiving Week!

Hello everybody,

For this two-day week that is 1 1/2 days for many of our students, I will be doing a couple of lessons that need to be made up from last week and lessons for most of our students who are working on music for solo festival. I will be sending home final info on the December 9 concert in the next couple of days.

Quick reminders....

The deadline to sign up for solo festival and audition for All-County groups is Wednesday.Questions? No idea what All-County is? Email Mr. Gowman or call 248-6344.

This week's lesson schedule is now available here.

Solo & Ensemble Festival

Happy Veteran's Day to all of our retired and active duty servicemen & servicewomen. Thank you!

This week's lesson schedule has been posted.

About solo & ensemble festival... The complete document is here. The Monroe County School Music Association has scheduled the Instrumental Music Solo & Small Ensemble Festivals for January. All of our high school and junior high students are currently preparing solos or are beginning work on them soon. I encourage your child to attend
this event.

Dates are: 
High School Solo & Ensemble January 10-11 @ Rush Henrietta HS
Junior High Solo & Ensemble January 17-18 @ 12 Corners MS, Brighton
JH/HS Jazz Solo Festival January 24-25 @ Pittsford Barker Road MS
The registration deadline for all events is Wednesday, November 20.

There is a registration fee to cover the costs of having judge-clinicians, renting and moving
equipment, and other administrative costs. This fee varies based on what level of solo the
student is playing. Level 1-4 solos and ensembles are $12, and Level 5 and 6 are $18. Students
performing level 5 and 6 will have fifteen minutes with the judge instead of ten. Solos are often
performed at these events without accompaniment, but many of our solos have a CD or
SmartMusic accompaniment available. Students are also welcome to perform with a pianist, but
hiring the pianist is the responsibility of the student’s family.

This performance also serves as the audition for the All-County Band & Jazz Band: 

All-County JH Band March 7-8 @ TBA
All-County HS Band March 21-22 @ Gates Chili/Eastman Theatre
All-County Jazz Bands March 28-29 @ Spencerport HS

Please let me know if your child will participate in solo festival, but is not interested or available
for All-County ensembles.

Note: There are two solo festivals each year: The county event in January and the NYSSMA
events in the spring. January is my primary focus. The spring NYSSMA solo festivals will be March
28-29 for jazz (Canandaigua… the same weekend as MCSMA Jazz All-County!) and May 16-17
(Greece Odyssey) for instrumental solo & ensemble. The registration deadlines are typically six
weeks before each festival.

Any questions? Email me at mark_gowman@er.monroe.edu or call me at 248-6344.

Important Update Nov 4 2013

The Junior High is holding a Veteran's Day assembly this week on Friday, and Mr. Polvino will be conducting JH Band in my absence. Because of this event, JH Jazz Band will meet Thursday, period 8 this week.

Drumline is not marching as a unit in the annual American Legion march to the gazebo on Veteran's Day (Monday, Nov 11), but any students who wish to volunteer to march are welcome to.

This week's lesson schedule has not yet been completed.

The Concert for Mariah

Big thanks to all of the students in Roisin Dubh (or whatever we call it these days), plus John & Spencer, Mr. Sienk, Mrs. Koska, Mrs. Hagreen, student helpers, Mrs. Caruso & Varsity Club, and everyone who came out to make this such an incredible night.

The Dady Brothers Perform

Fringe Festival review of Róisín Dubh

From the Rochester City Newspaper Fringe Festival review:

"I'm a sucker for Irish music, and up next was Róisín Dubh, a student group from East Rochester's school district playing at Eastman School of Music's Kilbourn Hall. Though you probably wouldn't have known this was a group of middle- and high-school-aged students playing out traditional Irish reels, with dancing, accordions, fiddles, and whistles all included. There's a reason the group has gained high accolades, including being featured on NPR. This is really a gem in our own backyard, and it was cool to see the group pull in guests from the greater Rochester Irish music community, as well as the fact that some of the musical parts were arranged and written by students. There's talent here, that's for sure.

My school didn't have anything like this (insert back-in-my-day cry here), and it really was great not only listening to the group, but seeing students involved musically in something that is part of a larger tradition and isn't required as part of a regular curriculum. As a fellow band geek, trust me, you never know where music will take you. Keep it up. I've also decided that I'm going to make my imaginary daughter take River Dance lessons. Maybe violin, too. Because I'm the dad, that's why!"

http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/rochester/fringe-fest-2013-reviews-alice-in-wonderland-roisin-dubh-silent-disco/Content?oid=2275052

ER Music Alums on the air...

Last night,  two of our graduates were featured on the Live Concert Series on Jazz 90.1 fm. Aaron Davis (saxophone) and Jamie Greene (drums) play with the great Michael Vadala trio, which is building quite a following among jazz fans in Rochester. To find out where they are playing next, visit http://michaelvadalatrio.bandcamp.com/.

Schedule changes and JH Jazz

Dear ER music parents,


First of all, I want to thank you for all of your support during the difficult start to this school year. As you know, the introduction of the middle level "skills period" and change of music ensemble class time to the lunch hour has had serious ramifications for our music program. I want you to know that our 7-12 administrators have heard your concerns and that vocal music director John Polvino and I have recently met with them numerous times. At this point, it is impossible to implement major schedule changes that will affect the entire building; but we are working hard to improve issues that can be fixed now. Our interim principal, Liz Konar, inherited this situation and has worked very hard with us address many of these issues. Through

these meetings and efforts, a significant schedule change is being implemented for music staff that will allow for the immediate return of the ER Junior High Jazz Band. Jazz Band will resume for the 2013-14 school year on Friday, October 18, with students continuing to meet every Friday during the 8th period block. In addition to this change, JH Jazz Band will now be a credited course that is graded and factored into a student's GPA. This move further validates our jazz program, and should be beneficial to our participating students.

Looking forward to another great year!

Hello students, parents, and friends, and welcome to another great school year! We have a lot of exciting plans with all of our classes and ensembles. Please check back here (or sign up for the RSS feed) and at our website http://www.gowmanmusic.com for all the information you need.

And congratulations to Róisín Dubh… our own Irish music band has been invited by the Eastman School of Music to perform at Kilbourn Hall on September 21 as part of the Rochester Fringe Festival. They are the only Irish band – and the only school group – playing at this year’s Fringe.