North Stars Music Department

SCN Musicians Receive 35 IMEA Placements

October 11, 2008 by Mr. Wis

As you may know, musicians from over 30 high schools auditioned last Tuesday for placement into classical and jazz ensembles for the Illinois Music Educators Association District 9 Festivals. We are pleased to report that our students received 35 placements.

Note: We do not yet know the specific assignments for seatings. Also, the number following each name is the student's year in school.

Vocal Jazz Nov. 15, at St. Charles East High School, St. Charles:

Samantha Resser (12)

Jazz Band Nov. 15, at St. Charles East High School, St. Charles:Read the rest--->

Favorite Marching Band Song

August 30, 2008 by Mr. Wis

Bend Me Shape Me

3% (3 votes)

You Shook Me All Night Long

5% (4 votes)

Mr. Roboto

6% (5 votes)

Hey Baby

55% (48 votes)

She Blinded Me With Science

15% (13 votes)

Back in Black

5% (4 votes)

Holiday

13% (11 votes)

Total votes: 88

Registering for our site

August 30, 2008 by Mr. Wis

Over 100 students and parents have now registered and activated their accounts on this site. I wanted to point out a few things and help troubleshoot activation for some of you.

Putting your email in the subscription box in the upper left corner does not create an account. Receiving email updates is strictly for people (primarily parents) who just want to be notified when a new story is posted to the site. If you register your email with that service and create an account on the site you will be getting double notifications. If you want to discontinue the email updates, follow the link at the bottom of one of those rss emails.

If you think you have not received the required validation email for your account creation please check your "junk" or "spam" folders. Every person that has contacted me about not receiving the validation email so far has found it there.

Once your account is created you will be able to manage your subscription options under the "My Account" tab. If all subscriptions are on, you will receive notifications not only for new stories, but also for new pages or changes to existing pages. So for example if your class page is updated by your teacher you will receive an email.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Concert Attire Make-up Fitting Days

August 29, 2008 by Mr. Wis

Thursday, September 4 and Friday, September 5 from 2:45 to 5 pm. in Room 142

All students who missed uniform fitting days will need to have their concert attire fitted during one of the make-up Uniform Fitting Days: Thursday, September 4 and Friday, September 5 from 2:45 to 5:00 pm. The amount of time fittings will take will depend on the number of students present.

All Band, Orchestra and Choir students wear concert attire purchased through the school. Women wear dresses. All men wear black tux pants, white tux shirts, and black bow ties. Men in auditioned bands, orchestras, and choirs also wear tux jackets. Students provide their own shoes, stockings, and black socks following the guidelines they received from their directors.

Returning students are encouraged to try on their concert attire to make sure it fits. If new attire is needed, you can order new attire between September 1 and September 5.

Payment for Concert Attire and Uniforms is made directly to the St. Charles North Treasurer's Office, payable to "SCN." Order forms can be downloaded by following the "attachments" link at the bottom of this announcement. Read the rest--->

1 attachment

Watch the Half Time Show

August 23, 2008 by Mr. Wis

Are you interested in seeing an animation of your half time drill? There is a free download that will allow you to do this.

Visit this link and download the free player. There are some special instructions for Vista users here. Then you will need the file for our show, which is found at the end of this post under the "attachments." Get that before you run the program.

Directions for iPAS (thanks Penn Trafford Bands)

Download and Install iPAS (Pyware Student Viewer) from the Pyware web site. Vista users remember to see these instructions.

Save to your Desktop the iPAS shortcut icon or pull into your doc on a Mac.

Open iPAS from your Desktop by clicking on the program icon (3D Performer's Practice Tools). The first screen will contain the copyright and serial number information. Click on "Continue". The next screen will ask you "Do you want to check online for free iPAS updates?" Click on "Skip For Now".

Read the rest--->

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Schedule Names and Performance Names

August 20, 2008 by Mr. Wis

The music program has seen tremdous growth since SCN opened in 2000. Unfortunately there are not enough distinct class names in the computer system to accomodate (something we hope to rectify after our curriculum revision and proposals are complete). In the meantime here are the courses for this year along with their "performance names" when they differ from the schedule name.

Bands

Period 1 Wind Symphony (schedule says Symphonic Band)
Period 2 Chamber Winds (schedule says Symphonic Band)
Period 2 Concert Band
Period 3 Symphonic Band
Period 6 Wind Ensemble
Period 8 Concert Band

Jazz Bands

Period 4 Jazz Band Mr. Molloy
Period 4 Jazz Ensemble (schedule says Jazz Band) Mr. Wojo
Period 5 Jazz Band Mr. S
Period 5 Jazz Lab (schedule says Jazz Band) Mr. Wojo
Period 7 Jazz Workshop

Vocal Jazz

Period 5 Vocal Jazz Lab (Schedule says Vocal Jazz Ensemble)
Period 7 Vocal Jazz Workshop (Schedule says Vocal Jazz Ensemble)

Please contact us with any questions by using the Contact link on the left, particularly if you think you have been placed into the wrong period.

Virtuoso Violinist to Visit SCN

August 11, 2008 by Mr. Wis

As part her Orchestras Residency Program with the ESO and EYSO, world famous violinist Midori will spend an afternoon at St. Charles North High School on Friday October 3rd. String students from the entire district will have the chance to hear this fabulous musician speak and perform for them that day. This is an incredible opportunity for our students and we look forward to hosting one of the world's greatest classical artists. Her most recent biography appears below.

In the 2008-2009 season, violinist Midori concocts the blend of worldwide performances (90), expanding commitment to community engagement, devotion to her various roles at the prestigious University of Southern California, and enthusiastic exploration of new territory that fans, students, and media alike have come to expect from this brilliant and multi-faceted artist. Her season will include a first-ever tour of trio repertoire with two distinguished colleagues, pianist Jonathan Biss and cellist Johannes Moser; her first appearances in Central America, with the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica; two rare appearances at the intimate Wigmore Hall in London, and the opening of the Bruckner Festival with Bruckner Orchestra Linz.

The season commences with appearances - in recital, chamber music, or concerto repertoire - at

Read the rest--->

Marching Band: Performance for teachers updated

August 11, 2008 by Mr. Wis

The annual performance for teachers will take place on Tuesday morning, August 26th. Call time will be 7:30am, and you will be on your way by 8:20.

Attire will be discussed next week at camp.

Marching Band: Great America Outing

July 18, 2008 by Mr. Wis

There will be an optional outing to Great America on Friday, August 22nd. There is no performance involved.

The cost will be $45, which will cover your ticket and bus transportation. For those who already have season passes, the cost will be $15 for the bus.

Details on departure time and evening return to SCN will be firmed up at band camp. You will receive the permission form on Monday, August 18, and it will be due the next evening at camp. Again, this is an optional, one day trip.