"Take Me Out to the Ball Game"

It's time for our annual performance at a home Knights baseball game in the BB&T ballpark in downtown Charlotte. ANY band student who can commit to memorizing the national anthem and performing the national anthem at the Knights baseball game on FRIDAY, APRIL 17 is welcome to participate.

Tickets cost $15.  Students who participate will have transportation provided.  Friends and family are invited to join us in the stands.  Transportation is NOT provided for friends and family.

Students who wish to partake in a pizza dinner at school before we leave for the game should add $2 to their ticket order to offset the cost of dinner.

All ticket orders are due by FRIDAY, MARCH 20.  We have a limited number of tickets reserved and they will be sold on a first come, first served basis.

MPA Rehearsal Schedule Updated

Mother Nature's recent wintry precipitation and recent changes to the dates of our Spring Musical have necessitated a few changes to our MPA rehearsal schedule.  Please visit the band CALENDAR and note the updated changes to our MPA rehearsal schedule marked in RED.

2015 Band of Blue Football Schedule Released

Click HERE to view the football games that the 2015 Band of Blue is scheduled to attend.  Mark your calendars now to avoid conflicts in the fall!

District Honor Band Clinic Highlights

Ten students from the CATA band program attended the 2015 South Central District Honor Band clinic at Lenoir-Rhyne University this past weekend.  They worked under the direction of world renowned composers Brian Balmages and Robert Sheldon to build their musicianship and prepare repertoire for a concert that was performed at the conclusion of the clinic.  Words truly cannot express how much our students enjoyed this year's clinic!  

Take a peek behind the scenes of this weekend's clinic by clicking HERE.

Click the links below to hear clips from this weekend's final performance.

9th/10th Grade High School Honor Band - Brian Balmages, Clinician
Shine by Michael Markowski
Endless Rainbows by Brian Balmages


11th/12th Grade Senior High School Honor Band - Robert Sheldon, Clinician
The Winged Stallion by Rossano Galante
Piedmont Festival Overture by Robert Sheldon (World Premiere Performance)
Fantasia (On Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair) by Mark Camphouse
Conquest 1 by Keneth Lampl
The Stormchasers Concert March by Robert Sheldon

All-District Honor Band Results

A record 28 students auditioned for the 2015 South Central District Honor Band on Saturday.  The following students earned placement in the high school and senior high honor bands based on their audition:

Allie - 8th chair flute
Christian - 16th chair clarinet
*Kyle - 3rd chair trumpet
Chris - 4th chair horn
Alec - 3rd chair baritone
*Jahmai - 1st chair bassoon
Joey - 10th chair clarinet
*Mickey - 2nd chair bass clarinet
*James - 2nd chair alto saxophone
*Brice - 1st chair baritone saxophone

Students with * by their name also earned the right to audition for the 2015 North Carolina All State Honor Band later this school year.

All of the students listed above will travel to Hickory later this month and participate in the SCDBA Honor Band Clinic where they will have the opportunity to work with world renowned composers and conductors Brian Balmages and Robert Sheldon.

We are so very proud of all of our musicians who accepted the challenge of preparing for and auditioning for the honor band this year.  Congratulations to all who auditioned!

Malik is marching in the "Big Apple!"

Former CATA band member Malik Rowland is travelling with the Western Carolina University Pride of the Mountians marching band o march in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!  We are so proud of Malik and can't wait for the parade.  The WCU band is the very first band in the parade on Thursday.  Be sure to tune in early so you don't miss them.  Ms. Craven's DVR is already set to catch this momentous occasion!

Monroe Christmas Parade Update

We just received word from the city of Monroe and UCPS central office staff that the 2014 Monroe Christmas parade has been rescheduled due to the threat of inclement weather this weekend.

The parade will take place on Sunday, December 7 at 2pm.  All marching band and color guard students should report to the open field next to Walter Bickett Stadium (next to the cemetery) at 1pm dressed in full uniform.  Color guard members are to wear their full uniform with color guard jacket and santa hats (provided).  

We do not have any additional rehearsals scheduled after Thanksgiving break, so it is IMPERATIVE that students review the parade music on their own at home over the next two weeks.

I speak on behalf of the city of Monroe and the central officestaff  when I say that the decision to reschedule the parade was made with the best interest of everyone in mind.  Last minute schedule changes are not alwasy easy, but we can certainly work through this one.  Our band provides an important service to our community by marching in this annual event and we are expected to be there on December 7.  

If you have a MAJOR schedule conflict that cannot be avoided or adjusted on December 7, please let me know via email.  In the event that we have to rework our parade block or instrumentation due to an absence, it is better to know sooner than later.  Thank you in advance for working around the schedule change so that we can fulfill our civic duty and provide a high quality marching band for this year's parade.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your families and friends and we will see you on Sunday, December 7 for the parade!

Trumpet Masterclass with Don Tison

Wingate band director Dr. Price and Monroe Middle School band director Mr. Retzlaff recenlty hosted a trumpet masterclass given by Don Tison, former principal trumpet of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Our very own Kyle Johnson participated in the master class.  Kyle performed music that he is preparing for an upcoming audition and received coaching from Mr. Tyson on various aspects of his playing.  It's rare that high school musicians have the opportunity to perform for professional musicians and it takes a great deal of courage.  

We are so proud of Kyle for accepting the challenge of performing in the master class and wish him luck in his upcoming auditions! 

CATA participates in NCHO

Congratulations to Michael Jeffries (bassoon) and Kyle Johnson (trumpet) on their participation in the 2014 North Carolina All State Honors Orchestra this past weekend in Winston-Salem.  Michael and Kyle earned placement in the honors orchestra based on an audition process and are the first two students from CATA to do so.  The honors orchestra clinic kicked off the annual North Carolina Music Educators' Association convention and culminated with a performance at the Steven Center in Winston-Salem where Michael and Kyle performed for a full house of music educators from across the state.  We are so proud of their accomplishments and wish them well as they begin the 2015 audition season for honor bands and orchestras.

Piano Keyboard Lesson

Today you will reinforce what you already know about the piano keyboard and strengthen your understanding of the piano keyboard.  Your assignment will consist of written work in a packet that will be provided for you and written work in the form of answering questions that you read from a scanned image on your chrome book.  Please be sure that you complete all components of today's assignment.

Click HERE to view the pdf file that corresponds with today's lesson on the piano keyboard.

Lesson 17: The Piano Keyboard (paper packet)
Exercise 6.4:Labeling White Keys on the Piano (use answer sheet provided)
Exercise 6.18: Enharmonics (use answer sheet provided)
Exercise 6.21: Naming All Keys on the Piano (use answer sheet provided)
Exercise 6.15: Piano Review Questions (use answer sheet provided)
Exercise 6.23: Spelling Half Steps (use answer sheet provided)

Exercise 6.24: Spelling Half Steps (use answer sheet provided)

Exercise 6.25: Spelling Half Steps (use answer sheet provided)

Unit 6 Review: Test your knowledge of piano facts (use answer sheet provided)

Horn Society of the Carolinas Offering Workshop

The Horn Society of the Carolinas is hosting a student horn workshop on SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 2015.  The workshop will focus on performance and audition skills and provide student horn players the opportunity to play in small and large horn ensembles.  

Admission cost is $30, which includes lunch, a t-shirt, and some french horn maintenance and cleaning supplies.  The workshop will take place at Church at Charlotte on Carmel Road. Click HERE to learn more about it! 

Charlotte Youth Wind Ensemble Registration Now Open

The CHARLOTTE YOUTH WIND ENSEMBLE (CYWE) is an honor band organization sponsored by the Department of Music at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Now preparing for its 25^th season, the "Honor Band of the Carolinas" invites high school students to audition from all North and South Carolina regional public and private schools, as well as those who are home schooled.

This outstanding honors band includes many All-District, All-Region and All-State musicians annually. The organization conducts yearly auditions each December.

Rehearsals occur on Tuesday evenings in January and February, 2015, from 7:00 to 9:15 at UNC Charlotte. Concerts are then given in the region at the end of February and the beginning of March, at which time the season concludes. The organization is under the direction of Dr. Shawn Smith, Director of Bands at UNC Charlotte.

AUDITIONS: Auditions will be held at UNC Charlotte's Robinson Hall for the Performing Arts on Sunday, December 7, 2014 from 2:00pm to 6:00pm.

APPLICATIONS: Application materials are available at the link below. After students have submitted the application, the hold harmless agreement and $10 check or money order by regular mail, each will be assigned a 10-minute time slot and notified by email. Percussionists will have 15-minute time slots, and should be prepared to play a minimum of two instruments.  No student can be given an audition time until we receive the application, hold harmless agreement, and $10 check or money order (we cannot accept cash).

Click HERE to view and print an application.

How About Some Pie?

CATA band students took some time to celebrate a job well done in our Bank for Band donation campaign.  Students who collected their "fair share" were treated to pizza, students who worked hard in the last hour to help us reach our goal pulled treats and prizes from a grab bag and students who went above and beyond their fair share were rewarded with free t-shirts, cash prizes, and the opportunity to throw pies at Ms. Craven and drum majors Allie and Kyle.  Everyone had BIG FUN throwing pies...

Soggy, but STRONG!

Hats off to the Band of Blue for a FANTASTIC performance at the annual Union County Bandmasters Association marching band preview!  Mother Nature reared her ugly head and soaked us all to the core, but nothing can put a damper on the performance that the band left on the field Saturday night! Click the links below to see footage from Saturday's performance.

PREVIEW PART 1
PREVIEW PART 2

Special thanks to the chaperones and parent volunteers to who helped make Saturday's trip a success.

Game Night Debut

The Band of Blue had a tremendous debut performance at Friday night's home football season opener against Highland Tech.  Click on the links below to see footage from Friday night's half time performance.

Goldfinger/James Bond
Skyfall
Mission Impossible