Friday, June 28, 2013

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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

2006 published research on music training in young children.

First Evidence That Musical Training Affects Brain Development In Young Children

Sep. 20, 2006 — Researchers have found the first evidence that young children who take music lessons show different brain development and improved memory over the course of a year compared to children who do not receive musical training.

info found at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060920093024.htm

The findings, published 20 September 2006 in the online edition of the journal Brain [1], show that not only do the brains of musically-trained children respond to music in a different way to those of the untrained children, but also that the training improves their memory as well. After one year the musically trained children performed better in a memory test that is correlated with general intelligence skills such as literacy, verbal memory, visiospatial processing, mathematics and IQ.
The Canadian-based researchers reached these conclusions after measuring changes in brain responses to sounds in children aged between four and six. Over the period of a year they took four measurements in two groups of children -- those taking Suzuki music lessons and those taking no musical training outside school -- and found developmental changes over periods as short as four months. While previous studies have shown that older children given music lessons had greater improvements in IQ scores than children given drama lessons, this is the first study to identify these effects in brain-based measurements in young children.

Dr Laurel Trainor, Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour at McMaster University and Director of the McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind, said: "This is the first study to show that brain responses in young, musically trained and untrained children change differently over the course of a year. These changes are likely to be related to the cognitive benefit that is seen with musical training." Prof Trainor led the study with Dr Takako Fujioka, a scientist at Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute.

The research team designed their study to investigate (1) how auditory responses in children matured over the period of a year, (2) whether responses to meaningful sounds, such as musical tones, matured differently than responses to noises, and (3) how musical training affected normal brain development in young children.

At the beginning of the study, six of the children (five boys, one girl) had just started to attend a Suzuki music school; the other six children (four boys, two girls) had no music lessons outside school.

The researchers chose children being trained by the Suzuki method for several reasons: it ensured the children were all trained in the same way, were not selected for training according to their initial musical talent and had similar support from their families. In addition, because there was no early training in reading music, the Suzuki method provided the researchers with a good model of how training in auditory, sensory and motor activities induces changes in the cortex of the brain. Brain activity was measured by magnetoencephalography (MEG) while the children listened to two types of sounds: a violin tone and a white noise burst. MEG is a non-invasive brain scanning technology that measures the magnetic fields outside the head that are associated with the electrical fields generated when groups of neurons (nerve cells) fire in synchrony.
When a sound is heard, the brain processes the information from the ears in a series of stages. MEG provides millisecond-by-millisecond information that tracks these stages of processing; the stages show up as positive or negative deflections (or peaks), called components, in the MEG waveform. Earlier peaks tend to reflect sensory processing and later peaks, perceptual or cognitive processing.
The researchers recorded the measurements four times during the year, and during the first and fourth session the children also completed a music test (in which they were asked to discriminate between same and different harmonies, rhythms and melodies) and a digit span memory test (in which they had to listen to a series of numbers, remember them and repeat them back to the experimenter).
Analysis of the MEG responses showed that across all children, larger responses were seen to the violin tones than to the white noise, indicating that more cortical resources were put to processing meaningful sounds. In addition, the time that it took for the brain to respond to the sounds (the latency of certain MEG components) decreased over the year. This means that as children matured, the electrical conduction between neurons in their brains worked faster.

Of most interest, the Suzuki children showed a greater change over the year in response to violin tones in an MEG component (N250m) related to attention and sound discrimination than did the children not taking music lessons.

Analysis of the music tasks showed greater improvement over the year in melody, harmony and rhythm processing in the children studying music compared to those not studying music. General memory capacity also improved more in the children studying music than in those not studying music.

Prof Trainor said: "That the children studying music for a year improved in musical listening skills more than children not studying music is perhaps not very surprising. On the other hand, it is very interesting that the children taking music lessons improved more over the year on general memory skills that are correlated with non-musical abilities such as literacy, verbal memory, visiospatial processing, mathematics and IQ than did the children not taking lessons. The finding of very rapid maturation of the N250m component to violin sounds in children taking music lessons fits with their large improvement on the memory test. It suggests that musical training is having an effect on how the brain gets wired for general cognitive functioning related to memory and attention."
Dr Fujioka added: "Previous work has shown assignment to musical training is associated with improvements in IQ in school-aged children. Our work explores how musical training affects the way in which the brain develops. It is clear that music is good for children's cognitive development and that music should be part of the pre-school and primary school curriculum."
The next phase of the study will look at the benefits of musical training in older adults.

