Administration

[T i f a]

My band gives out the John Phillip Sousa Award and the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award. The people who got it this year deserved it, especially the person who got the John Phillip Sousa Award. He was a trombone player who switched to tuba. He ended up making it into multiple honor bands. It was very impressive.

 

[Who is Puffer Fish]

That's cool.
And that's not good, Tuba...why'd that clarinet get the award when the other deserved it? DX

We haven't had our banquet yet, so...iunno about awards.
I'll probably mention 'em next week after the thing. XD  

[T i f a]

The thing I always hated about the awards is that it's almost always a popularity contest. It's usually the people in the "band cliche" who get the awards. >.>

 

[Who is Puffer Fish]

Weird.

Our band awards actually go to people who deserve them. Except this one clarinetist, she gets everything just because she's awesome...but other people deserve solos, too. rolleyes


And our director usually messes up the pins for people's letterjackets...
Well, the company always sends him the wrong ones.
I was talking to a senior once and he owes her about...five pins.  

[T i f a]

The problem is that most of the people in the "band cliche" are talented, but they have overly-inflated egos and they never really give the people outside of the "band cliche" the time of day. It's rather unfortunate.

5 pins?! Ouch. The best mess-up I've heard of is a trumpet player getting the award for Most Outstanding Guard one year. XD

 

[[Aelfwyn]]

I'm really sad right now. I just heard through the gossip web my director isn't coming back next year. Evidentially he's moving to a bigger school. sad There's some big meeting tomorrow where he "breaks" it to us, but of course, everyone already knows. I just feel so mixed up right now. I hated him so much, but now that he's gone I'm....sad? That saying you don't appreciate someone until they're is gone is all too true.

I just hope we don't get some fat, balding jerk who don't have the slightest idea of what they're doing. Fate is always against me...but maybe it will turn out good? Who knows.

 

[T i f a]

Oh wow, I'm sorry, [Aelfwyn]. We had the same thing happen to us, except no one had any idea that Schiff was planning on leaving until he actually told us. For a while, we didn't even know if our band program was going to have the chance to continue, since it didn't sound like the search was going well. I was going into my junior year at the time. Hurricane Katrina brought the current band director to us. The high school he taught at was the only one in the district that wasn't destroyed, but he decided to move here with his wife because if I remember correctly, she had lost her job on account of Katrina. He turned out to be very different than the previous director, but mostly in a good way.

I hope everything works out for you and your band.

 

[Who is Puffer Fish]

Eesh. That sucks.
Let's hope you all learn to like your new director, as long as she/he isn't annoying and mean.

I dunno what we'd do without our daily dose of Hartmetz's sarcasm in band camp. o.0
We'd actually probably get a lot more done, now that I think about it...

And, T i f a, yeah, it's weird.
Last banquet everyone accidentally got 'band director's assistant' medals, instead of whatever they were supposed to be. Section leader pins, I think. stare
And another was a solo and ensemble pin, and she never did S&A. XD
Maybe one day H'll get it right.  

[T i f a]

The only mess-up I've experienced personally was not receiving my color guard participation certificate, but I can't help but think that wasn't an accident. The instructors were terrible. I wasn't going to even bother asking why I didn't get one; it wasn't worth it.

Man, I wish I could get an award for something I didn't do. XD

 

[Who is Puffer Fish]

All our medals last year were blue ribbon.
Which is weird, since only solo and ensemble ribbons should be blue.

Our medals have silver ribbon. Weird.

It's not even ribbon...it's like...cloth. What am I saying. XDD

We had our banquet tonight. And I'm sorry to say I had to leave before we got to the senior wills, where they seniors leave us things of value to us...like, section-leader-ness, or reeds of awesomeness, or...the shoe of Gong...XDD (don't ask...Dinkle's death at the hands of saving the gong, still in the bandroom covered in tape.) I think Brian's taking that with him, though...but I dunno if they passed down the baby doll to Tucker or not.... sweatdrop

I'm rambling a little, I guess...XD

It was a ton of fun, I'm not gonna lie. I just wish my friend would have stopped stealing my pen so I could get stuff done. >>;

EDIT: I'm looking at my medals and the festival one says 'Grade 3: Band & Orchestra director's assistant' on it. ...I think H messed up again, not sure on that.  

[T i f a]

For Solo/Ensemble here, the ribbon for getting a I is blue and the ribbon for getting a II is red. I only did S/E once (Trumpet solo with piano) and received a very high II. I was proud of myself. The ribbons were actually purchased at the school where S/E was held after your performance and you had to prove that you got the I or II to be able to buy a ribbon.

I'm glad you had a good time. :3

 

[Tubariffic]

I don't know what is going to happen when our band director leaves.
When he left his old school, the band went from grade 6 straight superiors, to grade 4 goods. It proved his point though, he wanted to show the people at the school that it was him keeping the program alive, not the work his precedent did.

He is getting to retirement age, and this year he really depreciated. We had maybe one good rehearsal where we got something actually done. He was too lenient and we had the hardest music ever, and we bombed.  

[Who is Puffer Fish]

The only thing that'll get Hartmetz out of our school is if he goes totally insane or is forced to leave by being fired...or he retires, which he probably won't unless he has to for medical stuff.

Luckily I don't think any of this will happen while I'm at the school.
But he really is what keeps us in line most of the time. He makes us mad enough so we get things right. XD  

[T i f a]

[]

My old band director left because of his family (His wife actually went into labor the night of our first competition my freshman year). I think he went to teach middle school up in Washington or Oregon. My family's guessing that his wife made him choose between marching band and his family. Personally, I think it's good for him, since he isn't terribly old and really should be spending more time with his wife, daughter, and son.

The same thing could possibly happen to D, since his wife had their first child last year (Yup, another younger couple). However, D seems to balance his time better than Schiff. He took a couple weeks off when his daughter was born and he's had a few days off here and there. He even made it so there would be no marching band rehearsals for the band kids in June.

I imagine that it could be pretty difficult being married to a band director who also does marching band...  

[Who is Puffer Fish]

H's wife works at another school, she's a guitar teacher. XD

There's irony in this...Hartmetz hates the guitar. He doesn't consider it an instrument. xd

She doesn't seem to mind that H spends more time with us from August to November than her. Haha.