Band

2020-21 Band Handbook

Philosophy
Music is an important and intrinsically-valuable aspect of a well-rounded education. Music has existed in every culture since the dawn of time as a communication and expressive tool. It is a vehicle for creativity and critical thinking. It is goal of the St. Louis Park Music Department to provide all students with a quality, comprehensive and varied musical experience. Our goal is also to achieve excellence in all music studied and performed. Every student graduating from the St. Louis Park High School band program will have had the opportunity to intelligently perform, consume, create and appreciate music of many different genres, cultures and time periods. Students will become better and more well-rounded people through music.

Course Goals
1. To build individual and ensemble musicianship
2. To master basic music theory and aural skills
3. To enhance music literacy and appreciation through the study of classical and contemporary repertoire
4. To discuss and manipulate ways to make meaning and emotion in music
5. To transfer skills learned in band to life

Expectations
1. Students must show up to class every day, on time. Be ready to play THREE minutes after the tardy bell.
2. Students are to have his or her instrument, accompanying equipment, music and a pencil. Failure to have one or more of these items will result in the loss of daily points. A pencil is crucial to mark our music so we do not repeat errors.
3. Students are to respect themselves, others, and all school property. This means NO food, drink or gum are allowed in the band room (except plain water). Food and gum are choking hazards while playing!
4. Students are to have a cooperative attitude and give full effort at all times. This includes having good playing posture.

Band Lettering Worksheet Application        Lettering Sheet Workbook

All SLPSH Band members have the opportunity to earn a band letter through participation in activities beyond the required course expectations. Students must be a member in good standing in the St. Louis Park Senior High School band program, must abide by MSHSL and District 283 policies and must have been consistently working for the advancement of personal and group excellence. It is the responsibility of each student to keep track of their own points and submit them for approval during the April 15^th to May 1st window. This deadline is important so that I have time to verify and calculate the letters and certificates and physically get them. Even if a student has 400 or more points, they ARE NOT guaranteed a letter if they miss the deadline! Students may start accumulating points the first day of the school year, but points DO NOT carry over to next year.  (Exception: if a music camp is attended the summer before the current school year, those points can count toward the current school year. If you pre-register for a future summer camp and show proof, you could count those points toward the next school year.) If you did something that you think deserves letter points and cannot find it on the form, please ask Mr. Schmitz which category it fits best under.

Proper supportive material (concert programs, photos of students at an event, documentation, forms, copies of solo/ensemble certificates, etc.) must be stapled to this form. If some documentation has been lost, you may get a signature from an adult who knows you completed the task.  In some cases, that adult may be Mr. Schmitz.  A signature is NOT required unless documentation is lost.  400 points are needed to earn a band letter award.  For the first letter earned, students receive a free SLP chenille letter and for subsequent awards in their band career, students will receive a certificate (worth a bar/patch) that can be bought at jacketshop.com for about $25.

Welcome to Freshmen Band! In this class, we build upon basic ensemble skills and instrumental techniques learned in middle school. These include tone, posture, intonation, balance, timbre, blend, style and articulation. We combine these elements to play Grade 2-3 concert band music at a high level. Music is drawn from a variety of cultures, eras and genres.

Click on the calendar below for freshmen band events. All bands must be adhere to the policies outlined in the band handbook found on the left bar.

Mr. Steve Schmitz, Director of Bands and World Drumming
Phone: 952-928-6159
Email: schmitz.steven@slpschools.org 

Welcome to Jazz Ensemble! Congratulations on being selected to this fine group whose successes reach back almost 100 years. In this group, we explore jazz idioms spanning from the 1920s to today. We mostly focus on swing, jazz rock and Latin rock, but sometimes play jazz fusion and other styles.

We will meet every Monday and Friday from 7:30-8:15 a.m. Please stay tuned for whether we will have rehearsal on late start Mondays.

Punctuality and attendance are crucial for this zero hour class. We start promptly at 7:30 a.m., but many students choose to warm up and socialize from 7:15-7:30 a.m. Grading is mostly based on effort, improvement and prompt, regular attendance.

Click on the calendar below for jazz ensemble events. All bands must be adhere to the policies outlined in the band handbook found on the left bar. 

Welcome to Symphonic Band! This 10-12 band builds upon individual technical skills and ensemble skills learned in 9th grade in order to perform quality Grade 3-3.5 concert band literature from a variety of cultures, eras and genres.

Click on the calendar below for wind ensemble band events. All bands must be adhere to the policies outlined in the band handbook found on the left bar.

Welcome to Wind Ensemble! Congratulations on being selected for this high-level performance group. In this class we perfect our individual instrumental technique as well as ensemble skills so that we play Grade 3.5-5 concert band literature from many cultures, eras and genres.

Click on the calendar below for wind ensemble band events. All bands must be adhere to the policies outlined in the band handbook found on the left bar.

World Drumming is an exciting and hands-on class where students are introduced to music around the world through performance drumming. They also learn to appreciate West African and Caribbean culture and history as well as compose and read rhythmic notation.

2020-21 World Drumming Syllabus 

Coming Soon!