Oxford University Press (2006, September 20). First Evidence That Musical Training Affects Brain Development In Young Children. ScienceDaily.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Grant Proposals For Our Eustis Middle School Mustang Caring For School And Community Program Are In The Mail

We have mailed out 20 grant request to local foundations.

These request are for funds for our Mustang Caring For School And Community Program (MCSC).
Here is information about the program. Statistical facts are an important tool to this program.

In order to participate in a band program the children are required to purchase an instrument, buy a uniform, provide many entry fees, pay for accompanists, and pay for transportation and other expenses for trips and outings. Parents bear the burden of most of these costs.

Our band has many underprivileged children that require donated instruments and partial or full financial help with entry fees to such events as State competitions and the end of the year parade and competition at Universal Studios Orlando. Our award winning, first place Steel Drum program is funded almost completely with monies raised by the band and boosters.

As a whole, our community is doing well, with an average income of approximately $42,000/year, and with higher-than-average home ownership. The TOTAL Percentage of our residents living in poverty is only 15 percent, which is a fairly low number.

About 20 percent of the City of Eustis’ population of 18,600 residents is student age.

Right here at our school we have a student population of approximately 1,050 students, which is a large student body. About 28% of the total Eustis student population is at our school, Eustis Middle.
36 percent of our students are minorities.
51 percent of the total student population qualify for and receive free or reduced lunch
Reading and math proficiency is 10-20 percent lower at our school than the statewide average.

Our fine school rates well on FCAT scoring, ranking 72 out of 100, and our school consistently earns an A rating, something of which we are very proud

The numbers show that Eustis High School ranks 50 out of 100 on the FCAT exam. We feel that we can help to raise that number by at least 25% percent on the FCAT standardized exam at the high school if we continue to improve our music education program here in the middle school level.

We know that Eustis High School has a 77% graduation rate, something to be proud of! The graduation rate is high among other cities, but we feel that it could be, and would be, improved upon with improvements to our music program.

Research proves that the long term benefits of a strong music education program can help to raise the graduation rates to 94% and beyond.

Currently, only about 17% of our high school graduates continue on to earn a higher education degree, with only 5 percent earning graduate or higher degrees. This is a number that our program aims to change.

However, among those with a long-term music education, 80% are likely to go on to earn a masters degree or better. In addition, statistics show that of people with a doctorate degree, 80% are well trained in at least one musical instrument. Truly, the statistics show the benefits of a music education!

The Eustis Middle School band averages about 150 total students. Our students are positive role models in the school and in the community, and we are working to develop a program called The Mustangs Caring for School Community (MCSC). The program is designed to create a caring school environment characterized by kind and supportive relationships and collaboration among students from the Mustang Band, staff, and parents. The MCSC model is consistent with research-based practices for increasing student achievement as well as the theoretical and empirical literature supporting the benefits of a caring classroom community in meeting students' needs for emotional and physical safety, supportive relationships, autonomy, and sense of competence.

By creating a caring school community, our program seeks to promote pro-social values, increase academic motivation and achievement, and prevent drug use, violence, and delinquency. MCSC has four components designed to be implemented over the course of the school year:

Meeting the community: Throughout the year the Eustis Mustang Middle School Band competes in many fairs, festivals and shows. After each performance the members of the band participate with other students in a question and answer session. During this time our students explain all the benefits they receive during their time with the band program. The members of the band each explain how the band has helped them become better students, friends, and how the confidence gained through the music program helps them to become better human beings.

Class Meeting Lessons: This provides students in the Mustang Band with a forum to spend time with local elementary school students in a classroom climate. During the time spent in the classroom our students will share their experiences and explain why the time they spend with the band is not only good for social awareness but more importantly, how being involved with the arts can improve test results. Our students want to show the younger elementary students that learning notation when reading music equates to reading and understanding fractions. Often times, mastering the use of fractions is a problem for students of mathematics. Understanding and having familiarity with using fractions is one of the keys to understanding and being able to do higher mathematics. Understanding how to use and manipulate fractions is a consistent problem for English Language Learners, so learning music and musical notation as a tool has been proven to raise levels of mathematical comprehension.

