11/29/09 UPDATE

Just a few reminders as we return from the Thanksgiving break:

POINSETTIA SALE – Shae Lowery

The deadline for ordering Christmas flowers has been extended. Please send your order as soon as possible. Click on the poinsettia for a link to all the pertinent information:

DIRECTORS’ REPORT – Bruce & Cammie Carter

The JACKSON INDEPENDENT WINTER GUARD will begin preparing for its season this week. Guard parents, please make a note of the following schedule, as a few times have changed slightly from the original calendar due to facility and student availability.

The Winter Guard rehearsal schedule for this week:

Tuesday, December 1 – 4:00-8:00

Friday, December 4 – 2:00-8:00 (Dinner provided)
Saturday, December 5 – 2:00-8:00 (Dinner provided)
Sunday, December 6 (if needed-this will be announced at the end of Saturday’s practice) – 2:00-5:00

Thank you to Abbi Thomas, Mary Jo Thomas, Samantha Hill, & Annie Campbell for spending several hours today helping to paint drill sets on the winter guard mat.

As previously announced, the JA Band Program Christmas Concert will be on Thursday, December 10, beginning at 7:00 in the JA Library. Band class time in the coming weeks will be devoted to working on the holiday tunes for the concert.

The concert will begin with the 19-member Sixth Grade Band giving its premiere performance with several traditional Folk and Christmas classics. The High School Concert Band will be performing a few "new" Christmas classics from film, radio and TV, including music from Home Alone, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, selections from A Charlie Brown Christmas, a crazy version of the James Brown classic retitled Santa’s Got A Brand New Bag, and the premiere of a modern/ jazzy arrangement Silent Night for Brass and Percussion by JA Alumnus Corey Carter. The program will conclude with the always popular High School Jazz Band, performing fresh arrangements of pop standards such as Santa Baby, Baby, It’s Cold Outside, and a hard swinging version of Jingle Bells.Please join us to get in the holiday spirit.

Come early – it will be crowded in the Library – and plan to stay late, to enjoy plenty of current and unusual holiday music.

11/22/09 UPDATE

We hope all band families and friends have a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday.

POINSETTIA SALE – Shae Lowery

The deadline for ordering Christmas flowers has been extended. Please place your order as soon as possible. Here is a link to all the pertinent information: JA BAND POINSETTIA SALE INFO

DIRECTORS’ REPORT – Bruce & Cammie Carter

Congratulations to the JA Band members pictured above for their achievements on Saturday at callback auditions for the Mississippi Lions All-State Band. The students earned the following placements:

Will Commarato – 2nd chair Trombone
Jonathan Sandlin – 3rd chair Trumpet
John Humphreys – 5th chair Trumpet
Kevin Lowery – 8th chair Baritone
Annie Campbell – 2nd Alternate on Flag (highest ranking among 9th graders)

We are extremely proud of these students. To have this number of students selected to the All-State Band is an accomplishment for any school, public or private, and to earn such high spots in the ensemble is a remarkable achievement. Over 800 students from around the state auditioned for the 125-member band. These students are all exemplary representatives of Jackson Academy and the JA Band.

The JA WINTER GUARD will begin preparing for its season after the Thanksgiving break with a rehearsal on Tuesday, December 1, 4:00 – 8:00. The guard members will learn the drill for the show on the following weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 4, 5, & 6). All guard members have been given a calendar for all winter guard events. Lenny Westmoreland, who wrote the drill for this fall’s marching show, will be writing the JA Winter Guard show as well.

Cammie would like to thank John Humphreys, Jonathan Sandlin, Kevin Lowery, Annie Campbell, and Samantha Hill for taking time this afternoon to help prepare the mat for the Winter Guard. Special mention to John for “taking a fall” for the guard.

As previously announced, the JA Band Program Christmas Concert will be on Thursday, December 10, beginning at 7:00 in the JA Library. All class time in the coming weeks will be devoted to working on the holiday tunes for the concert.

The concert will begin with the 19-member Sixth Grade Band giving its premiere performance with several traditional Folk and Christmas classics. The High School Concert Band will be performing a few "new" Christmas classics from film, radio and TV, including music from Home Alone, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, selections from A Charlie Brown Christmas, a crazy version of the James Brown classic retitled Santa’s Got A Brand New Bag, and the premiere of a modern/ jazzy arrangement Silent Night for Brass and Percussion by JA Alumnus Corey Carter.The program will conclude with the always popular High School Jazz Band, performing fresh arrangements of pop standards such as Santa Baby, Baby, It’s Cold Outside, and a hard swinging version of Jingle Bells.

