Miller South School - Enrollment Process

MILLER SOUTH BAND

Miller South Band YouTube Channel

Marissa Hughes

Band Director

Mrs. Hughes is the Band Director at Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts. She teaches instrumental music exploratory classes, Beginner Band, 5th grade band, 6th grade band, 7th and 8th grade combined concert band, jazz band, and music theory. Mrs. Hughes loves being a teacher at Miller South especially because she was a former student!

As a 4th grader she began in the vocal and piano program and had the opportunity to join band in 5th grade on the alto saxophone. Miller South was such an inspiration that she continued to pursue music at Firestone in their VPA program where she became a field commander in the marching band and band president. After graduating from Firestone she continued her music education at The University of Akron where she was a member of various ensembles including the symphonic band, jazz ensemble, saxophone quartets, jazz combos, university singers, and marching band. After graduation she was hired in the Akron Public School District and has been teaching at Miller South for the past 11 years. During that time she continued her education during the summers at the VanderCook College of Music in Chicago, Illinois earning her Master's in Music Education.

She enjoys rehearsing and preparing her bands for performances and collaborative experiences within the other arts, academic subjects and in the community. Miller South is a special place where creative opportunities are part of the daily curriculum. Mrs. Hughes finds it a joy to see students progress and develop their passions while at Miller South.

Band At-A-Glance

Beginner Band

All students in the 5th grade at Miller South are encouraged to learn an instrument. 5th grade students regardless of their other interest area (vocal, piano, theater, dance, or visual art) are welcome to join band as an additional interest area. This group of students meets three times per week with mixed instruments at the same time. This includes flute, clarinet, alto saxophone, trumpet, trombone, baritone, and percussion. Students learn basic fundamental playing skills and gain experience making music in an ensemble setting.

Intermediate Band

Continuing instrumental music in 6th grade, students get to have band every day. Students progress by increasing their technical skills on their instrument while reinforcing basic playing fundamentals. These students get to incorporate more music elements with varying levels of dynamics, rhythms, articulation and phrasing while increasing the range of notes they can play. This allows us to play a variety of music over the course of the year.

Concert Band

The Concert Band meets as a full ensemble with both grade 7 and grade 8 students. In this ensemble, students rehearse focusing on advanced ensemble skills including balance, blend, and intonation while increasing their range and technical abilities. The music in this ensemble is rigorous for students and they perform 3-4 pieces for every numerous concerts including adjudicated events. We study a variety of music including marches, classical, pop and cultural pieces as well as music from the OMEA List.

Jazz Band

The Jazz Band is our advanced ensemble that meets daily. These students are required to be in concert band or another graded music class at Miller South where to learn their instrumental playing fundamentals. Then they come to jazz band to apply their musical knowledge to jazz music. We learn swing jazz, blues, dixieland, bebop, latin jazz, rock, soul, and modern jazz music. There is a focus in this class on jazz improvisation in addition to our various performances over the course of the year.

Additional Opportunities

Miller South Ensembles: Jazz Band, Steelband
Miller South Clubs: The Tri-M Music Honor Society

Other Ensembles: OMEA Honors Band, Akron Youth Philharmonic, OMEA Solo and Ensemble

Music Theory

Music theory is a course open to students in 7th and 8th grade band. Music theory is an additional course to strengthen one’s knowledge of music and creates a broader understanding of the language of music. This course is also a requirement for students whose only interest area is instrumental music but is encouraged for all 7th and 8th grade band students as scheduling allows. In addition to learning music theory, this class applies that knowledge to music composition, music history, and music technology as well as applying this practical knowledge to playing their instruments through small group lessons embedded within the class. In addition to being part of the concert band, this course prepares students for the Instrumental Fine Arts Pathway of the APS College and Career Academies.

Performances

Band students have several opportunities to perform throughout the year. All band ensembles perform as part of their curriculum in the Winter and Spring Band Concerts. In addition to our two main concerts, the Concert Band and Jazz Band have several other concerts. The Concert Band collaborates with the Firestone CLC Marching Band to perform at a football game. The Jazz Band performs at our annual Open House and extra community events. Both the Concert Band and Jazz Band perform at the APS Music Festivals in the Winter where they continue to earn high ratings and awards. The Jazz Band collaborates with the steelband to perform an end of the year concert in the form of a Cabaret Night too. Other performances are special to specific years at Miller South to collaborate with other classes or interest areas to enrich musical experiences through arts integration.