Band Social on Thursday, November 19 from 5-7pm at Lion’s Park in Temple combined with the South Belton Band. All students and chaperones must wear a mask and observe social distancing. Please bring $5 by Monday the 16th that includes pizza, chips, and a drink. Also, bring outside game activities, such as horseshoes, footballs, frisbees, etc. Hope to see you there!
Recently, members of the Belton Middle School Band competed in the TMEA All-Region Auditions. This was done in a virtual format with students recording 3 scales and 2 musical studies they have been preparing since August for the competition. These were then judged anonymously and each student was ranked along with all other band students from all of the middle schools in Belton, Bryan, and College Station.
We are proud to announce that 16 of our students earned spots in the honor group! We also had one more student earn a spot as 1st Alternate as honorable mention. Please help me congratulate the following students:
From the flute section, Abigail I. placed 10th out of 26 flutes. From the clarinet section, Avery R. placed 13th out of 24 clarinets. In the saxophone section, Olivia B. placed FIRST out of 16 alto saxophones. John P. placed 6th, and Noelle D. placed 8th.
From the trumpet section, Chris V. placed 17th out of 41 trumpets. In the French horn section, Jane G. placed 9th out of 21 horns. In the trombone section, Pablo U. placed FIRST out of 26 trombones. Alyssa V. placed 6th, and David S. placed 10th. David is a 2-Year All-Region member. Kyan P. placed 11th out of 26 trombones. From the euphonium section, Mallory L. placed 5th out of 11 euphoniums.
In the percussion section, Alyssa N. placed 2nd out of 35 percussionists, and Grant C. placed 3rd. Brennan L. placed 10th, and Diego S. placed 13th. Grace L. placed 17th and serves as the 1st Alternate in the percussion section.
Thank you for recognizing our superior musicians!
Please note that the message below is only intended for select members of the Wind Ensemble:
We are excited that it is finally time for this year’s prestigious TMEA All-Region Band Auditions on Saturday, October 31! The students have worked very hard on their scales and etudes since the start of school, and now they finally get to see how they measure up to the competition! This is the most individually-competitive event we do all year, and the students compete with middle schools from Belton, Bryan, and College Station. Students that makeRegion Band are considered state-ranked within Texas middle schools!
Parents should sign up their student for a time slot using Sign-Up Genius at this link: https://tinyurl.com/y5jrl8h7 no later than this Wednesday, October 28. These times range from 10:00am to 5:00pm at Belton Middle School. Students should arrive at the side Cafeteria entrance under the awning (by the bus loop) 30 minutes before their recording time. This will allow them to get focused, warm-up, and tune in the Cafeteria before their time slot. Students should take their instrument home with them the day before (Friday) so as to not disturb the recording sessions already in progress in the Band Hall.
If the student plays a woodwind instrument (flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, or saxophone) they should report to the Orchestra Room promptly at their designated recording time. Brass instruments (trumpet, horn, trombone, euphonium, or tuba) should report to the Band Hall. Percussion students should report to the Ensemble Room. A director will meet each student at that place and time and help them make 5 recordings: 1. First Scale, 2. Second Scale, 3. Chromatic Scale, 4. First Etude, and 5. Second Etude. The first and second scales should be announced by the judges before Saturday (hopefully).
This recording session is considered a performance, and will be taken as a major grade using the following rubric:
—Be Punctual – arrive at the Cafeteria 30 minutes before your scheduled time slot, and be on time to your recording room for your audition (25 points)
—Be Prepared – have all of your music, instrument, and supplies ready to go ahead of time. Make sure that your instrument is in good working order, including broken-in reeds and valves that have been oiled ahead of time (25 points)
—Be Prepared – wear school-appropriate attire when you enter the build. Do not wear hats so you don’t interfere with the playing of your instrument or the recording (25 points)
—Be Disciplined – both in the practicing of your instrument and in your behavior at all times, including the Cafeteria, hallways, and recording room (25 points)
Thank you ahead of time for your support of our band students. If you have any questions or conflicts, please contact Mr. Pulley ASAP. We wish all of our students the best of luck as they make final preparations for this year’s All-Region auditions.
Please note this message is intended for 7th and 8th grade band students only:
This Thursday, October 15 we will be having our first band event of the 2020-2021 school year! Our 7th and 8th grade band students will be observing a rehearsal and performance of the Belton HS Marching 100 (M100) in Tiger Stadium. Students will need to arrive at the BMS Band Hall at 5pm. No instruments or uniforms are necessary for this event. We will then walk over as a large group to Tiger Stadium to watch. Masks will be required to be worn by students, parent chaperones, and directors, and social distancing guidelines will be in effect.
Students will also be observing proper concert etiquette guidelines by not talking or disrupting the viewing of the rehearsal and performance, and they will be provided a bottle of water to stay hydrated. This gives our students the opportunity to observe the high performance level of the high school band, and gives them a glimpse into what it’s like to be part of the M100, a goal we have for all Belton MS Band students. Afterwards, we will walk back to BMS and parents can pick up their student in the BMS Bus Loop (staff parking lot) by 6:30pm.
We do realize that other events, such as a girls’ volleyball game, will be occurring at the same time as this event. If your student has a conflict during our event, please email their director and let us know no later than this Wednesday, October 14 so that we don’t count them as Unexcused for their absence. See our Band Handbook on our website for more details.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns, and thank you for your support!
Please note that this message is only intended for the parents/students of Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble:
As we start this 3rd week of school, we want to communicate the expectations for practicing for our advanced band students. Practicing is necessary outside of class time in order to improve one’s ability on their instrument. Unlike other classes, band students have homework every week that includes practicing 5 days a week for a minimum of 25 minutes each day.
Each week, we will be giving students a hard copy of their practice record, as well as posting it in Google Classroom. After a student practices, a parent will then initial in the box of that particular day. Practice Records are due the first A Day of the week. For example, next Monday the 28th is an A Day, so practice records will be due on Monday. The following week it’s a B Day, so the practice records will be due on Tuesday. Ten points will be taken off for every day under 5 days that the student does not practice. For example, if a student only practices 3 days a particular week, their grade would be an 80.
Five points will be deducted for the first day that it is late, followed by 1 point off each subsequent day thereafter. Practice Records will not be accepted past Friday of the week they are due. Because practice records are taken as a daily grade every week, a significant portion of a student’s band grade will be determined by their consistency of turning in practice records. Students should not expect to earn a passing grade for Band if they do not practice and turn in their practice records.
The content of what students will practice will change from week-to-week as they receive their practice records. As an example, this week’s practice record for Wind Ensemble has been linked here for your viewing. Symphonic Band’s practice record will be different, and they will receive it in class as well as having it posted to Google Classroom.
The document “How to Practice” has been attached here so both parents and students can better understand how to create successful practice sessions. We will also be teaching students in class how they should practice, and we would like to count on you the parents to help them schedule their practice times.
In addition to at-home practice, students may practice in the Band Hall before school starting at 7:30am until 8:00am. This is a great time for students to get feedback on their practicing from us the directors, as well as ask for help with a particular scale or passage. In this instance, we the directors would sign the practice record for that particular day. Students are still responsible for getting directors to sign their practice record if they take advantage of this. We will not hunt them down! Please do not take the student’s word for it that they practiced unless you see our initials on their practice record! Please note that practicing before school is a privilege that can be taken away if students are not focusing and intentionally practicing.
Thank you for your support of your band student’s improvement on their instrument. Please let us know if you have any questions or if we can help your student practice better.
Belton Middle School Band 