Thursday 11/19

Updated parts (including revisions) and mp3s for Rock-U have been uploaded to the music area, which now includes individual audio files for each instrument.

Happy practicing!

Tuesday 11/10

Tomorrow is the Redlands Veteran's Day Parade!

You need to be in the Redlands High School parking lot (which will be closed to cars) by 8:00 tomorrow morning. Have your parents drop you off in the Pathway Church parking lot, then walk over.

Don't forget your drum, sticks/mallets, carrier, uniform, Dinkles, and long black socks.

Eat a great breakfast and arrive ready to be amazing!!

Here's the parade route:

Monday 11/2

Music for our newest cadences, Rock the Boat and Rock-U, has been posted in the "Music" tab above.

Be sure to head there to take a listen to the mp3 of each cadence. You can play along at home as part of your rehearsal time (it's a great way to make sure you're playing in tempo).

Also, and mp3 of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen has been posted for our vets working on this new piece.

Thursday 10/8

Honor group information has now be published.

If you'd like to audition for the All-Southern Honor Band (best of the best from all across Southern California), audition information can be found here: SCSBOA Middle School Honor Groups

If you'd like to audition for the San Bernardino County Honor Band (best of the best from all over San Bernardino County), audition information can be found here: San Bernardino County Honor Band

Let me know if you're considering audition for either one. I'd be happy to help you prepare!

Tuesday 10/6

The Instrumental Music calendar has been updated with all the pertinent events for this school year. Take a look at the link above and make sure you've got everything scheduled in your personal calendar.

Friday 8/14

Cope Percussion Keys to Success as defined by our members:

• Listening
• Practicing
• Preparation
• Enjoyment
• Teamwork
• Commitment
• Hard Work
• Concentration
• Asking for & Providing Help

Here's to a great year, everyone! We start playing on Monday!! Be sure to remember your sticks and pads.

Wednesday 8/12

Welcome to another outstanding year of percussion at Cope Middle School! Please be sure to bookmark this page and check back for daily updates! While you're poking around, feel free to check out many of the links at the side of the blog to begin investigating different resources that may be of benefit this year.

Today in class we talked about my expectations for the school year, and necessary materials students will need to have. Tonight's homework is to review the instrumental music curriculum paper with parents and fill out the back page, and also review the parent percussion letter and fill out the bottom portion. For a copy of those documents, please click the links below.

Instrumental Music Curriculum Paper
Percussion Parent Letter

Back to School

Welcome to the 2015-2016 school year. Get ready to play, and play well!!

Monday 6/8

There's a very exciting percussion camp taking place this summer that's only available to middle school percussionists (or those about to go to high school, but not currently in high school).

It's going to be held at South Pointe Middle School in Walnut, and I highly recommend you attend. I promise it'll be an experience you won't regret!

Details can be found here: http://www.spmsband.org/percussion-camp.html

Please let me know if you're thinking about attending as I can help arrange someone for you to stay with for the three days.

Tuesday 5/5

We've begun work on our third piece, Prelude in E Minor (written by Frederic Chopin and arranged by David Steinquest). The arranger has done a really interesting job of taking this classical piece and building a Latin groove underneath, giving it a whole new life.

An audio recording can be found on the Row-Loff website.

Want to know more about Chopin?

Want to know more about this piece?

Monday 4/13

Our second piece is Instant Carmen, arranged by Chris Brooks and drawn from the world-famous opera Carmen by Georges Bizet.

An audio recording can be found on the Row-Loff website.

Monday 3/30

As we start to near the end of the year, we'll be turning our attention to some percussion ensemble pieces of music. The first of which will be Technology, by Jim Casella. An audio recording of the piece can be found on the Tapspace website. I think you'll love it!