Community Outreach: Community Outreach is an important tool that the members of The Mustang Band currently use and will continue to build upon. During the school year the Eustis Middle School Mustang Band plays music around our community many times, including at local street festivals, holiday parades and nearby elementary schools. But, we want to take our Community Outreach a step further. Our Community Outreach Program will reach the children who are not always exposed to the fact that children at 10, 12, and 14 years of age can actually learn to play an instrument. We want to reach those children who did not know they had the option to join the band, despite financial constraints. Our program will bring our Jazz Band and our Steel Drum Band to a community day camp or after school program twice per year. During this event the members of the band will reach out to children who are underprivileged and live in disadvantaged settings, letting them know about our instrument donation program. These children are not aware that, thanks to fund-raising efforts, they could also join the band due to the fact that entry fees, instruments and uniforms because the entry fees and uniforms can in fact be donated for their use. Many of these children need something inspirational and fulfilling in their lives, and without our help, many of these children may never know that they too could play a steel drum or saxophone.

Real World Experience: Once per year we will invite the thirty most needy students from the elementary schools in our jurisdiction based upon grades or poor attendance to our School. We will invite them to a free event hosted by the Mustang Band in the band room where the students will get a chance to see in person the Eustis Mustang Steel Drum Band and The Eustis Mustang Jazz Ensemble. After the concert the students from the surrounding schools will be able to interact with the instruments, the band members and the director. The students will be able to ask questions, and our hope is that the experience will lead to these students wanting to participate and learn an instrument, thereby improving on both their attendance and grades. After this event the booster committee will talk about the possibility that these children can try something fun and interesting and make a commitment to the band. The committee will then distribute information to the children about our instrument donation program, which these students would not have known about, but for having participated in this Real World Experience. Given the statistics for our community above, we feel that this portion of our program will contribute the most to the students in our community. It has been shown that children exposed to a long term music education program are 85 percent more likely to come to school each day, and learning becomes easier for those students.

Mustang/Panther Connection: Statistics prove that younger students who are active in a long term music program become better college students. We are therefore implementing The EMMA Award! A $500.00 scholarship that will be presented to a student graduating Eustis High School with a GPA of 3.5 or above and who has been an active participant in the Mustang/Panther band program, grades 6th through 12th. This will be presented by the Eustis Mustang Music Association, bringing full circle our commitment to give back to the community through our MSCS program.
We will give the EMS and EHS band students the opportunity to vote on the final applicants.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Research Data From Science Daily Backing Our MCSC Program Guidelines

Music Education Can Help Children Improve Reading Skills

Mar. 16, 2009 — Children exposed to a multi-year program of music tuition involving training in increasingly complex rhythmic, tonal, and practical skills display superior cognitive performance in reading skills compared with their non-musically trained peers, according to a study published in the journal Psychology of Music.

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According to authors Joseph M Piro and Camilo Ortiz from Long Island University, USA, data from this study will help to clarify the role of music study on cognition and shed light on the question of the potential of music to enhance school performance in language and literacy.

Studying children the two US elementary schools, one of which routinely trained children in music and one that did not, Piro and Ortiz aimed to investigate the hypothesis that children who have received keyboard instruction as part of a music curriculum increasing in difficulty over successive years would demonstrate significantly better performance on measures of vocabulary and verbal sequencing than students who did not receive keyboard instruction.

Several studies have reported positive associations between music education and increased abilities in non-musical (eg, linguistic, mathematical, and spatial) domains in children. The authors say there are similarities in the way that individuals interpret music and language and “because neural response to music is a widely distributed system within the brain…. it would not be unreasonable to expect that some processing networks for music and language behaviors, namely reading, located in both hemispheres of the brain would overlap.”

The aim of this study was to look at two specific reading subskills – vocabulary and verbal sequencing – which, according to the authors, are “are cornerstone components in the continuum of literacy development and a window into the subsequent successful acquisition of proficient reading and language skills such as decoding and reading comprehension.”

Using a quasi-experimental design, the investigators selected second-grade children from two school sites located in the same geographic vicinity and with similar demographic characteristics, to ensure the two groups of children were as similar as possible apart from their music experience.

Children in the intervention school (n=46) studied piano formally for a period of three consecutive years as part of a comprehensive instructional intervention program. Children attending the control school (n=57) received no formal musical training on any musical instrument and had never taken music lessons as part of their general school curriculum or in private study. Both schools followed comprehensive balanced literacy programs that integrate skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening.

