2011 All-County Honor Band

The TCBDA directors perform with
the All-County Sr. High Band.



The 2011 All-County Honor Band was a success!  Clinicians Gene Inglis and Gena Nix both did an outstanding job choosing appropriate music for our students for rehearsals and concerts.  Congratulations to all of our students and a huge "thank you" to Sylacauga HS / Nichols-Lawson MS band director David Simpkins for hosting this event. 



2011 All-County Jr. High Band
1st Chair recipients.



2011 All-County Sr. High Band

1st Chair recipients.



Sr. High rehearsal



Jacob Harris, a SHS band member and 
Eagle Scout candidate, outlines his
community project,"All-County Music
Endeavors", during the TCBDA Board meeting.



TCBDA Honor Band; April 8-9, 2011

The TCBDA All-County Honor Band is fast approaching!  Here is information that you will need.

Audition: Tues., April 5 THS, begin at 4:00.  Audition Fee: $5 per student auditioning.

Clinic: Fri.-Sat., April 8-9 Sylacauga HS

Itinerary:
Fri., April 8:
9:00-12:00 Rehearsal
12:00-1:30 Lunch
1:30-4:30 Rehearsal
Sat., April, 9:
9:00-12:00 Rehearsal
12:00-1:30 Lunch - Change into concert attire.
2:00 CONCERT ($3 admission for spectators)

Audition Requirements:
Jr. High Brass/WW: Scales: Concert F, Bb, Eb, Ab.
Chromatic: Bb – Bb (one octave)
Sightreading

Sr. High Brass/WW: Scales: Concert Bb, B, C, Db, D.
Chromatic: Same as All State requirements (see ABA Handbook).
Sightreading

Percussion: Junior and Senior High will perform both mallet and snare requirements:
Mallets: Scales: Concert F, Bb, Eb, Ab.
Sightreading
Snare: Rudiments: Long Roll, 9-stroke roll, flam paradiddle
Sightreading

New Tri-M Chapter at B. B. Comer HS

On Thursday, February 10, 2011 at BB Comer High School, the following musicians were inducted into Chapter # 6315 of the Tri-M Music Honor Society.

Ashley Borden Jalynn Carter Caleb Glover Megan Gravette Rachel Harris, Brittany Hope, Caitlin Jackson, Mindy Jones Emily Reynolds James Smoot and Katora Thomas ( not pictured Colton Cooper)

The purpose of this honor society is to inspire music participation, create enthusiasm for scholarship, to stimulate a desire to render service, and to promote leadership in the music students at BB Comer High School.

"Sound of Gold" Marches in the 2011 Inaugural Parade

Here is a great article of the BB Comer Band as they prepare for the 2011 Alabama Governors Inaugural Parade.  Congratulations to Band Director Dan Seaborn and the B.B. Comer HS Band.

The Daily Home - Sound of Gold to march in inaugural parade.

2nd Annual TCBDA Concert Band Preview

The 2nd Annual TCBDA Concert Band Preview is Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2011 and will be held at the auditorium at B.B. Comer High School.  We will use the same evaluation method as last year.  Melvin Morgan will serve as the primary analyst while the TCBDA directors take turns commenting on the performances.

Admission to the Concert Band Preview is $3 (6 and up) and $1 (5 and down) and will benefit the TCBDA Scholarship Fund.  Last year's Preview raised $700 for this worthwhile project.

"The goal of this non-competitive exhibition is to promote participation and musical growth in middle and high school concert bands with the hope that the process of preparing, performing and evaluating the concert performance will provide valuable educational growth to the TCBDA Band Directors and student musicians".

Participating bands and their performance times:

5:00  Zora Ellis Junior High

5:20  Winterboro

5:40  Munford

6:00  Lincoln High School

6:20  Fayetteville High School

6:40  B.B. Comer High School

7:00  Talladega High School

7:20  Sylacauga High School

TCBDA Spring Meeting

The band directors met for dinner at their spring meeting on March 31, 2010 at Matahuela Restaurant in Talladega. The main topic of discussion included the upcoming TCBDA Solo & Ensemble festival on April 20, 2010.

Spirit of Cooperation

Just before chair auditions for the University of Alabama Honor band on February 4, 2010, clarinetists Keyauna McKenzie (Talladega High School) and Payton Raines (Sylacauga High School) joined together to practice the audition material even though they were in direct competition for chair placement.


This “Spirit of Cooperation” is becoming more and more evident with the directors and band students of Talladega County, Talladega City, and Sylacauga City as the TCBDA continues to find ways to improve the band programs in our schools.

