Volume 39, April/May 2017

The Gael Chronicles

2 Welcome 5 Wind Symphony Moments

9 Marching Band Classic

2 MWBI Thanks 6 Evaluator Sessions

9 Indoor at BOA Championships

3 Concert Band Moments

7 Volunteer Salute 10 Marching Band Sign Up

Info 11 Get Your 50/50’s!

4 Symphony Band Moments

7 Winter Guard Season Recap

12 Go Fund Me 13 Upcoming Events

SPRING TRAINING ISSUE!

Join the RHSBPA Email List : RHSBANDNEWS@GMAIL.COM Find us on the web at www.roxburybandsnj.org or

Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Roxbury-HS-Band-Parents-Association Twitter: https://Twitter.com/@roxbands

What’s Inside

Roxbury Indoor

Percussion,

Winter Guard,

and RHS Bands

“MWBI,” Festival

Provide Audiences

Thrills, Chills,

and Sharpen

Student’s Skills…

Volume 39, April/May 2017

The Gael Chronicles

Music For All’s Annual Metropolitan Wind Band Invitational Again Makes Roxbury a Destination of Choice for New Jersey

Secondary School Music Programs

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To our Roxbury Community, We did it again! The 4th Annual Metropolitan Wind Band Invitational was a success! Thank You to all of our committee chair-people. Thank you for your time, talent, expertise and dedication. To our volunteers; I thank you for giving your time. We could not have run an event of the size of MWBI, seamlessly without your help. I want to extend a special Thank You to those who came and volunteered without signing up or stayed beyond your scheduled time. Thank you to our sponsors, without your financial support, this event would not be possible. To our very talented and dedicated directors, Mr. Todd Nichols, Mr. Ryan Sweer, Ms. Sarah Bednarcik, Mr. Jeffery Conrad, Mr. Greg Boccuti, Mrs. Shannon Perrone, and Mrs. Kate Katz Thank You does not seem to be enough for all that you do for our students. Your commitment to not only their musical talents, but to them as people, is much appreciated. To you our guests, Thank You for coming to our show and supporting your children. It is events such as these that provide your child with the opportunities that we have here in Roxbury. That’s what makes us so special. We look forward to hosting “MWBI” here at Roxbury for a 5th year next spring! Thank you all ! Carla Dexter RHSBPA President & 2017 MWBI Chair

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Memorable Moments from The 2017 Metropolitan Wind Band Invitational at RHS

Thank you Mark Miller Studios for the performance photos!

RHS Concert Band Kicked off MWBI with their opening numbers…

Volume 39, April/May 2017

The Gael Chronicles

Memorable Moments from The 2017 Metropolitan Wind Band Invitational at RHS Cont.

Thank you Mark Miller Studios for the performance photos!

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RHS Symphony Band were next with a late morning performance at MWBI…

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The Gael Chronicles

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Memorable Moments from The 2017 Metropolitan Wind Band Invitational at RHS Cont.

Thank you Mark Miller Studios for the performance photos! RHS Wind Symphony wrapped up our home town bands performances in mid afternoon…

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Memorable Moments from The 2017 Metropolitan Wind Band Invitational at RHS Cont.

Thank you Jeff Bouvier for our Evaluator Session Photo’s!

The RHS Symphony Band With RHS Band Director Todd Nichols & Evaluator Cynthia Johnson Turner

The RHS Wind Symphony With RHS Band Director Todd Nichols & Evaluator Cynthia Johnson Turner

The RHS Concert Band With RHS Band Director Todd Nichols & Evaluator Freddie Martin

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MWBI is just not possible without the dedication, hard work and the joyful spirit of Band Parent Volunteers...

Thank you Jeff and Denise Bouvier for our Volunteer Photo’s!

Band Parent volunteers sold tickets… And fed band kids, guests, evaluators and volunteers…

Band Parents worked together behind the scenes… And welcomed guests with smiles, programs and raffles…

They put their best foot forward and represented Roxbury Proudly! Mark Miller Studios

Mark Miller Studios

Volume 39, April/May 2017

The Gael Chronicles

RHS Winter Guard Takes it to The Competition!

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The Roxbury Winter Guard is made up of 12 incredibly talented and hardworking students in grades 9-12. The color guard is directed by advisor Kasey Fox and co-designer Michael Thompson. Special choreography and design is also done by Louis Hellinger. Volunteer technicians Casey Piccitto and Kyra Ammon assist with the group as well. The Roxbury Winter Guard competes in the Mid-Atlantic Indoor Network (M.A.I.N.). The group consistently places in the top five units at every competition they attend. On average, the group competes against 14 other teams in competition. They are in one of the most competitive classifications, Scholastic Regional A Class. This year Roxbury has attended a total of 7 competitions throughout the indoor season. Their latest and highest score of the season is a commendable 86.16! The winter guard season is coming to a close at the M.A.I.N. Championships at South Brunswick H.S. on April 22nd. At championships the team will be competing against 25 other units in total. If you want to see more and are not able to attend in person, check out this year's performance entitled “Pure Imagination” also Posted on the Roxbury Band Parents Facebook page, Just follow the link here to watch: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jcMnMkP4a5Y&feature=youtu.be Thank you to everyone for all of your support this indoor season! Go Gaels! Ms. Kasey Fox Winter Guard Coordinator

Photo’s Courtesy Kasey Fox

Volume 39, April/May 2017

The Gael Chronicles

RHS Indoor Percussion Completes Season with their best performance in competition history at the