All participants were individually tested to assess their reading skills at the start and close of a standard 10-month school year using the Structure of Intellect (SOI) measure.

Results analyzed at the end of the year showed that the music-learning group had significantly better vocabulary and verbal sequencing scores than did the non-music-learning control group. This finding, conclude the authors, provides evidence to support the increasingly common practice of “educators incorporating a variety of approaches, including music, in their teaching practice in continuing efforts to improve reading achievement in children”.

However, further interpretation of the results revealed some complexity within the overall outcomes. An interesting observation was that when the study began, the music-learning group had already experienced two years of piano lessons yet their reading scores were nearly identical to the control group at the start of the experiment.

So, ask the authors, “If the children receiving piano instruction already had two years of music involvement, why did they not significantly outscore the musically naïve students on both measures at the outset?” Addressing previous findings showing that music instruction has been demonstrated to exert cortical changes in certain cognitive areas such as spatial-temporal performance fairly quickly, Piro and Ortiz propose three factors to explain the lack of evidence of early benefit for music in the present study.

First, children were tested for their baseline reading skills at the beginning of the school year, after an extended holiday period. Perhaps the absence of any music instruction during a lengthy summer recess may have reversed any earlier temporary cortical reorganization experienced by students in the music group, a finding reported in other related research. Another explanation could be that the duration of music study required to improve reading and associated skills is fairly long, so the initial two years were not sufficient.

A third explanation involves the specific developmental time period during which children were receiving the tuition. During the course of their third year of music lessons, the music-learning group was in second grade and approaching the age of seven. There is evidence that there are significant spurts of brain growth and gray matter distribution around this developmental period and, coupled with the increased complexity of the study matter in this year, brain changes that promote reading skills may have been more likely to accrue at this time than in the earlier two years.

“All of this adds a compelling layer of meaning to the experimental outcomes, perhaps signaling that decisions on ‘when’ to teach are at least as important as ‘what’ to teach when probing differential neural pathways and investigating their associative cognitive substrates,” note the authors.

“Study of how music may also assist cognitive development will help education practitioners go beyond the sometimes hazy and ill-defined ‘music makes you smarter’ claims and provide careful and credible instructional approaches that use the rich and complex conceptual structure of music and its transfer to other cognitive areas,” they conclude.

Info From http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090316075843.htm
SAGE Publications/Psychology of Music (2009, March 16). Music Education Can Help Children Improve Reading Skills. ScienceDaily. Retrieved

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Story about Eustis Middles School Band And United In Praise in the Sun publications June 14.

Triangle News Leader > School

Eustis Middle School Band

Friday, June 14, 2013

The Eustis Middle School Mustang Band has been granted by United In Praise this 2013-2014 school year. United in Praise is a community choir with a passion to share God's love through praise & worship performances. United in Praise has typically supported 2-3 charities each year. For more information on United In Praise please go to their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/unitedinpraise.

This month The Charity Selection Committee invited local charities to make an oral presentation to the board of directors. Following these presentations, the committee finalizes its evaluations and selects the charities that United in Praise will support during the concert season. There were many local charities represented. There is a large need for help in our city, county and state. The Eustis Mustang Band presented statistical facts that prove reaching young children with a long term music program will strengthen our communities future.

This music group is made of 150 students, all excellent role models who mostly continue their music education at the Eustis High School. Both programs are extremely strict with high personal life teaching lessons and large rewards.

This year The Eustis Mustang Band was inspired to create a community outreach program. The Mustang Caring for School and Community (MCSC) was created in order to bring the city closer to our program and to inspire and aid more children who can not afford to purchase a new instrument to become musicians. The main goal is to raise test scores and therefore higher education degree holders in Lake County.

This band of 12-15 year olds are unique in they have an award winning Jazz Group and Steel Drum Ensemble. The uniqueness of the program is the ability to reach students that are not normally affected by conventional learning methods. Research proves that students in a program like the one at Eustis Middle School has the potential to raise attendance rates by 70 percent and other cities and states have raised their graduation rates up to 94 percent after adding a long term music program to their schools.

