ALERT: Due to the heavy snowfall, the solo and ensemble festival has been rescheduled for next Saturday, February 13th. The time schedule will remain the same.

Solo and Ensemble Festival - February 6th (Snow Date: Feb. 13th), River Hill HS

Click here to download the Solo and Ensemble Schedule and Info Sheet

Orchestra Schedule for Feb. 1-5

Here is the orchestra sectional schedule for the first week of February.

Corrected Wind and Percussion Schedule (1/26/10)

The corrected Wind and Percussion sectional schedule is available by clicking on the link above.

Wind and Percussion Seating Auditions (1/21/10)

Seating auditions for Symphonic and Concert Band members will be held the week of January 26-29 during their regularly-scheduled sectional. (Check the "Wind and Percussion Sectionals" link above to get the schedule.)

Concert Band members should prepare the first part for their instrument for the piece "Alleluia". Key is Bb and tempo is quarter-note = 112. Percussionists should prepare the snare drum part.

Symphonic Band members should prepare the first part for their instrument for the piece "Creed". Key is F and tempi are as indicated. Percussionists should prepare the snare drum part.

Practice copies are available on the Concert and Symphonic Band links, above. Email Dr. Roberts if you have forgotten your username and/or password.

Third Quarter Playing Charts (1/21/10)

Third quarter playing charts are accessible by clicking on the "Practice/Playing Chart" link above.

Winter Concerts! (1/6/10)

Winter Concert I, featuring the sixth-grade Concert Choir and all Orchestras (Concert Orchestra, Blue Day Orchestra, White Day Orchestra) will take place on Tuesday, January 19, 7:00 PM, at Ellicott Mills Middle School. Choir and orchestra members should report to EMMS at 6:15 PM.

Winter Concert II, featuring the Concert and Symphonic Bands, will take place on Wednesday, January 20, 7:00 PM, at Ellicott Mills Middle School. Band members should report to EMMS at 6:30 PM.

Band Performance Assessments rescheduled (1/4/10)

Due to the loss of school days in December the individual performance assessments for band students have been rescheduled for the week of January 11. Students will maintain their time and Blue or White day. Check the schedule in the band room for your new date.

Solo and Ensemble Festival for Orchestra Students (12/21/09)

This year, each student in orchestra has been assigned a solo or ensemble piece to perform at this year's festival. This performance will constitute a significant part of the third-quarter orchestra grade. A letter about the festival and application form is available for download by clicking this sentence. Because there is a small financial obligation ($8 plus accompanist fee) to participate, there is a second option (at no cost) to meet this requirement. Ellicott Mills will be hosting a student recital on February 17th. Any students who do not participate in the solo and ensemble festival can satisfy the grade requirements by performing at this recital.

Band Performance Asssessments (12/11/09)

Information about Symphonic and Concert Band assessments appear on the appropriate link above. Students must sign up for an individual time for the week of January 4-7 on the sign-up sheets in the Band Room.

Wind and Percussion Sectional Schedule (12/11/09)

The latest sectional schedule can be found by clicking on the "Wind & Percussion Sectionals" link above.

Changes in Music Calendar (11/24/09)

There have been several changes and updates for the Solo and Ensemble Festival, Symphonic Band Assessment, and Concert Band Adjudication. Those changes are marked in red after clicking on the calendar link on the left side of this window. Please check and adjust your home calendars accordingly.

Symphonic Band Music (11/24/09)

New music is available on the Symphonic Band practice page. Email Dr. Roberts if you have forgotten your username or password.

Service Band Concerts (11/23/09)

There are two upcoming concerts that wind and percussion students should make every effort to attend. The first is the US Navy Band at River Hill High School on Friday, December 4. The concert starts at 7:30 PM and is FREE! The second is the US Air Force Band at Centennial High School on Tuesday, December 8. This concert also starts at 7:30 PM and is FREE!

This is a great way for our young musicians to get a chance to hear the world's greatest wind ensembles perform in our own backyard. Nothing can take the place of a live performance and your child will get a chance to hear her/his instrument being played at the highest possible level.

Band Performance Assessments (11/19/09)

Click on the Symphonic Band or Concert Band link above to see the performance assessment for wind and percussion instruments. Assessments will be held during regularly-scheduled sectionals during the week of November 30-December 4. Email Dr. Roberts if you have questions or problems!

New Orchestra Schedule (11/13/09)

The 2nd Quarter Orchestra schedule is now available. A couple of sectional groups have changed. Please look carefully at the schedule. Each group should have three sectionals for the 2nd quarter.

Jazz Band (11/12/09)

The first rehearsal of the EMMS Jazz Band will be held on Friday, November 13th, 7:00 AM, in the band room. Only students who have returned the official Intramural form are allowed to attend. Other interested students should see Dr. Roberts and get a form from the front office.

Fall Concert CD's (11/11/09)

Fall Concert CD's are available for a nominal fee of $5 each. (This covers the cost of materials of production.) Both nights are available on one CD. You can download and print an order form by clicking here! Return it to your child's director with cash or check and we will deliver the CD's directly to your child.

Second-Quarter Playing Charts (11/5/09)

You can download and print a copy of the playing chart for the second quarter by clicking the link above that reads "Practice/Playing Chart".

Concert and Symphonic Band Seating Auditions (11/2/09)

Seating auditions for all band members will be held during the first sectional of the second quarter, November 9-12. Symphonic Band members should prepare the first part for their instrument for "Devil Dance" by John Kinyon. The key is "C" and the tempo is dotted-quarter note = 100.

All Concert Band wind players should prepare #47 (Folk Song) in their Hal Leonard books. Key is Bb and tempo is quarter-note = 100. Percussionists should prepare the Summary on page 18 of the Roy Burns Elementary Drum Methos. Tempo is quarter-note = 120.

Fall Concerts (10/23/09)

Our first set of concerts are rapidly approaching!

The Symphonic Band and ALL sixth-grade ensembles (Concert Band, Concert Choir, Concert Orchestra) will be performing on Tuesday, November 3rd at Howard High School at 7:00 PM.

All other seventh- and eighth-grade ensembles (Orchestras and Choirs) will be performing on Wednesday, November 4th at Howard High School at 7:00 PM.

Please make sure that your child has the correct concert attire, that is, black pants, white shirt, and dress shoes. (NO SNEAKERS!)

 

Wind and Percussion Sectionals (10/23/09)

The new wind and percussion sectional schedule is available by clicking on the link above. Please print out a copy for your reference.

Symphony Orchestra (10/12/09)

The Symphony Orchestra, which had been scheduled to rehearse on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons after school, will NOT be meeting this year. We did not have enough students to sign up for the activity.

Music Mania (9/24/09)

The Music Department depends on volunteer help to handle many of the administrative details that arise during the course of the year. If you are interested in volunteering your time in any way, please contact our volunteer coordinator, Vicki Tymann. If you're interested in making a financial contribution to the department for the 2009-2010 school year, please fill out a donation form so that we may recognize your contribution on concert programs. This is the same form that was provided at our Back to School Night presentation.

Back to School Night (9/23/09)

The Music Department hosted our annual "Back to School Night" at 6:15 in the cafeteria on September 23rd. If you missed this presentation, you can view the powerpoint presentation by clicking here.

Orchestra Sectionals (9/14/09)

Click here or on the "Orchestra Sectionals" link above to view the schedule.

The small-group sectional is an important part of the performing ensembles at Ellicott Mills Middle School.  The sectional provides an opportunity for the directors to assess students’ progress in musical and technical areas in a setting that would be impossible in large-group rehearsals.  The faculty at EMMS has always been supportive of our student musicians and works closely with the music faculty to ensure that our students are successful in all areas.  Students are expected to be at sectionals as scheduled.  In order to give support to students and to provide consistent instruction and assessment in the academic and performance areas we have established the following principles.

For the orchestra schedule, the students are grouped in small groups (3-5) and scheduled to meet every two weeks (4 times in the remainer of the 1st quarter). They will also rotate through the second half of block 2 and all of block 6 on blue and white days. As a result, 18 of the 27 groups will not miss a single class more than once this quarter, and the sectional only lasts for half of that class. The remaining 9 groups will miss a single class twice in the first quarter, but still for only half of that time. Each group is named for a composer, and the composer's name appears on the front of the schedule.

Students are responsible to the teacher of the academic or related arts class for work that was missed for the sectional.  Our faculty is very responsive to helping our music students make up required work.  Lastly, we encourage students to remain in classes where they have a scheduled test or lab.  They are then responsible for making up whatever work was missed during the sectional.  Parents can also help by making sure that their child knows when their sectional is scheduled, checking to make sure that their child is making up missed work, and encouraging their child to maintain high performance standards in every class. Working together we can make sure that student achievement levels in academics, related arts, and performance classes remain high and that our students have the support they need to allow them to be successful in all of the areas in which they are interested.

First Quarter Playing Chart (9/9/09)

The first playing chart of the year can be printed by clicking on the "Practice/Playing Chart" link above. Students and parents can find help with practice guidlines by clicking on the "Practice" link and following the link for a particular instrument family. The playing chart link is also available on the "Practice" page.

Wind and Percussion Sectionals (9/8/09)

Click here or on the "Wind & Percussion Sectionals" link above to view the schedule.

The small-group sectional is an important part of the performing ensembles at Ellicott Mills Middle School.  The sectional provides an opportunity for the directors to assess students’ progress in musical and technical areas in a setting that would be impossible in large-group rehearsals.  The faculty at EMMS has always been supportive of our student musicians and works closely with the music faculty to ensure that our students are successful in all areas.  Students are expected to be at sectionals as scheduled.  In order to give support to students and to provide consistent instruction and assessment in the academic and performance areas we have established the following principles.

First, sectionals are scheduled on a pull-out rotation.  Students are scheduled for no more than half of the academic and related arts blocks.  This schedule rotates so that students are not pulled from the same class any more than once in every six-week period. Secondly, students are responsible to the teacher of the academic or related arts class for work that was missed for the sectional.  Our faculty is very responsive to helping our music students make up required work.  Lastly, we encourage students to remain in classes where they have a scheduled test or lab.  They are then responsible for making up whatever work was missed during the sectional.  Parents can also help by making sure that their child knows when their sectional is scheduled, checking to make sure that their child is making up missed work, and encouraging their child to maintain high performance standards in every class.

Working together we can make sure that student achievement levels in academics, related arts, and performance classes remain high and that our students have the support they need to allow them to be successful in all of the areas in which they are interested.

Welcome to Music at Ellicott Mills

In a continuing effort to save our paper and copy resources for music, we are asking that parents of all performing arts students, that is all students in band, choir, and orchestra, after reviewing the information, print out, complete, and return the Parent/Student information sheet to your child’s director as soon as possible and no later than Friday, August 29th, 2008.  Click here (or the "DOWNLOAD YOUR INFORMATION SHEET HERE!" link above) for your copy.

The Refresh Button

Your browsers refresh button can be your best friend in making sure that you have the most up to date information on this website. Until we figure out how to automatically refresh pages every time you open them, your browser may load the old image from the cache memory and not display the most recent information. Click refresh often on all pages!

G/T Ensemble information

G/T ensembles are great opportunities to broaden experiences for the musician who just can't get enough. The middle school G/T orchestra has expanded into two groups, opening up many more opportunities this year. Information about G/T orchestra, band, and chorus can be found by clicking on the links on the left side menu of this page. The music for the G/T Band auditions is available here! Thanks to the Folly Quarter Middle School Band by providing this link!

Symphonic Band Seating Auditions

Seating auditions will be held during the first sectionals of the year. The audition music is available by clicking on the Symphonic Band link at the top of the page.

 

Thank you!