You made it through your first year of middle school, and now it’s time to embark on an exciting new year! My hope is that band will be part of a fun and rewarding experience for you at OBMS. This year you will continue to improve your technical and musical skills, learn to work together as a team, and practice self-discipline and dedication through daily rehearsals, weekly group lessons, and performances. It is my goal that all students actively participate to learn more about music, about one other, and about themselves. Rehearsals are where we get to work together and turn notes on a page into music we can be proud of! In order to take full advantage of our rehearsal time, it is important that all members of the band come to rehearsal fully prepared. Being prepared means having your instrument in good working order, your music neatly organized in your band binder, any accessories you may need for your instrument (valve oil, reeds, sticks, etc.), and a pencil! Be respectful of others during rehearsal; every member of the band makes a difference! Weekly lessons are our chance to play and learn together in smaller groups. Lessons are done on a rotating schedule to ensure that students will not miss the same class more than once a month. Lesson schedules can be found on this website as well as in the band room. Students will need the Essential Elements 2000: Book 2 for study in lessons. A practice chart will need to be filled out weekly- 5 days a week, at least 15 minutes a day- and initialed by an adult for students to receive full credit for practicing. And finally, the moment we’ve all been waiting for…..the CONCERT!!! Concerts are our chance to show off all our hard work and practice for our families and friends. It is imperative that all band members play in the concert so that we can perform to our full potential. Our concert dates can be found using the link to the right. Concert dress consists of: