Welcome to CMSW Band where we embrace the Next Generation of Music Education. Students in our program will find what we do to be rigorous, relevant, relationship-focused and rewarding.
ERIC SONGER songere@district112.org
CHECK OUT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: MR. SONGER.
PLEASE CHECK THE WEEK AT A GLANCE (WAAG) :
TALENT SHOW VIDEO
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE'S HORNS VISIT CMSW
EVENING WITH THE STARS WIN ENSEMBLES
POP ENSEMBLE SHOW AT PIM ARTS HS
Students should have their instrument and chromebook on their band days. Instruments can be stored in the band room or in their hallway lockers during the school day. A-Days and B-Days alternate.
AFTER SCHOOL CLASSES:
-Marching Band where students learn how to march and perform in the Homecoming Parades. Tuesdays & Thursdays in Sept.
-School of Rock where students learn how to be in a rock band. Wednesdays in Sept./Oct.
-Beginning Guitar where students learn how to play guitar (instruments provided) - Mondays in October and again Wednesdays in February
-Garage Band is an auditioned group where students perform in venues across the Twin Cities in a rock band - Tuesdays Oct.-Jan.
-Jazz Ensemble 78 where students learn and perform in a jazz ensemble in venues across the state including an overnight trip to the Duluth Jazz Festival - Thursdays Nov.-Mar.
-Country Rock/Bluegrass Band is an auditioned group where students performing in venues across the Twin Cities in a country band - Wednesdays Oct.-Jan.
-Holiday Band where students play in a concert band that plays all holiday music - Mondays In Nov.-Dec.
-Jazz 6 where students learn and perform in a jazz ensemble in the district - Tuesdays Dec.-March
-Hip Hop Club where students DJ, rap, beatbox, dance, do art, and make beats - Mondays Feb.-March
-Pop Ensemble where students learn how to play and perform current pop music - Wednesdays Mar.-May.
-Honor Band 6 and Honor Band 78 are hand-picked groups based on student effort and performance during the year where students learn more advanced music and do a concert - Thursdays in Apr.-June.
-Latin Pop Band where students learn Latin Pop, Latin Jazz, Mariachi and more - Mondays Apr.-May
-6th Grade and Middle School Musical. "Finding Nemo". Monday-Thursdays in Sept and first week of Oct.
You can sign up at www.ce4all.org or click on the name of the class above. Classes that start later in the year don't have links yet.
SUMMER CLASSES:
Jazz Band
Woodwind and brass players must also have reeds, valve oil, slide cream or whatever accessories they need for their instrument to work properly. Percussionists are strongly encouraged to have a stick bag with drum sticks, plastic mallets and yarn mallets. You can always order these items at any time with forms that are available on the bulletin board in the back of the band room or online as well at Schmitt Music or Eckroth Music. Items will be delivered to CMSW and given to students usually within ten days.
There is a $45 Band Fee that you will need to turn in (checks made out to CMSW) which will cover the method books, our band trips and more. You can return this with your child the first month of school. Let me know if you need assistance.
There will be one 20-minute pull-out lesson a week for 6th graders where we will focus on the instrument each student plays. Since we don't have two full time band directors anymore, most of these lessons will take place as pull-outs from other classes. The staff works really well to make sure that students don't fall behind when they miss a class for a band lesson.
During the 2025-26 school year: we have THREE evening concerts that all band members attend. These are the evenings of Tuesday, Dec. 2 in the Chaska High School auditorium,Thursday, February 19 in the CMSW Large Gym & Thursday, May 14 In the CMSW Large Gym. We have trips that each grade takes. The 6th grade bands play a tour of Bluff Creek, Clover Ridge and La Academia during the school day on Thursday, January 15. The 7th grade bands play at a mid-level band festival In Edina followed by a trip to Great Wolf Lodge Waterpark on Friday, May 1. The 7th and 8th graders play at Eden Prairie Mall on Friday, December 12 from 4:30-6:15 p.m. The 8th grade bands will take a trip to UW-Eau Claire during the school day and into the evening on Friday, May 15 which Includes time at Action City Fun Park. There will be an additional fee to go on the 8th grade trip. Fundraising opportunities will be available.
For a complete list of dates throughout the year, click here.