US Bands Indoor Percussion Championships, April 2nd

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Roxbury Indoor Percussion completed their most successful program to date, placing 4th out of nine groups in the Scholastic Regional A Marching Class at the USBands Championships held at South Brunswick High School. This year, the students pushed the envelope with greater execution and a higher level of performance than our group has ever seen. Thank you to the students for their hard work and dedication throughout the season. We could not ask for a better group of students to work with! Many thanks to the parents for all that you've done to help our group achieve excellence this season. Moving equipment, helping with uniforms, creating lights, and so much more it is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely, Mrs. Perrone & Mr. Kulick

Photo’s Courtesy Mark Miller

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Greetings Marching Band Fans, RHS Students and Parents, Have YOU seen the trailer for the Marching Gaels 2017 show? It's time to get excited! Click here to check it out! Just a reminder that the 2017 Marching Gaels and Roxbury Sound signups are officially open. Please go to www.roxburybandsnj.org to signup for the 2017 season. Any student interested in joining the 2017 Gaels or Sound, please fill out the interest form at: http://www. roxburybandsnj.org/student- registration/ All necessary marching band forms and information regarding both ensembles can be found in our all new information packet, located here: 2107 Marching Gaels Handbook We are planning a very exciting show for the upcoming season, you won't want to miss being a part of it! Please stay tuned for updates as we approach the end of the year. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at rsweer@roxbury.org, Mr. Boccuti at gboccuti@roxbury.org, or Mrs. Perrone at sperrone@roxbury.org. Sincerely, Mr. Sweer

MARCHING GAELS & ROXBURY SOUND 2017 SIGN UPS ARE NOW UNDERWAY!

Volume 39, April/May 2017

The Gael Chronicles

Last…but not least… RHS BANDS 50/50 Spring

Fundraiser Needs Your Support!

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Dear Band Families, This is it! The last General Band Fundraiser of the year! The RHSBPA will be holding a 50/50 raffle over the course of the next two months in support of the Roxbury Instrumental Music programs. Each high school band student will be responsible for selling at least one book of ten (10) tickets. Each ticket is $10. Additional ticket books are available for sale, if you are so willing! The winning ticket will be drawn at the 2017 RHS Symphonic Celebration on May 25, 2017. Parents: We need YOUR help to make this 50/50 Raffle a success! You must be 18 years old to sell/purchase 50/50 tickets. Therefore, we ask that you accompany your child while they sell tickets to neighbors, friends, and family. You can set up a neighborhood blitz with fellow band members, accompanied by a parent, post on social media or take advantage of the upcoming Holidays/Spring Break when you are sure to see family and friends! Tickets will be distributed during band class, by the Band Directors. Please ask your child to bring the tickets home for you to sell! Tickets are numbered and will be tracked by student. If you could return your ticket books as soon as they are sold, we would then have a general idea of the value of the potential prize and could advertise it as such. With over 200 band students selling at least one book, the prize could reach $10,000! That is a lot of incentive to purchase a ticket! But the prize will only be as good as we are at selling the tickets; 50% of the ticket sales go to the winner. All tickets must be returned sold/unsold with payment, by May 15, 2017. You will be responsible to pay for any tickets that are lost or otherwise not returned. If you choose not to participate, we ask that you return your unsold ticket book, with a donation up to $50, which would represent your ticket book 'profit' to the band program. Again, please ask your child to bring home the ticket book; you can’t sell without them! Thanks for supporting the RHS Band Programs, RHSBPA

Volume 39, April/May 2017

The Gael Chronicles

RHS Band Alumni? Out Of Town? Can’t get to an RHS Band Event but want to support us?

Then check out the….

RHS BANDS ‘GO FUND ME’ PAGE!

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www.gofundme.com/rhsbands The Roxbury High School (NJ) Instrumental Music Program is nationally recognized for its musical excellence and for preparing the next generation of students for life beyond high school. Over the years our bands have been honored with accolades including: 2013 Program awarded The Prestigious Sudler Flag of Honor 2014 Roxbury Marching Gaels performance at SuperBowl XLVII with Bruno Mars 2015 Roxbury Marching Gaels named NJ State Group IV Open Champions 2016 Honors Wind Symphony invited to perform at The National Concert Band Festival 2016 Roxbury Sound named best, rowdiest and most exciting marching band in Morris County Additionally, all of our wind ensembles, marching bands, jazz bands, and indoor percussion and guard ensembles have had opportunities to perform at various festivals and competitions and excelled within their class. To continue to provide these opportunities for our students and into the next generations, we need your help. Your generous, tax-deductible, donation will help us to ensure that our students will participate in top-notch events and have some once in a lifetime experiences. Thank you so much for your support. The objectives of the Roxbury High School Band Parents Association are to support the Roxbury High School band program as sponsored by the Roxbury Board of Education by rendering appropriate support and to conduct the business of the RHSBPA as a charitable and educational corporation consistent with the provisions of Section 501 (c) (3) and 170 (c) (2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or corresponding provisions of future laws

Volume 39, April/May 2017

The Gael Chronicles

IMPORTANT REMINDERS AND UPCOMING EVENTS

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LARGE SPRING CONCERT ANNOUNCEMENTS 5/17 - EMS Spring Band Concert - 7:00 pm

5/25 - 2017 RHS Symphonic Celebration - 7:00 pm 5/29 - Marching Gaels Memorial Day Parade Time TBD

6/1 - Lincoln Roosevelt Spring Concert - 7:00 pm 6/6 - EMS Honors Band Concert - 7:00 pm

6/21 – RHS Graduation THE 9TH ANNUAL ROXBURY MARCHING BAND CLASSIC IS SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 23rd ,2017!

A COMPLETE UP TO DATE RHS BANDS CALENDAR IS ON LINE AT ROXBURYBANDSNJ.ORG

http://www.roxburybandsnj.org/calendar/

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK:

https://www.facebook.com/Roxbury-HS-Band-Parents-Association

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER:

https://twitter.com/@roxbands