Please join us to get in the holiday spirit. Come early – it will be crowded in the Library – and plan to stay late, to enjoy plenty of current and unusual holiday music.

11/15/09 UPDATE

POINSETTIA SALE – Shae Lowery

The deadline for ordering Christmas flowers is this Thursday, December 19th.

The flowers are provided by a JA patron and are really beautiful!! They will be "dressed", which means they will have foil or plastic around them so they won't leak.

Here is a link to all the pertinent information: JA BAND POINSETTIA SALE INFO


DIRECTORS’ REPORT – Bruce & Cammie Carter

Thank you to the JA Jazz Band members who performed at Raider Night last Tuesday. The performance was enthusiastically received by the crowd in attendance, and the students seemed to truly enjoy performing beside the members of the Vamps.

Congrats to the JA football team on the successful conclusion of their Championship season Friday night. The band members contributed to the JA spirit at the game with their enthusiastic playing in the stands throughout.

Congratulations to JA Band members John Humpheys, Will Commarato, Kevin Lowery, Jonathan Sandlin, Alex Ray, Bryant Hutchins, Annie Campbell, Samantha Hill (the only eighth grader in the state auditioning on flag), and Abbi Thomas for auditioning on Saturday for the Mississippi Lions All-State Band. These students worked for many months preparing for the auditions, which drew hundreds of students from predominantly public schools around the state.

Further kudos to the five JA Band members whose auditions earned them the right to return on Saturday, November 21, for further callback auditions. Trumpeters Jonathan Sandlin and John Humphreys were rated in the top ten of over 100 trumpets from all over the state. Will Commarato is rated second from among about 70 trombones, and Kevin Lowery is a top-four baritone. JA has not had a baritone representative on the Lions Band for many years. Annie Campbell is the first flag member from JA in several years as well. Good luck to all of these students on Saturday.

The JA WINTER GUARD will begin preparing for its season with a rehearsal on Tuesday, December 1, from 4:00 - 8:00. The guard members will learn the drill for the show on the following weekend (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 4, 5, & 6). All guard members have been given a calendar for all winter guard events. Lenny Westmoreland, who wrote the drill for this fall’s marching show, will be writing the JA Winter Guard show as well. All the girls seem excited to begin learning the program.

As previously announced, the JA Band Program Christmas Concert will be on Thursday, December 10, beginning at 7:00 in the JA Library. All class time in the coming weeks will be devoted to working on the holiday tunes for the concert. The Sixth Grade Band, Jazz Band, and Concert Band will perform.


PHOTO GALLERY- Wendy Hutchins

JA Band pictures can be viewed at the JA Band Gallery online. If anyone has band photos to add to the gallery, please send them to Wendy Hutchins at wendy.hutchins@salliemae.com.

11/08/09 UPDATE

SECRETARY’S CORNER – Karen Humphreys

Thank you to everyone who donated items for the third quarter reception for the Parklane band on Friday, especially to Hope Burford for picking up and delivering the Chick Fil A sandwiches.

The Parklane band students and directors went on and on about how thankful they were that we fed them. We had enough food to feed everyone, including our band parents. Thank you!

DIRECTORS’ REPORT – Bruce & Cammie Carter

The JA Jazz Band, which is comprised of our older students, with assistance from some guest musicians, will be performing during Raider Night on Tuesday, as described on the flyer above. Jazz Band members should report to the Assembly Hall by 6:00 on Tuesday evening, dressed in black dress pants, black dress shoes, and a black dress shirt.

Congrats to the JA Raider football team for their big win on Friday. The victory earns them a spot in the MAIS Class AAA Division I Championship game against Jackson Prep on Thursday, November 12, at Mississippi College at 7:00 pm. There will not be time to perform the halftime show, but the band will perform as a pep band throughout the game.

All band members need to be at MC by 6:15 pm on Thursday, in band t-shirts, jeans, & JA sweatshirts or jackets if needed. They must wear the band t-shirt to identify themselves as band members at the gate. Carpools will be organized to get students to and from the game Thursday evening, if you desire. Look for an email from Jim Lowery with details about organizing the carpools. For those parents who are transporting their own students, we will send a map to MC with an indication of where we will meet, when the information is available.