The 8th graders also run the CMSW Talent Show on Friday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. at Chanhassen H.S. All 8th graders sign up for a small job such as selling tickets or helping with publicity or auditions prior to the show or sign up for a larger job where they can perform, host, or help with the tech crew during the show. 6th and 7th graders are also welcome to audition to be in the show.
Bonus Lessons are optional lessons that students can come to during the school day. Bonus lessons are pull-out lessons where students will miss 20 minutes of band. Bonus lessons are offered on the following instruments and skills: guitar, ukulele, piano, bass guitar, drum set, improvisation, production, songwriting, DJing, unified music, music history, and extra help. These lessons will be taught by volunteer high school students and adults.
WIN Ensembles start in October. WIN Ensembles are chamber groups of 3-10 students each that choose what music they want to play, rehearse that music on their own and then perform at Urban Air on April 13 and Evening with the Stars on April 9. There might also be before school performances in the cafeteria during breakfast. Students must commit to coming to one WIN time a week to work with their group, and they must also commit to practicing their music at home if they want to be in a WIN Ensemble. If they play multiple instruments, they may do this in their WIN Ensembles.
There will also be occasional guest speakers. I am a big believer in having something for everyone and trying to make music a positive part of all of these students' lives. This year's guests include Taylor Swift's drummer JT Bates and bass player Ian Allison.
Lastly you can contact me at songere@district112.org. You can also follow the music program on Facebook and Instagram @CMSWMusic. Most performances and other fun videos are on our YouTube channel. Google Classroom codes are also available for the 2025-26 school year. Students will need to sign up by going to Google Classroom and entering the code below:
8th Grade: aulsbbd4
7th Grade: ixfckbcg
6th Grade: it5d4t6t
ERIC SONGER
I have been a music educator at Chaska Middle School West since 1997. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Music and Math Education from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a Master’s degree from the University of St. Thomas in Curriculum & Instruction. Along with my colleagues in Chaska, I have created a program that includes jazz, rock, country, bluegrass, Latin, hip hop, pop, and marching bands as well as songwriting, production, guitar, deejaying, podcasting, and adaptive music classes. I teach privately, compose, and arrange music, and perform as a trombonist in the Twin Cities. I was the recipient of a CMA Foundation Music Teacher of Excellence Award in 2023 and 2025, Schmitt Music Teacher of the Year in 2023, Give-a-Note Innovator in Music Education Award in 2019, and twice District 112 Teacher of the Year in 2008 and 2021. I speak regularly at conferences and universities across the country. I am the VP of Ensembles Plus for MMEA, South Central Regional President of MBDA, founder of the APME Minnesota chapter, and am on the NAfME Council for Innovations. I serve on the MMEA and these other boards because I want to bring people together to share ideas and create more opportunities for our students. I co-founded and help run the Minnesota Modern Band Festival and am the author of the book “Starting A Modern Band Program.” My website is www.songerstudio.wordpress.com. I have a podcast called Pop Life. My wife, Heidi, is also a musician and educator and we run our own music studio together. Heidi and I offer professional development for teachers on how to run a popular music ensemble. We live in Chaska, Minnesota with our kids Caleb and Abby.
BELOW IS ARCHIVED INFO THAT WILL NO LONGER BE UPDATED DUE TO LACK OF STAFFING.
Annabelle, Miriam, Andrew, Dot and Piper
7th Grade Band recording patriotic songs for school-wide video.
7th Grade Band recording patriotic songs for school-wide video.
7th Grade Band recording patriotic songs for school-wide video.
Zane playing Taps during the flag-raising ceremony on Veteran's Day.
Congrats to Weston, Tori, Olive, Elsie, Ricky, London and Kenzie on being part of ASBDA Small Ensemble Day at St. Anthony High School on Saturday, October 30, 2021. Their performances were wonderful!
Road Rash
Ava and Veda of Wayside
Loud Noises
Wayside
Sabrina singing and playing ukulele with Seven Dwarves
Summer Jazz Band
Dualing keyboardists Nolan & Sophie playing with Loud Noises.
Alex on the country fiddle with Seven Dwarves.
Sydney always smiling as she plays bass with one of her two bands.
The Movie Band poses at the end of their concert.