Thanks to United In Praise The Eustis Mustang Band will make a huge difference to their community. For more information on the MCSC Program please find it at http://eustismustangband.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-mustang-caring-for-school-community.html

Info is from http://trianglenewsleader.com/trianglenewsleader/triangleschool/1008058-340/eustis-middle-school-band.html

Monday, June 17, 2013

Eustis Middle School Has Improved Test Scores AGAIN! Does being a band member have anything to do with this?

The 8th graders of Eustis Middle School blazed a trail to the top of the list in Lake County, topping all other middle schools in every category!
EMS was tops in the county amongst the 9 middle schools with a percentage of 57%. That was not only tops in the county, but was also above the state average.
By the way, EMS was the only school to be above the state average at the 3.5 level!

How Do We Know If Participating In Our Band Program Helped With This?

We Have About 125 students.

Well over ten percent of the school

belong to our band program.

What else can be done? We need even more children to complete our program because learning music notation makes learning easier.

About 20 percent of the City of Eustis’ population of 18,600 residents is student age.

Right here at our school we have a student population of approximately 1,050 students, which is a large student body. About 28% of the total Eustis student population is at our school, Eustis Middle.
36 percent of our students are minorities.
51 percent of the total student population qualify for and receive free or reduced lunch
Math proficiency is 10-20 percent lower at our school than the statewide average.

Our fine school rates well on FCAT scoring, ranking 72 out of 100, and our school consistently earns an A rating, something of which we are very proud

The numbers show that Eustis High School ranks 50 out of 100 on the FCAT exam.

We feel that we can help to raise that number by at least 25% percent on the FCAT standardized exam at the high school if we continue to improve our music education program here in the middle school level.

Research proves that the long term benefits of a strong music education program can help to raise the graduation rates to 94% and beyond.

Congratulations Eighth Graders! Move on up to The Eustis High School Panthers and keep up on that learning!

You guys are the next leaders, teachers and community of our tomorrow!

And Our future is brighter for it!
Information is from http://lake.k12.fl.us/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&DomainID=2214&ModuleInstanceID=14454&ViewID=047E6BE3-6D87-4130-8424-D8E4E9ED6C2A&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=44501&PageID=10109

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Instrumental Adoption Program

Eustis Middle School Instrument Adoption Program

The Eustis Music Association is driven by a passion to promote music education. The Foundation's mission is supported and accomplished through raising money for music scholarships, donating musical instruments and products to the under-privileged, and donating the use of music instruments to the music education community.

Lots of families have used musical instruments that their children have outgrown or simply no longer use, and they are just taking up space. Now you can give another child the joy of music and a tax deduction.

"From the minute a child is taught how to play an instrument, he's no longer poor. He becomes a child in progress, heading for a professional level, who'll later become a citizen" - Maestro Jose Abreu, founder of El Sistema music program.

Allowing for the advantage of re-testing, the results of the study revealed that there is significant improvement for underprivileged children in the the following areas:

Receptive and expressive Language
Letter ID
Puzzle assembly
Numeracy in the areas of verbal counting, and estimation magnitudes
Fluid and quantitative reasoning
Critical thinking

Research has proven this over and over again. Although the results could not conclusively say that music training by itself is responsible for the increase in these areas of cognitive thinking for underprivileged children, it does support the hypothesis that music can be highly effective as a means to an end, the end being improved cognitive function and increased IQ.

What the studies show is that the small group and one-on-one interactions with teachers provided increased opportunities for attention training and training in social interaction, both of which are listed as lacking in school aged children in surveys conducted amongst teachers by the Pew Research Group.

In an age where the forms of stimulation commonly craved by underprivileged children can be counterproductive to positive thought and interaction, music provides an outlet to stimulate healthy cognitive and expressive development. Music can also reinforce positive social interactions and provide much needed opportunities for attention span development. It is becoming more evident that music and social development for all children (especially underprivileged children) go hand in hand.

Click here to fill out our instrument adoption form.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Group Photos 2012-2013 Eustis Middle School Mustang Band

Group Photos For

Advanced Band

Steel Drum Band

and

Jazz Band

2012-2013

Thank You To All Members Of Our Band!

Mr. Ricke had almost 150 students this year!

We would like to see over 200!

So please ask your guidance counselor at the beginning of the school year to make sure you have band class in your schedule. This works best if you do all of this during open house. Right before school opens. Please keep a watch and I will post a reminder as well as the date!