Good luck to the JA Band members who are auditioning for the Mississippi Lions All-State Band on Saturday, November 14.

Please make a note of the JA Band Program Christmas Concert on your calendar. The concert, which will include performances by the Sixth Grade Band, the Jazz Band, and the Concert Band, will be Thursday, December 10, at 7:00 pm in the JA Library.

Concert season also brings the opportunities for honor band clinics for our students.

The MAIS Concert Band Clinic is held each year in January for student musicians from independent schools around the state in grades 7-12. This year the clinic will be held January 7-9, 2010, at the Regency Hotel in Jackson. All participants are required to stay at the hotel. Cammie and I will also be staying at the hotel and providing supervision throughout the clinic. A general schedule:

Thursday, January 7 – Clinic begins at 1:00 pm. All students check in to the clinic and the hotel, and sign up to audition for placement in one of two ensembles. The first rehearsal for both ensembles is in the evening.
Friday, January 8 – Rehearsal blocks in the morning and the afternoon, pizza dinner and entertainment for all students in the evening.
Saturday, January 9 – Rehearsal block in the morning, concert for parents and the public in the afternoon.

Cost is still being determined, but will be approximately $75 per student for the clinic, $40 for the hotel (quad occupancy), and as desired for meals that are not provided. The clinician for the first band will be Mr. Shaw Furlow, Band Director at Copiah-Lincoln Community College. Mr. Furlow always brings dynamic music to share with the students and an engaging teaching style. The selection of a clinician for the second band is still being finalized.

Some of our junior and senior students will also be auditioning for some of the area university honor band clinics, including the following:

MSU HONOR BAND CLINIC with clinician Mark Camphouse, January 28-30

ALL-SOUTH HONOR BAND CLINIC at USM, with clinicians Paula Crider, Denton Stokes, & Dr. Timothy Rhea, February 11-14

MID-SOUTH HONOR BAND CLINIC at Ole Miss, Febrary 18-20

11/01/09 UPDATE

Congratulations to the JA Band for receiving Superior ratings from the three band judges, the percussion judge, and the color guard judge at the MAIS Marching Band Festival on Saturday.

MESSAGE FROM JA PRESIDENT PETER JERNBERG:

The Jackson Academy Family continues to be so very proud of the incredible excellence of our total band program. The past two weekends, the Jackson Academy Band has performed on a national stage and the stage of the state of Mississippi. They continue to reflect the excellence of Jackson Academy across, both, our nation and state.

We express our deepest gratitude to our young people whose tireless dedication, allows our program to continue the rich tradition of being champions and also continuing to perform in an all superior and unsurpassed manner. Also, we commend the outstanding leadership of our band staff (Bruce Carter, Cammie Carter, Paul Heindl and Steve McCartney). We would also like to express our deepest appreciation to our band boosters and parents who sacrificially give in a fashion that allows our program to continue to excel at the very highest level.

Congratulations to all,
Peter Jernberg

PRESIDENT’S CORNER – Jim Lowery

The last 10 days have been incredibly busy! I have had two 12 hour bus rides, watched 2 performances in the Alamo Dome, watched a performance at Raider Field during the MAIS Marching Band Festival, enjoyed Sea World and 6 Flags Fiesta Texas, a Riverwalk boat ride and participated in my last Senior Night in the rain. Many of us worked in the time between those activities preparing to host the festival. Connie has already sent an email on how so many of you helped to make our effort a success. I did not get to see many of you from my location in the parking lot on Saturday, but I was able to see a lot of you working from a distance and hear that a few of you won raffle prizes from our exceptional raffle. My special thanks to Tim McWilliams for again helping control access to the band parking area. The fact that the gate receipts were higher meant that spectators were not entering through our gate.

I was able to attend the Friday pep rally. Watching the beginner band participate was awesome!
December brings the Christmas Concert and Flower Sales. Take a deep breath, relax a little and get ready to hear our talented students in concert.

POINSETTIA SALE – Shae Lowery

Can you manage one more fund raiser for the band? Everything helps.

The Christmas Flowers make really nice gifts. Do you need a present for a Sunday School teacher, your child's teacher, or Aunt Hattie who"doesn't need anything"? How about decorations for your office?