Abby, Celia and Ali along with Emmitt were the members of our horn line.
Madi taking a bari sax solo with the jazz band
May 2021 Bandemic Festival
On Monday, May 24, we featured TWENTY student ensembles in our first ever Bandemic Music Festival. Six hours of music included 12 WIN Ensembles (progressive chamber ensembles), six rock bands, one country band and a pop ensemble. Congratulations to all of these students! Check out the YouTube channel Mr. Songer for video of this concert.
Sirens of Saturn
A Midnight Dream
Chicken Nuggets
High School Garage Band
Woodwind Wonders
Panic At The Band Room
Kaboom 5
Originality
Olive & Her Only Friends
Pop Pandemic
Twisted Roses
Chicken Fried
Tangles
Musical Peoples
Awful Musicians
Annoying Plumbers
Crickets
Rhythm Section
Mr. Songer's Rick Astley Shirt
Wrong Direction
Many of our CMSW students put together our Annual Talent Show in virtual format. The video came out Friday, March 19 at 7 p.m. You can watch it here! The show was hosted by Danica Grafelman, Gavin Moen, Emmitt Lopahs, Conner Briol and Burke Jahn. The day the show was released, Qdoba donated part of the proceeds of meals toward our Pennies For Patients Drive to help those with childhood blood cancers. The show is usually one of our big fundraisers for the band department. If you'd still like to donate to our program, you can log on to Parent Portal, go to "other fees" and then click on "band fee". There was a Talent Show After-Party with special guest DJ 4orty. It was definitely a fun night!
Congratulations to our Garage and Country Bands on an amazing concert on April 26!
Twisted Roses
The Tangles
1920
Chicken Fried
Congratulations to our Jazz Bands on an amazing concert on May 4!
Congratulations to all of our students on our first in-person concert band concert in 18 months. It was crazy doing it outside, in the mist, without never rehearsing all together, but it felt so good. We are super proud of you!
Congratulations to our District 112 Mid-Level Honor Band on coming together for the first time for their concert on Monday, June 7 at the CMSW Soccer Stadium!
7th graders before the concert
7th graders before the concert
8th graders after a successful performance
6th graders warming up
On Tuesday, February 9, we presented our Winter Band Concert at 7 p.m. on YouTube as a live stream. The link is still active if you haven't had a chance to watch it by clicking here . It is also available on our social media platforms and on Google Classroom. As part of the concert there were many surprises and treats. This included special guest appearances from staff, alumni and local celebrities as well as some guest performances. There was also an optional Google Meet right after the concert was over where students logged in and visited with each other and there was also a drawing for gift cards from local restaurants.
Thank you to Becky Myers, the CMSW PTO and parents that made donations to make the snack packs possible that many of us had while watching the concert.
Search the hashtag #cmswvirtualband for pictures.
Kylie playing with the Jazz & Garage Bands August 13
Josiah and Caleb rockin' out with the Garage Band August 13
Kyle is the masked keytar wonder with the Garage Band August 13
Harrison rockin' the drums with the Garage Band August 13
SUMMER MARCHING BAND
SUMMER MOVIE BAND
LINING UP FOR THE PARADE
MOVIE BAND DIRECTORS
Mr. Songer visited the homes of nearly every one of our 330 CMSW Band students in December 2020 to carol and deliver some holiday treats. Many students also played along with when he visited. There is definitely a ton of holiday joy in our community!
Our Spring Band Concert was cancelled so instead we did 64 concerts in neighborhoods around our school district the final two weeks of school (May 26-June 4). Check out the pictures below of everyone who performed!
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERTS DAY 1
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERTS DAY 2
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERTS DAY 3 (more pics below)
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERTS DAY 4
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERTS DAY 5
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERTS DAY 6
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERTS DAY 7
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERTS DAY 8
WELCOME TO REACHING FOR THE STARS
On Thursday, April 9, we had several Chaska Middle School West ensembles that were going to perform at Evening with the Stars. Since that event was cancelled, we'd love to invite you to watch our 7th and 8th grade WIN Ensembles, our three CMSW Jazz Ensembles, our 8th Grade Rhythm Section, our 8th Grade Horn Trio, our three National Songwriter Competition finalists Savannah Larson, Karlie Lea and Gordie Molin, a tribute to our 6th graders, 7th graders & 8th graders and more right here! This has been a ton of work for our students as they moved from performing music live to recording both audio and video in their home away from their band mates. This is very challenging for professional musicians and especially difficult for middle school students. But we are so proud at what they have done.