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

We are looking for Local Sponsors

Support Music Education And There Is Only The Moon For These Kids

LOCAL SPONSORS ARE NEEDED!

We are trying to fund our local scholorship program that The Mustang Music Association calls The MSP

(Mustang Scholarship Program).

This program funds the following

Any Needed Shirts or Uniforms
Any Needed Books
Instrumental loans
Instrument Repair Fund
Universal Parade Bus and Ticket
Summer Band Camp Program

Our goal if to raise $5,000 during this 2013-2014 school year to fund this program. This program has been implemented in our Mustang Family for a long time now. BUT The Mustang Music Association is doing more and more to make sure funding is there when needed.

If your family or small business is interested in supporting the band please see the sponsorship form below.

Currently, in order to participate in the band program, students are required to purchase or rent an instrument, buy a uniform, provide entry fees for competitions and absorb the transportation cost for these trips.

Most of the funds have to be provided by the parents.

Our goal through community support is to help offset some of these expenses and to provide those students with the greatest financial needs the opportunity to be able to participate in our school’s music program through scholarships. Boys and girls who are active in the arts, especially in a music program, are shown to maintain higher GPA’s, are more likely to complete a higher level of education and in turn give back to their community.

Donating to the Eustis Mustang Band Program

is an investment in our future!

Please become an EMS Music Education Partner today.

Blue level and above donations will be recognized in BOTH the Eustis Middle School and Eustis High School Band literature throughout the coming school year.

This equals twice the exposure for your business!

Thank you, we appreciate your consideration and support.

Cherrice Purvee, Eustis Mustang Music Association President, eustismustangmusicassociation@gmail.com

Under the direction of Mr. Gerald Ricke, EMS Band Instructor, rickeg@lake.k12.fl.us

Make checks payable to Eustis Mustang Music Association and include your business card.
18725 Bates Ave. Eustis, FL. 32736 Phone 352-357-6220

All donations will receive an honorable mention on our band blog

http://eustismustangband.blogspot.com

$10.00____ $25.00____ $50.00____ $100.00____ $250.00____ $500.00____ $1000.00____

Partnership will be recognized in the following way:

Level Amount Recognition

Blue $100.00 Name recognition in all High School and Middle School Programs

Gold $250.00 Business card ad in all High School and Middle School Programs

Mustang $500.00 Gold level plus a link to website on EMS Mustang Band Webpage

Director $1000.00 Mustang level plus your business/name on the EMS Mustang Band Trailer

If you are interested in sponsoring our music education program please click here for a printable form.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Next Years Band Calander...

“►” indicates a change or an

Fall Semester - All Dates and Times are tentative and subject to change

AUGUST

12) Eustis Mustang Music Association (EMMA) 6pm Ems Band Room

23 - Sept. 4) Fall Fundraiser- 13 DAYS- Students must have parental permission to participate

26) Former Steel Drum Member meeting 8am.

27) Beginner Instrumental Music display – 4:30-6:30pm – EMS Band Room

SEPTEMBER

9) EMMA Meeting – 6:00pm EMS Band Room – 2^nd Monday of each month

9&16) Steel Drum Auditions - Times TBA

11&25) Music Mentors (MM) High school students mentoring MS Students - EMS Band Room 3-4:00pm. Have ride here at 4p!

21) All State Band Auditions- Location – Clermont Middle School, 8am-1pm-audition times TBA

23) Weekly Steel Band Rehearsals Begin 8:00 am

OCTOBER

4) Beginner Assessment Trial period 7 week evaluation sent home with beginners.

11) MS Marching Band Night @ Eustis High – 5p-end

9&23) MM - EMS Band Room 3-4:00pm. Have rides here at 4p!

14) EMMA 6:00 pm EMS Room

14) Steel Drum Rehearsal w/Mr. Anderson – 4:00 -6:00pm –Pick up PROMPTLY at 6:00pm!

18) Band shirt order DEADLINE – order forms and $ are due today to have shirt for the winter concert.

18) Last Day of Music Trial Period

NOVEMBER

1) Sign up DEADLINE for Solo and Ensemble contest – entry form and fee is due today.

2) FYI – High School Marching Contest – Leesburg - 10 am to conclusion – Middle School Students wearing EMS Band shirt admitted at no charge.

