2-26-24 Newsletter

We had a wonderful session with Dr. Wang from the President's Own Marine Band! He gave us several helpful tips on how to make better use of our practice time!

Solo and Small Ensemble Festival

We will be hosting our annual Solo and Small Ensemble Festival this Thursday and Friday (Feb. 29 and March 1) in the Black Box Theater. Good luck to all of our participating musicians! -- schedule will be posted shortly. If you would like to visit campus to see your favorite student perform, let Mr. Phelan know, so we can adjust the schedule to ensure that you are here when they perform.

Upcoming Dates

We have added several performance opportunities to our Calendar for the Spring semester:

Dr. Quincy Hilliard returns to Haynes!

Dr. Hilliard will be working with our Band students during the week of March 11, and we are extremely fortunate to have him! He brings tons of energy and a wealth of knowledge to share with our young musicians! We invite everyone to attend our evening rehearsal on March 12 to meet him and enjoy seeing him work with our students.

Adjusted After School rehearsal times (High School Band)

We will NOT have after school rehearsal Tuesday Feb. 27, due to ACT testing.
Our Tuesday March 12 rehearsal has been moved to 5:30 - 8:00 pm, due to ACT testing, and to accommodate another visit from Dr. Quincy Hilliard from UL Lafayette!

Kalena Bovell to work with the Haynes Band

As part of our partnership with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, we are pleased to welcome noted classical conductor Kalena Bovell to work with our Band after school on Tuesday March 5 from 4:30 - 5:30 pm in the Band Room. We invite you to drop by to meet her!

https://www.kalenabovell.com

LMEA Large Ensemble Assessment

(Band Festival) - March 18 at the Chalmette HS Cultural Arts Center (High School Band, 7th and 8th grade Band). Here is our tentative schedule:

11:30 -- load trailer

12:00 -- depart Haynes

12:45 -- arrive Chalmette High

1:00 -- lunch

1:45 -- listen to St. Clement of Rome

2:15 -- listen to Brother Martin

2:45 -- MS unload and move to warm-up room (HS assist or listen to other Bands)

3:15 -- MS warm up

3:45 -- MS perform

4:15 -- MS sight reading

4:45 -- MS load, HS unload and move to warm-up room

5:15 -- HS warm up (MS assist or listen to other Bands)

5:45 -- HS perform

6:15 -- HS sight reading

6:45 -- load and depart Chalmete High

7:30 -- arrive Haynes and dismiss

Jefferson Parish Superintendent's Assessment

(Band Festival) - March 25-26 at West Jefferson HS auditorium (all Band students)

High School Band should perform Monday March 25 (time tba, but approx. 10 am)

All Middle School groups (6th Grade Band, 7/8th Grade Band, and Middle School Percussion) should perform Tuesday March 26 (times tba, but likely between 10 and 12:30)

Special Olympics

April 5 at Pontiff Playground (high school Band)

Jazz Band at Lakeside Mall

April 6, music starts at 10 am at the Veterans Skylight

Spend a Day with the LSU Band

Current high school band students in grades 10 - 12 on eligible instruments can experience the unique opportunity to perform in Tiger Stadium with the LSU Tiger Marching Band during the annual LSU Spring Football Game.

https://www.lsu.edu/cmda/bands/events/spring-game/index.php

Taste and Tunes

April 14 in the Haynes Gym (all Band students)

LPO Academy High School Collaboration

As part of our partnership with the LPO, our High School students are eligible to participate in this year's Collaboration with the LPO! Our students will be able to perform with the LPO at their City Park concert on Wed. April 24. More information (and music) will be posted to google classroom shortly. We encourage all of our young musicians to take advantage of this opportunity to perform alongside some of the best professional musicians in our area!

Graduation

May 11 9:00 am at the Alario Center (high school Band)

We hope to see you at any or all of these events!

Haynes Band Media Folder

If you have any pictures or video from any of our performances or activities, please share them to the folder linked here. Thanks!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/139ORTm-6tqc_vL1GdumZ90XxyRvkqVlY?usp=sharing

Taste and Tunes

We're already working on this year's Taste and Tunes performance, and WE NEED YOU to help make it the best one yet!

We ask everyone to visit our Taste and Tunes Involvement Form. Please volunteer for one or more positions, so we can get things moving!

Learn more on our Taste and Tunes web page, and check back often as this page will be continually updated.

Taste and Tunes web page

Other Information

Band Fee

The Haynes Academy Band charges a $30 annual fee, which covers the purchase of music, transportation, etc. This fee has been posted to student accounts. Please contact Mr. Phelan with questions or concerns.

Band Camp 2024

That's not a typo -- we're already looking ahead to Band Camp next July! In order to help everyone plan their summer vacations (and to hopefully increase our Band Camp participation!) we have tentatively scheduled Band Camp 2024:

July 22-23 (Monday and Tuesday) = Percussion Camp

July 24 (Wednesday) = Drum Corps at USM in Hattiesburg

July 25-26 (Thursday and Friday) and July 29-31 (Monday-Wednesday) = Full Band Camp

We have no other details yet, including location or times, but we ask that you make every effort to have your students at Band Camp on all of those days. Thanks in advance for your cooperation!

Band T-shirts and Sweatshirts

Haynes Band T-shirts and Sweatshirts have arrived! Please send payment ASAP so we can send yours home. We did order a few extras, so contact Mr. Phelan to get your student the most stylish shirts on campus!

High School Band

After school practices (Tuesday and Thursday)

Spring practices will run until 5:30, so we may be prepared for parades and festivals.

We are shifting toward an Attendance Policy for all rehearsals, to further encourage our students to organize their time efficiently. Please note that COMMUNICATION IS KEY when resolving scheduling conflicts. Parents, we ask that you help your students to plan ahead, and to address conflicts as soon as they arise. This is a great skill for "the real world"!!!

Absence Request Form (Updated!)

Jazz Band

Our Jazz Band will continue practicing this Wednesday until 5:30 pm, as we begin to prepare for the Bill Evans Jazz Festival at SLU in Hammond.

Our Jazz Vocalists will NOT practice this Monday Feb. 27.

The Week in Review

All students are busy preparing for Solo and Small Ensemble Festival, and also for our upcoming Large Ensemble Assessments. We will resume our student updates next week :)

Closing

Please visit our Calendar for all the latest updates, and feel free to contact Mr. Phelan at any time with questions or concerns. We look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Mr. Phelan