More pics from Day 3 of Neighborhood Concerts!
Leah-State Honor Band 2022
Zander-State Honor Band 2022
Zane-State Honor Band 2022
Olive-State Honor Band 2022
State Honor Jazz Band 2022
State Honor Jazz Band 2022
Liam, Addie, Nancy, Penny, Tiara, Mike, Signe and Violet take a break during the SCMBDA 2nd Year Honor Band on April 23, 2022
Will Beckler
Kenzie Geiger
Austin Henderson
Leah Nelson
2023 State Honor Jazz Band
2023 State Honor Band
Mike Conlee and Caden Gillitzer for both chosen for the 2024 State Honor Band.
Nadia Ayouche
Luke Beckler
Hope Peterson, Elliott Lopahs and Abby Songer
News:
-Congratulations to Val Lara Espinoza, Helen Barnes and Cooper Danielson on being chosen for the Minnesota Junior Winds Honor Band on Saturday, November 9, 2024.
-Congratulations to Abby Songer, Elliott Lopahs, Miriam Blewett, Adria Hanson, Helen Barnes and Nadia Ayouche for participating in the ASBDA Small Ensemble Day on Saturday, October 26, 2024 at St. Anthony High School.
-Congratulations to Luke Beckler who was selected for the MBDA State Honor Band. He performed with the band at Owatonna High School on April 13, 2025.
-Congratulations to Luke Beckler (percussion), Elliott Lopahs (horn), Addy Nesvold (clarinet) and Abby Songer (flute) for being selected to the Chaska High School Wind Symphony and Miriam Blewett (flute) for being selected to the Chanhassen High School Symphonic Winds as freshmen for the 2025-26 school year! Congrats to Luke Beckler and Ethan Eickhoff for making the Chaska High School Drum line.
-Congratulations to Kaylee Do, Fiona McFarlane, Lottie Grinager, Alana Pickford and Audra Hennen on being selected for and performing at the SCMBDA Second year Honor Band on May 3, 2025 at Chanhassen High School.
-Congratulations to Andrew Vetter, Adria Hanson and Addy Nesvold for being chosen to and performing with the Tri-State Honor Band at Decorah High School In Decorah, Iowa on Saturday, March 8, 2025.
-Congratulations to Abby Songer, Val Lara Espinoza, Luke Beckler, Hope Peterson on being chosen and performing with the SCMBDA Regional Honor Band In Chaska on Saturday, February 22, 2025.
-Congratulations to Abby Songer and Luke Beckler for being selected to the MBDA Regional Honor Jazz Band at Lakeville South High School on Saturday, March 1, 2025.
-Congratulations to Kaylee Do, Jadea Wiltsie, Fiona McFarlane, Audra Hennen, Laurel Claeys, Louis Johnson, Liam Westrom and Amelia Behnke for being selected to perform with the Minnesota Junior Winds Second Year Honor Band on Saturday, March 8, 2025
-Congratulations to Nadia Ayouche who was selected for the 2025 MBDA State Honor Jazz Band. She will perform at Anoka-Ramsey Community College on Saturday, January 19 and at the Minneapolis Convention Center at the State Music Education Conference on Friday, February 14, 2025.
-Congratulations to Miriam Blewett, Helen Barnes, and Adria Hanson for being chosen for the UW-Eau Claire Mid-Level Honor Band on January 24, 2025.
-Congratulations to Ava Joos, Katie Jiran and Abby Songer for participating in a songwriting /singing seminar given by Debbie Gibson Saturday, December 5, 2020!
-Eric Songer was awarded a $4,000 grant from the Give A Note Foundation for our music program. Eric was in Nashville on April 30, 2019 receiving his award with eight other music teachers across the country at an event hosted by Dierks Bentley. He presented at the NAfME National Music Education Conference in Orlando, Florida Friday, November 8, 2019 at Gaylord Palms Orlando with his fellow grant-recipients.
-For the third year in a row, District 112's music program has been named one of the top K-12 music programs in the country by NAMM. The National Association of Music Merchants ranked our community one of the top music programs in the nation!
-Eric Songer along with Scott Prescott and Maggie Zeidel presented at the Wisconsin State Music Education Conference Thursday, October 24, 2019 at the Monona Terrace in Madison, Wisconsin. And Eric was part of a panel presentation at the National Music Education Conference in Orlando, Florida November 7-10, 2019. Eric also presented at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday, October 29 at 10 a.m. and at the Florida State Music Education Conference Thursday, January 9, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. Maggie Zeidel, Matt Potter, Scott Prescott and Eric Songer presented on the new "Band And" program at the Minnesota State Music Education Conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center on Thursday, February 13, 2020. Scott Prescott and Eric Songer were selected to speak at the National Association for Music Education's National Conference in Orlando, Florida in November 2020 on "Inspiring Your Students". Maggie Zeidel, Scott Prescott, Matt Potter and Eric Songer were also selected to speak at the Iowa Music Educator's Association State Conference in November 2020. Unfortunately both the National and Iowa conferences were cancelled. Maggie Zeidel, Scott Prescott, Matt Potter and Eric Songer spoke at the virtual Minnesota Music Educator's Association State Virtual Conference on February 11 at 5 p.m. on the topic of Surviving & Thriving In and After A Pandemic. Maggie Zeidel, Scott Prescott and Eric Songer presented on "Teaching Secondary Music During and After a Pandemic" at the Association of Popular Music Education National Conference at Columbia College in Chicago on June 13, 2021. Eric Songer, Maggie Zeidel and Scott Prescott were keynote speakers at the Luther College Popular Music Pedagogy for Preservice Music Peeps Conference on Saturday, October 9, 2021 in Decorah, Iowa. Eric Songer presented at the Iowa State Music Education Conference on November 19, 2021 at Iowa State in Ames. Eric Songer spoke at the Minnesota Music Educator's Association State Conference on February 18 at 8:45 a.m. in three different sessions: starting a Modern Band and Guitar Ensemble, starting an Adaptive Music Ensemble and Rehearsing a Modern Band at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The latter session featured one of our high school Garage Bands and their director Kris Stauffer. Scott Prescott and Eric Songer presented at the Association of Popular Music Education National Conference In Detroit June 4, 2022 at 2:30 p.m. on Implementing Modern Band Into the Traditional Music Ensemble. Scott, Eric and Matt Potter presented this same session at the Minnesota Music Educator's Association State Conference on February 16, 2023 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Eric Songer also presented at this conference on February 17, 2023 (panel for Modern Band and teaching Modern Band). Eric Songer has been selected to present two sessions at the Association of Popular Music Education National Conference at USC In Los Angeles on June 7-9, 2024. Eric Songer presented three sessions at the Minnesota Music Educator's Association State Conference on February 13-14, 2025. One was with the 8th grade WIN ensembles on February 13 and one was with the Unified group on February 14. The last was with Scott Prescott as they presented on directing popular music ensembles. The Garage Band "The Flexatones" also performed at "The Plug" at MMEA on February 15, 2025. Scott Prescott and Eric Songer are presenting and bringing four student WIN Ensembles to perform at the Association of Popular Music Education National Conference at the University of Memphis on June 5-8, 2025.
-Eric Songer was named District 112 Teacher of the Year for 2021. Special thanks to the District 112 Foundation for always acknowledging the great work of teachers! He was also presented Schmitt Music Teacher of the Year In 2023.
-Eric Songer was named one of 10 national Music Teachers of Excellence by The Country Music Awards (CMA) Foundation. The school received a $2500 grant and a matching $2,500 grant from Chevrolet. Mr. Songer received the award In Nashville in September 2023. He was awarded the same honor in 2025!
Social Media:
Follow us on Instagram: @CMSWMusic (#WestMusicStars)
Like our Facebook Page: Chaska Middle School West Music @CMSWMusic (#WestMusicStars)
Follow us on TikTok: @CMSWMusic
Visit Mr. Songer's Channel on YouTube for concert footage and more.
Google Classroom codes: 8th Grade: ejnta5r 7th Grade: vvxfeuf 6th Grade: t42ddzw