4th & 5th
Grade Band
Questions or Concerns? Email Mrs. Wilson at awilson@suffield.org.
Concerts
Fifth graders will perform in three concerts:
January 11th at 6pm Suffield Middle School ("dress to impress")
February 6th at 6pm Suffield High School (report at 5:45pm in "Suffield blue" attire)
Three tickets per household (these will be provided to your child prior to the concert day and are free of charge.)
June 6th at 7pm at Suffield Middle School (report at 6:45 - "dress to impress")
Fourth graders will perform in one concert:
June 6th at 6pm at Suffield Middle School (report at 5:45 - "dress to impress")
Rentals
Please be sure to rent an educator-approved instrument from a reputable music company such as Gerry's or Music & Arts. Your child's instrument will be delivered directly to McAlister School with the recommended accessories. All band students are required to purchase the method book as well, Measures of Success book one.
Recommended Instrument Repair Facilities:
The Music Lab, LLC 860-426-1961
Gerry's Music Shop: call the store directly to coordinate pick up of your repair at 1-800-724-7402 during the school year.
Music & Arts. You can contact: Jennifer.Martocchio@musicarts.com to coordinate pick up of your repair during the school year.
(All three of these companies service our schools weekly and can pick up and drop off repairs, or you are welcome to drive them to their locations yourself. Students who have rental instruments from a music store should have all repairs done through the store from which they are renting and should request a free loaner instrument while the repair is being completed. Please do not bring any instrument to Suffield Music for repair as they do not have an on-site repair shop. If your child is renting from Suffield Music, Music & Arts will handle the repair of the instrument.)
Instruction
Students receive a weekly private or small group lesson on their instrument.
Fifth grade students also participate in a weekly ensemble rehearsal on Wednesday afternoons.
Supplies
If your child plays clarinet or saxophone, please be sure to purchase Rico, Rico Royal, Juno or Vandoren reeds ONLY. Please do not purchase other brands on Amazon, or other websites, as their quality will cause challenges for your student. When in doubt, purchase from musicarts.com or have Gerry's deliver a box.
Reeds can also be purchased from Mrs. Wilson if a student runs out and has not had time to order a new box.
Clarinet: $1.50 per reed
Alto Sax: $2.00 per reed
Brass players should have a bottle of valve oil and a tube of slide grease for their instrument stored in their case.