4) EMMA, 6:00 pm EMS Band Room – This is the 1st Monday.

4) Steel Drum Rehearsal w/Mr. Anderson – 4:00 -6:00pm –Pick up PROMPTLY at 6:00pm!

This is the 1st Monday.

6&20) MM - EMS Band Room 3-4:00pm. Have rides here at 4p!

14 or 21) Winter Music Concert, 1^st Baptist Church of Eustis, on State Highway 44, (Orange Ave) 7pm Seating and Warm-Up 6:15 pm

DECEMBER

3) District 19 Concert Honor Band Auditions- Belleview HS- times TBA

4&10) MM - EMS Band Room 3-4:00pm. Have rides here at 4p!

TBA) Band Picture Day by Gigante Productions- all bands in uniform-during class

5) Golden Triangle Christmas Jazz Concert - TBA

6) Solo/Ensemble selection chosen, purchased, and handed in to Mr. Ricke

TBA) Leesburg Holiday Music Series- Towne Square Downtown Leesburg- Jazz Band – time TBA

9) EMMA 6:00 pm

9) Steel Drum Rehearsal w/Mr. Anderson – 4:00 -6:00pm –Pick up PROMPTLY at 6:00pm!

Spring Semester - All Dates and Times are tentative and subject to change

JANUARY

8-11) FMEA – All-State Band – Tampa Convention Center

13) EMMA 6:00 pm

13) Steel Drum Rehearsal w/Mr. Anderson – 4:00 -6:00pm –Pick up PROMPTLY at 6:00pm!

15&29) MM - EMS Band Room 3-4:00pm. Have rides here at 4p!

23-25) District 19 Honor band rehearsals and Concert - Th. & Fri. rehearsals TBA-Sat. morning rehearsal, afternoon concert. Location-South Lake HS.

31-Feb 11) Spring Fund Raiser - Butter Braid Pastry - 11 DAYS- Students must have parental permission to participate

FEBRUARY

3) All District Jazz Auditions Carver MS – 5-9pm

6) Jazz A Thon - 4-8pm - Ems Band Room - dinner provided – Required jazz attendance

10) EMMA, 6:00pm EMS Band Room

10) Steel Drum Rehearsal w/Mr. Anderson – 4:00 -6:00pm –Pick up PROMPTLY at 6:00pm!

12&26) MM - EMS Band Room 3-4:00pm. Have rides here at 4p!

20) Jazz Contest District 19 at LSCC HS-REQUIRED OF ALL JAZZ BAND MEMBERS-NO EXCEPTIONS-Times TBA

21&22) District 19 Solo/Ensemble @ Tavares HS-times TBA

MARCH

1) Washington's Birthday Festival Parade-ALL EMS BAND MEMBERS

10) EMMA, 6:00pm EMS Band Room.

10) Steel Drum Rehearsal w/Mr. Anderson – 4:00 -6:00pm –Pick up PROMPTLY at 6:00pm!

12&26) MM - EMS Band Room 3-4:00pm. Have rides here at 4p!

20) Jazz workshop w/jazz revue guest soloist - TBA – 8-11:00am @ MS Jazz – 12:30 -4:00 @HS jazz

21) Jazz Revue – MS & HS Bands – First Baptist Church of Eustis- times TBA

APRIL

1) Advanced Band-A- Thon 4-8pm - dinner provided – Required concert attendance

3-5) District 19 MS Jazz Honor Band Festival – Forest HS, Ocala

11&12) District 19 Concert Band Music Performance Assessment – REQUIRED OF ALL

ADVANCED BAND MEMBERS-NO EXCEPTIONS-Lake Minneola HS - specific date/times TBA

14) EMMA, 6:00pm EMS Band Room.

14) Steel Drum Rehearsal w/Mr. Anderson – 4:00 -6:00pm –Pick up PROMPTLY at 6:00pm!

25/26) Lakeside Jazz Festival

MAY

TBA) FMEA Steel Drum Festival – UCF - Steel Drum members- TBA

5) Booster meeting 6:00pm EMS Band Room - – This is the 1^st Monday

5) Steel Drum Rehearsal w/Mr. Anderson – 4:00 -6:00pm –Pick up PROMPTLY at 6:00pm! This is the 1^st Monday

15or 22) Spring Concert

TBA) EMS Band Performance Music USA=Adv Band, Jazz Band, and Parade Band @ Universal Orlando -ALL EMS BAND STUDENTS

22 or 29) Band Banquet and/or Awards – TBA

TBA) Recruitment concert – Jazz band to elementary schools.