ABA State Music Performance Assessment

Four bands from Talladega County and Talladega City Schools will participate in the Alabama Bandmasters Association State Music Performance Assessment on Feb. 24-26, 2010 at Gadsden City High School.

The participating bands and their performance times are: Zora Ellis Junior High School Band (Wednesday, Feb. 24, 8:30 a.m.); Talladega High School Band (Wednesday, February 24, 4:30 p.m.); Lincoln High School Band (Thursday, February 25, 2:30 p.m.); and Winterboro High School Band (Friday, February 26, 2010, 12:00 noon).

Good luck to all the participating bands.

1st Annual Concert Band Preview

The Talladega County Band Directors Association held their 1st annual Concert Band preview on Tuesday, February 9, 2010. The exhibition was designed to serve two purposes; the first to allow concert bands of our Sylacauga City, Talladega City, and Talladega County schools an opportunity to perform for an audience and judge as preparation for upcoming festivals and competitions. The other purpose was to raise money for the Talladega County Band Directors Association's Scholarship fund. $700 was raised for this important cause.

Listed are the participating concert bands and their conductors: B.B. Comer HS Band (Dan Seaborn), Fayetteville HS Band (Melissa Padgett), Lincoln HS Band (Felisha Romine Wach), Munford HS Band (Mike Sims), Sylacauga HS Band (David Simpkins), Talladega High School (David McDaniel), Winterboro HS Band (Grayson Lawrence), and the Zora Ellis JH Band (Danielle Todd).

Dr. Frank Buck was our guest judge and offered valuable commentary about each band's performance.

What is your 2009/2010 show?

Take a minute and tell everyone your band show for the 2009/2010 season.

You can either click on Comment at the bottom of this post or you can simply do a new post on the blog.

I look forward to hearing what is going on with each of you at your schools and the ideas that you have for no doubt outstanding marching band shows.

Summer is gone....

Well... I guess all good things eventually come to an end. I hope that each of you and your band students have had a great and relaxing summer making you energized and ready for band camp.

I just wanted to wish you all luck as you start or have started your first week of band camp. The 2009/2010 school year is officially beginning for all of us. I hope that it turns out to be amazing!

I look forward to seeing each of you and your bands this season.

Good Luck!

DCI

Interested in seeing a drum corp performance up close and personal? You still have time.

Drum Corp season is quickly coming to an exciting end, but you still have a few options to catch a show either live or in a theater. Visit www.dci.org for ticket information. There is a show in Gadsden, AL, on this Friday, July 24, 2009 and a show in Atlanta this Saturday, July 25, 2009. Ticket information can be found on the dci website.

Click the picture above to see the trailer for the Quarter-Final LIVE broadcast in theaters on August 6, 2009. The closest showing for us is in Trussville, AL.

Grab some friends and go see for yourself! You won't regret it.

Ever thought how cool it would be to start your own rock band? Jam Studio (click here) can give you the opportunity to experiment and do just that. It is a free online studio that helps you easily create tracks that you can play along with on any instrument. Beginning or Advanced it is entertaining to play around with.

Have Fun!

2009 Talladega High School Graduation

The graduating seniors of Talladega High School were very fortunate to receive their graduation address from someone very well known, Dr. Condoleezza Rice. The week was filled with prepartation as the entire community anticipated her visit. Prior to the ceremonies graduates of the 2009 Class were permitted to meet Dr. Rice and take their picture with her individually. Below is a slide show including pictures from the ceremony as well as a recording of the speech given by Dr. Rice. What a wonderful experience for our graduating seniors, an event to remember for a lifetime.

What a Gig!

On April 23, 2009, the Talladega High School Jazz Band was invited to perform for the International Motorsports Hall of Fame ceremonies. With great preparation, lots of anticipation and much excitement the group of young musicians took on this adventure with great enthusiasm. Much is to be said about the musical presentation and outstanding representation of the Talladega City Schools from this group of young people; it was truly outstanding.

A special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Smith for their help providing dinner for the group, as well as Mrs. Rasco. Also to Dr. Frank Buck for his attendance and support at this event. It is wonderful to have such great support from parents and administrators in the Talladega City School System.

To see pictures Click Here

District II Concert Band Assessment

Each year bands from across the state of Alabama rehearse, prepare and perfect three pieces of music to present to a panel of three judges at District Band Assessment. This year was no different. On February 19 & 20, 2009, District II Concert Band Assessment was held at Gadsden High Schoool in Gadsden, Alabama. Along with many other schools from our district three schools from Talladega County and two from Talladega City participated at this years event.

Talladega High School kicked off performances of the TCBDA bands on Thursday night at 7:30. The following morning lead to back to back performances beginning at 9:00 by Zora Ellis Jr. High School, followed by Lincoln High School at 9:30 and Winterboro High School at 10:00. Munford High School performed shortly thereafter at 2:30 in the afternoon. Determination, pride, and accomplishment filled the stage as melodious sounds were eagerly presented to an awaiting audience by each band; efforts did not go unrecognized by audience members or judges.

The Munford High School Band, led by band director Mike Sims, received an overall Excellent rating from the judges on their performance of: "A March on the King's Highway" (LaPlante), "And Hold In Memory" (Vinson), "Abracadabra" (Ticheli).

The Talladega High School Band, under the direction of David McDaniel, performed: "Rough-Riders" (King), "A Song of the Universe" (Melillo), and "The Spirit of the Falcon" (Saucedo) for which they were awarded Superior ratings. Talladega High School will travel back to Gadsden High School on Wednesday, March 4, 2009, to participate in the Alabama State Concert Band Assessment.

Lincoln High School Band and director Felicia Romine, received superior ratings for their performance of: "Conquista" (Shaffer), "Childhood Hymn" (Holsinger), and "The Maelstrom" (Smith).

Zora Ellis Junior High performed: "Forward March" (Murtha), "As Winds Dance" (Hazo) and "Dark Adventure" (Ford), under the direction of Danielle Todd, receiving ratings of Superior. They will travel to Briarwood Christian Church in Birmingham, AL, for Alabama State Band Assessment on Monday, March 2, 2009, at 1:00 p.m.

Winterboro High School also received Superior ratings for their performance of: "Spania" (Shaffer), "By Dawn's Early Light" (Shaffer), and "Fanfare and Dance" (Edmondson), under the direction of Grayson Lawrence.

What a great accomplishment for the bands in Talladega County and City Schools, a proud representation no doubt. Congratulations to the directors, students, parents and administration at each of these schools. Good Luck in all of your future endeavors!

TCBDA Honor Band Schedule

Here is the schedule for the TCBDA Honor Band, held at Zora Ellis Junior High School on Friday-Saturday, Feb. 27-28, 2009.
Fri., Feb. 27: 8:30-12:00 Rehearsal (HS, Harwell auditorium: JH in ZEJH bandroom).
12:00-1:30 Lunch
1:30-5:00 Rehearsal (HS, Harwell auditorium: JH in ZEJH bandroom).
Sat., Feb. 28: 8:30-12:00 Rehearsal (JH, Harwell auditorium: HS in ZEJH bandroom).
12:00-1:30 Lunch and change into concert attire.
2:00-3:30 Concert ($3 admission).

2009 All-County Honor Band requirements

Audition Date: Tues., Feb. 24, Talladega High School, begin at 4:00.
Fee: $5 per student auditioning. $35 school fee. Make checks payable to Talladega High School.
Auditions:
Jr. High Brass/WW: Concert F, Bb, Eb, and Ab major scales/arpeggios; Chromatic Scale Bb – Bb (one octave); Sightreading, Tone Quality.
Sr. High Brass/WW: Concert Bb, B, C, Db, D major scales/arpeggios; Chromatic (same as All State requirements - see ABA Handbook; Sightreading, Tone Quality.
Percussion - both Junior and Senior High: Percussionist will audition on both mallet and snare drum: Mallets: Concert F, Bb, Eb, and Ab major scales/arpeggios; Mallet Sightreading; Snare Rudiments: Long Roll, Flamacue, 9-stroke roll, triple ratamacue, flam tap, flam paradiddle; Snare Sightreading.

University of Alabama Honor Band 2009 Talladega Co. Recipients

Congratulations to the following students from the Sylacauga City, Talladega City, and Talladega County band programs for being selected to the University of Alabama Honor Band, announced on Monday, Dec. 15, 2008: Payton Raines, clarinet (Sylacauga HS); Brandi Woodard, clarinet (Talladega HS); Dakota Whitten, euphonium (Talladega HS); James Atkisson, flute (Talladega HS); Jay Bradford, trombone (Sylacauga HS); Jennifer Burk, trumpet (Talladega HS); Matthew Pruitt, trumpet (Munford HS); Lexie Gates Rasco, trumpet (Talladega HS); James Hubbard, tuba (Talladega HS); and Kendall Mullis, tuba (BB Comer HS).

The Honor Band will take place on Feb. 4-8, 2009. Congratulations!

Merry Tuba Christmas!

On Friday, December 5, 2008, The Talladega High School and Zora Ellis Jr. High Tubas and Euphoniums traveled to Atlanta, GA to participate in the ATL 2008 Tuba Christmas. It proved to be a rewarding experience for all involved. Enjoy the pictures!