Music Department
March 18, 2012 | Mr. Wayne Fanning
March Highlights
* On Sunday, March 4, 60 of our students proved that they were the ultimate risk-taker by auditioning for the Oahu Band Directors Association Middle School Select Band. While we are proud of all of these students, we are fortunate that 34 of them were selected to participate in the band, which will rehearse and perform in early May. * On Thursday, March 8, ten of our students accepted an invitation to participate in the Oahu Band Directors Association Middle School Honor Band. This band will also rehearse and perform in early May. * On Sunday, March 11, our Concert Band, Polynesian Music Ensemble, and Percussion Ensemble performed for a benefit concert featuring professional musicians such as Gabe Baltazar (saxophone), Dean Taba (bass), Noel Okimoto (percussion), Kenny Endo (taiko) and Steve Dinion (xylophone). *On Friday, March 16, our Percussion Ensemble was honored by Governor Neil Abercrombie, and the State Senate and wished good luck at their upcoming competition in Dayton, Ohio.March 07, 2012 | Mr. Wayne Fanning
IB Unit In Action
*On Saturday, February 18, before embarking on our three-day music camp, a select group of Concert Band students served as the clinic band for the Hawaii Music Educators Association In-Service Conference. The students were asked to learn an African counting song, Moji Mbili Tatu, and present it to a group of music teachers. The composer and clinician, Dr. David Akombo, from Jackson State University, worked with the band, explaining the background of the piece, and giving them a lesson on African music and culture. Students were also given an opportunity to ask questions, and the band directors in attendance were happy to have them perform. This is the second year in a row that the Niu Valley Band has been featured at the conference, and they already received a request to perform at the 2013 Conference as the featured ensemble.February 13, 2012 | Mr. Wayne Fanning
Lancer Musicians Complete Successful Weekend
This past weekend, our Lancer Musicians made us very proud and represented our school well. * On Saturday, February 11, our Concert Strings, Saxophone Duet, Percussion Ensemble, Brass Quintet, and Polynesian Music Ensemble performed in various capacities at the Honolulu District Science Fair held at Kapiolani Community College. The Concert Strings did a service project whereby they presented a joint Fine Arts project which involved the Visual Arts, Media, Yearbook, and Music students. This was followed by an Instrument Petting Zoo which they facilitated. Along the way, they learned what it means to adapt their presentation and make changes on the spot. Our talented saxophonists performed welcome music in the foyer between each of the three orchestra sessions. They were put to the test when a former saxophonist of the UH Band listened to them (two if you count Mr. Oshiro), put them on the spot, and offered rave reviews. The other three ensembles performed to several hundreds of people during lunch. They fought off blazing heat, wind, and hunger to put on a terrific performance to a very enthusiastic crowd. * On Sunday, February 12, twenty of our Lancers participated in the Solo and Ensemble Festival, put on by the Hawaii State Band Festival. This enabled them to receive scholarly feedback which is standardized on multiple islands. In accordance with IB philosophy, these students wanted to see how they measure up against peers from outside of their school. They were assessed using rubrics based on set criteria. All twenty of our students received scores high enough to earn them a medal. The medal is not important, but what it represents is a high score in various musical criteria. Even more remarkable was the fact that our flute quintet received a perfect score! However, beyond the music, these students supported each other, took care of each other, and practiced the IB Learner Profile in a huge way. Congratulations, Lancer Musicians!November 14, 2011 | Mr. Wayne Fanning
We Want YOU to Continue in Music Next Year!
In the next few days, we will be doing registration for next school year. For music students, this is a difficult decision to make when many students have not even performed a concert yet. However, we hope that ALL of you will continue, whether you will be at Niu Valley, or moving on to high school. If you have specific questions about our courses, please do not hesitate to contact us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or by phone at 377-2452. If you have questions about the music program at Kaiser High School please contact Mr. Bataluna at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) If you have questions about the music program at Kalani High School please contact Mr. Kaneshiro at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)September 28, 2011 | Mr. Wayne Fanning