June

10-13 or 16-19 - TBA) EMS Summer Band Camp

Friday, June 7, 2013

We need a new banner for next year

Vote On A Summer Community Yard-sale.

We are in the need a new banner this year. This banner is used in every parade or festival. We use it at every concert or event we hold. Our banner is very dull and does not represent our school pride with the bright colors we need.
This new poll is asking if anyone would like to be a part of a community yard sale. This does not just mean the time. There are other things that we can do together! Proceeds going to the new banner.

Extra funds will be put directly into our BAND BANQUET FUNDS! This means less monies for all of our families to spend for that end of the year banquet!

Please take our short poll regarding this idea.

It is a secret poll so no information will be released.

I will be the only person with access to this information.

Please CLICK HERE TO TAKE OUR POLL

Please CLICK HERE TO TAKE OUR BAND BANQUET POLL

(If you have not done so)

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

United In Praise Granted Us! Please Share!

Thank you to our entire

Eustis Mustang Band family!

Please use the share buttons located on the bottom of this page to let your family and friends know about this generous program!

It was in the middle of the year that I got up and with my hands waving in the air and in my normal hyper behavior I mentioned we needed to have a definite community outreach program.

But WHAT and HOW do we do it.

I remember parents making so many suggestions that it was hard to digest.

It is clear in my mind that Mr. Garcia, Anna's husband suggested a group camp. He said that if we were to do a concert at this venue we could inspire over 100 children that are at this camp because they are all underprivileged.

That was in the infancy of the Mustang Caring for School and Community Program.

The program matured as months went by and we made suggestions at every meeting.

Than it grew up into a program that will benefit our community for years to come!

Thanks to us ALL coming together and letting our voices be heard!

A child benefits a great deal when they are in a long term music program!

Please find information about our MCSC Program at this link eustismustangband.blogspot.com

On 6-3-2013 a few of our band family members met at The First Baptist Church to meet with United In Praise Board Members.

The presentation went so well.

We had a beginning presentation with short introduction.
David DiMassino first explained how the program that Mr. Ricke has worked hard develop benefited his daughters. Mr. DiMassino has a current 7th grade student and a former student who is a senior at the high school. Than he gave the statistical facts about our county, the school population, and the hard facts about students that do not participate in a music program. These statistics will be available in another blog during our corporation grant process this summer so please look for that.
Than Teri Ern gave an inspiring story about her daughter who is a current 7th grade student and how on bad days she can play music and it makes her feel better. Afterwards Mrs. Ern listed the reasons that a long term music education program can effect young children and their learning.
Kenneth Purvee followed with the reason integrating arts into school is so important. He told the board that he and other children often think band is a period in school that is fun, talking and an easy "A" in school. BUT by the second or third day they do not come to class with anything on their mind other than music. He also stated that music education makes him a better student and he knows it opens doors to college later.
Darian DiMassino came up after and using her wonderful stage presence helped make the point that children that go through the program have the skills to be more mature and ready to do what it takes in school than others in her piers. She also mentioned that she has the same friends she met in the first days of the 6th grade.
Once Darian was finished I explained the four components of our program. In each component is a separate cause however they all wrap around the band getting more children in our band. And that means especially the children who can not afford an instrument.
A question section followed and during that we were taught some ideas. There is always a place to learn. I will write a new blog page explaining some of the ideas we can do as a band family.

It was not only speakers who took part of this. Lauren DiMassino and Marcus Nix were both there to show the different sections of our band.
We had Association Members, Parents, Intermediate Band, Advanced Band, Steel Drum and Jazz Band students representing us!

IT TAKES MANY OF US TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN!

Click here to see our Facebook Request for this meeting

Click here to see and LIKE our Acceptance Letter.

Please find information on the United In Praise here at this link. It is something that everyone should read. Because you might just find yourself interested in joining! https://www.facebook.com/unitedinpraise

We did learn of some other community programs that are in the need of help. Many local food pantries. So in the year 2013-2014 the Eustis Mustang Music Association will organize a food drive twice per year. Probably before spring break and before Christmas break. But this is something we will vote on this August 12th at our first meeting!