The flowers are provided by a JA patron and are really beautiful!! They will be "dressed", which means they will have foil or plastic around them so they won't leak.

Orders need to turned in by November 19th. The flowers will be delivered to the school for pickup on December 8th.

An order form and pictures of last year's flowers will be coming in the next day or so.

The flowers are:
6" Red Poinsettias - $16.00
8" Red Poinsettias - $29.00
6" White Poinsettias - $16.00
8" White Poinsettias - $29.00
6" White Cactus - $16.00
6" Amaryllis - $16.00
6" Paper Whites - $14.00

DIRECTORS’ REPORT – Bruce & Cammie Carter

It was another good week for the JA Band. Thank you to JA President Peter Jernberg, Secondary Dean Keith Branning, and Dean of Student Affairs Bill Bunch for coming by the band hall after our return on Tuesday to congratulate the students for their achievements in San Antonio.

Take a look at the Jackson Academy homepage, where a photo of the band performing in the Alamodome is part of the slideshow. Click on the caption at the bottom of the photo to read the news blurb and any comments placed by visitors to the site, including the following:

You guys were outstanding. I enjoyed your program very much. I was blown away by the size of your band and your young ages, but you really stood out among the crowd. Well executed and very professional.

Kudos, JA!

Billy from Fort Worth, Texas

Thank you to the Sixth Grade Band members who performed with the high school band at the pep rally on Friday. They seemed to enjoy the experience, and their musical contributions were appreciated. Also at the pep rally, Bryan Eubank of Raider Radio introduced the high school band members to the crowd and recognized them for their successes in San Antonio:

In spite of the inclement weather Friday night, we were able to recognize the Senior Band members during pregame. Will Commarato, John Humphreys, Kevin Lowery, & Jonathan Sandlin, along with their parents, were introduced to the crowd and recognized for their achievements over their years at JA. Congratulations to these fine young men, all of whom have very bright futures ahead. Photos of the seniors with their parents are included in the photos below.

Many thanks to Connie Hill and all the other JA Band Boosters who worked so hard as gracious hosts at the MAIS Marching Band Festival on Saturday. With the great weather and all the smiling faces which greeted the visitors to our campus, it was a positive experience for all involved.

This Friday the first playoff football game will be at home vs. Parklane. We will follow the usual home game schedule, with pep tunes in the stands first and second quarter, performance of the show at halftime, a break third quarter, and drumline in the stands fourth quarter. We will spread the word if we learn of any changes to the schedule. Students need to report at 5:30 on Friday in half uniform for the pregame rehearsal.

One schedule note, if the football team wins the game on Friday, then next game will be on THURSDAY, November 12, at Mississippi College.

The Jazz Band will be performing at Raider Night, which will be Tuesday, November 10. We will announce the details in class and in next week’s newsletter.

The JA Band’s focus now turns to the winter concert season. Good luck to our older students who will be auditioning for the MS Lions All-State Band on November 14.

As previously announced, the JA Band Program Christmas Concert will be on Thursday, December 10, beginning at 7:00 in the JA Library. We originally had hoped to have the concert in the new Performing Arts Center, but the facility will not be finished until January. The Sixth Grade Band, Jazz Band, and Concert Band will perform.

Thanks to all for your support throughout this exciting marching season. Your students could not achieve what they do without that support.

JA BAND Schedule for the week:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday – Rehearsal 2:00 – 2:46
Friday – Home football game, Report time 5:30 in half uniform, guard and horns on the asphalt, percussion in the band hall

PHOTO GALLERY

Thanks to Sue Guindon for helping to take photos this weekend. The following pictures and many more can be viewed at the JA Band Gallery online. If anyone has band photos to add to the gallery, please send them to Wendy Hutchins at wendy.hutchins@salliemae.com.

Pep rally Friday, with the Sixth Grade Band:

Senior Recognition:

Eric, Will, & Betty Commarato:

Shae, Kevin, & Jim Lowery:

Karen, John, & John Humphreys:

Pam, Jonathan, & Rike Sandlin:

Band parents working hard to set up for the Festival on Saturday:

Drum Majors Will Commarato and John Humphreys accepting awards from MAIS Director of Activities Les Triplett and MAIS Band Division President Kelli Wallace: