Menifee Music Online

We are starting our new school year, and that means there are new 4th and 5th grade students who are signing up for band.  There will be elementary bands at ALL our Menifee elementary schools.  If you need information about signing up, renting instruments, or what the schedules are… please feel free to email any of the elementary music teachers:

Oak Meadows, Callie Kirkpatrick and Southshore Elementary:
Mr. David Bledsoe  dbledsoe@menifeeusd.org

Chester W. Morrison, Evans Ranch and Quail Valley Elementary:
Mr. Bernard Jones  bjones@menifeeusd.org

Ridgemoor, Freedom Crest and Southshore Elementary:
Mrs. Juanita Jackson  jjackson@menifeeusd.org

It is the busy year-end concert season.  I hope you find a great concert, or two, or three to attend!   

April 30, 6:30 pm – Freedom Crest Band Concert @ Freedom Crest Elementary.

May 1 — Menifee Valley Middle School Choir Concert @ Menifee Valley Middle School.

May 6, 7:00 pm — Evans Ranch Band Concert @ Evans Ranch Elementary.

May 7 — Bell Mountain Middle  School Band Concert, featuring all bands. Concert will be held at BMMS

May 7, 6:30 pm – Oak Meadows, CW Morrison & Callie Kirkpatrick Elementary Schools Band Concert @ Oak Meadows Elementary

May 22 — Menifee Valley Middle School Band Concert, featuring all bands. Concert will be held at MVMS

May 29 — Menifee Valley Symphonic Band goes to Disneyland!

June 4 — All Elementary Combined Band Musical Showcase.  Featuring All 7 elementary schools! Concert will be held in the Menifee Valley Middle School multi-purpose room.

June 4 — Bell Mountain Middle Schools goes to Disneyland!

All District Events:

Tuesday, March 25; Jazz Night @ Menifee Valley Middle School, 6:30pm
Click here to see the poster for Jazz Night

Thursday, April 3rd; All-District Festival Concert @ Paloma Valley High School, 6:30pm
Click here to see the poster for 2008 All-District Concert

Tuesday, April 15; Instrument Petting Zoo @ Menifee Valley Middle School, 6:00 - 7:30pm

 Our Governing Board has always been very supportive of the music program here in Menifee, and now is no different.  We would like to thank them for their continued support of music.  At the Feb 26th Board meeting they voted to keep music in our elementary schools.  By having this head start before middle school, students are able to achieve a higher level of musicianship at a younger age.  Also, all third grade students in every elementary school will continue to be introduced to the basic elements of music as they learn how to play recorders.

Thank you!

Governing Board Members:

Mr. Fred Twyman
Board President
fatwyman@aol.com

Mr. Victor Giardinelli
Board Vice President
vgcg1@verizon.net

Mrs. Phoeba Irey
Board Clerk
irey@verizon.net

Mr. Robert O’Donnell
Member
r.odonnell@mchsi.com

Spring Music Event dates are now confirmed! Here they are:

Feb 21: Ridgemoor Band and Handbells (only). Art and Music Night 6 - 8pm. Band arrives at 5:15, Handbells at 5:45. Band will be playing: Buglers Dream, Latin Magic, Chant for Band, Banuwa and Dr. Rock. Handbells: Sakura. There will also be student instrumental solos.

Tuesday, March 25: Jazz Night @ Menifee Valley Middle School. Come out and enjoy an evening of Jazz performed by Menifee Valley Middle School, Bell Mountain Middle School and Hemet High School Jazz bands. There will also be a special professional trumpet guest artist from New York.

Thursday, April 3: Combined All-District Festival Concert @ Paloma Valley High School. ALL BANDS from ALL MUSD SCHOOLS plus the PVHS Band in concert together in the PVHS Gym (time TBA). All elementary bands will be playing: Buglers Dream, Chant for Band and Latin Magic.

Thursday, April 17: Ridgemoor Band and Handbells will have their Spring Concert @ Ridgemoor Elementary. Concert begins @ 6:30pm, please arrive at 6:00pm. We will be playing ALL our songs!

Tuesday, April 15: Instrument Petting Zoo @ Menifee Valley Middle School. Everyone of all ages are welcome to come out and try all the instruments.

Wednesday, April 30th: Freedom Crest Band will have their Spring Concert @ Freedom Crest Elementary. Concert begins @ 6:30pm, please arrive at 6:00pm. We will be playing ALL our songs!

Wednesday, May 7th: Oak Meadows, Chester W. Morrison & Callie Kirkpatrick  Spring Concert @ Oak Meadows. 6:30 pm

Middle School Concerts:
Thursday, May 8: Bell Mountain Middle School Bands, 6 - 8pm
Tuesday, May 6: Menifee Valley Middle School Bands, 6 - 8pm

Future events: Students, be thinking about a solo or an ensemble (small group of 2 - 4 players) that you would like to perform. More details to come….

If you are interested in learning how to play the VIOLIN, there are now classes for all levels!  They are after school and will be held at Ridgemoor Elementary School from 3:30 - 4:15 on Tuesdays.  The first session has already started, but it’s not too late to join.  The next session will begin Tuesday, March 4th.  Please go to: MStrings.edublogs.org for costs and more information.

**This is not a school program so there is a fee. 

Happy New Year!

I want to congratulate all the students for such an outstanding Winter Concert. It was a “new adventure” to include the beginners, but I think you’ll agree with me that it was a wonderful success! I look forward to including them in the 2008 Winter concert.

Moving on, there are several things that are going to be happening. We are still in the planning stage of our Menifee Union Festival Concert. This will include ALL elementary and middle schools in our district. Last year it was held at the Paloma High School gym, and was a great success! Look for this concert to be in the beginning of April.

Also, congrats to all the students who entered the PTA Reflections with a musical composition. I hope to have all of those available to listen to, but I keep having problems uploading them to edublogs. Hopefully this will be fixed soon!

Also, a fun event to attend will be the “Jazz Night” that is held at Menifee Valley Middle School. This will be in March and will include jazz bands from Menifee Valley Middle School, Bell Mountain Middle School as well as other guest bands and professionals. More info will be available soon.

Our Spring Concert will probably be in May. Music will be handed out for this by the end of January. I plan on having each band perform at their own school. This will also give students a chance to play solos or small groups (duets, trios, etc.) I have some music available so please start thinking if you would like to be included!

I am looking forward to a fun 2008!
Have fun practicing!

Mrs. Jackson

 This is a little tour of this blog. There are podcasts in a variety of areas.  I want to be able to spotlight student performances, encouraging them to want to work on a piece of music to perform for others.  So far I have some audio podcasts listed under the  ”Student Performances” page on the right.  Since we are year-round school, some of them were just recorded today.  By creating seperate sub-pages under the parent page, it looks like I will be able to list a number of performances. 

My first video podcast is under “Musical Terms” — Inspector Yancey guides the viewer thru the definition of dynamics. 

ONE MORE THING….  I have some links down on the lower right.  There are professional orchestras that have pages for kids.  The Dallas Symphony Orchestra - among others - has a fun site that has improved greatly in the last couple of years.  Take a look!  There are musical games, facts about orchestras and instruments and more.  Enjoy!  AND, when you are done looking around, please leave a comment on the blog.  I would love to hear from you. This should be a wonderful way to communicate, ask and answer questions.

Mrs. Jackson.

Welcome to the beginning of the school year. For those of you who are beginners and starting to play an instrument for the first time… Welcome! And for all of you second year students, I am so glad to have you back!!

Menifee Union School District offers instrumental music instruction to 4th and 5th grade students in flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone and baritone (piano, drums, guitar and string instruments are not offered at the elementary level). 3rd grade students receive a half year of classroom instruction (30 minutes, once a week) in recorder and basic musical concepts.

For 4th and 5th grade students, signing up for music is a one year commitment that includes several performances. Beginning rehearsals are held during school hours and students are responsible for work that is missed while they are out of class. Once a student makes the level of “Intermediate” they are a member of the Band. Band rehearses up to twice a week after school. In most cases, students must provide their own instrument. We are using the “Standards of Excellence” book 1. Students are expected to practice for 30 minutes each evening, even when off track. Oh, and private lessons are highly recommended.

~Mrs. Jackson