2012

PIZITZMIDDLE SCHOOL

Symphonic Band

PIZITZ MIDDLE SCHOOL BANDS

Pizitz Middle School is located in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, and is part of the Vestavia Hills City School System. The school has more than 1100 students in grades six through eight. The Pizitz Middle School Band is an integral part of the Performing Arts Department at Pizitz. The instrumental program consists of a Beginning Band, Concert Band, Symphonic Band, and Jazz Band. Currently, there are 240 students involved in the band program at Pizitz Middle School in grades six through eight.

PIZITZ MIDDLE SCHOOL SYMPHONIC BAND

The Symphonic Band is made up of seventh and eighth graders and is under the direction of Kim Bain and Leah Seng. The band has recently competed at the All-Star Music Festival in Orlando, Florida; Heritage Music Festival in St. Louis, Missouri; and Festival Disney in Orlando, Florida. Most recently, the band’s performance at Festival Disney earned the Golden Mickey Award for the highest score of all performing ensembles.

Members of the Symphonic Band are in their second or third year of study. The Pizitz Symphonic and Concert Bands both received Superior ratings with distinction at the 2011 Alabama Bandmaster’s Association District IV Music Performance Assessment. Many Pizitz band students are active in honor bands, solo and ensemble festival, and private lessons. In 2012, seven students made the Alabama Middle School All-State Band, and eighteen students placed in the District IV Honor Band.

VESTAVIA HILLS CITY SCHOOLS

presents the

Pizitz Middle School Symphonic Band

Kim Bain, DirectorLeah Seng, Assistant Director

Dr. Jamie Blair, SuperintendentDavid Miles, Principal

Tom Callahan, Assistant PrincipalAndy Carpenter, Assistant Principal

AUBURN UNIVERSITY SYMPHONIC HONOR BAND FESTIVAL

February 2, 20123:30 P.M.

Student Activities BuildingAuburn, Alabama

Student Notes

“Fanfare for the Third Planet is a song that has a fast pace and rhythmic beat that makes you just want to listen to it!” -Atia, flute

“This piece develops an image of an upcoming army that is marching. It is energetic and intense.” -Edward, clarinet

“The melodies in this song get stuck in your head.” -Harsh, alto saxophone

“I love Blue and Green Music because of the way all the parts fit together- it is so pretty!” -Mary, flute

“This is is a mysterious piece that will send chills down your spine.” -Billy, percussion

“This music sounds like a dramatic war theme.” -Thomas, clarinet

PROGRAM

Fanfare for the Third PlanetRichard L. Saucedo Characteristic of Richard Saucedo’s distinctive style, this impressive piece features rhythmic vitality throughout, along with fresh harmonies and skilled orchestrational devices. Amid the powerful fanfare-like phrases, Saucedo creates a brief calm section using the woodwinds and a unique layering effect before building to the dynamic ending. Great sounds for young players– all in one tempo throughout! The piece was commissioned in 2004 by the Keller Independent School District, Texas.

Parade of the Wooden WarriorsAdam Gorb Parade of the Wooden Warriors is a three minute piece aimed at school and community wind ensembles. It describes the advance and retreat of an imaginary army in ancient times. Professor Gorb attempts to give the music the flavor of a Renaissance dance with the main melody in the Dorian mode and the harmony moving largely in consecutive fifths.

Blue and Green MusicSamuel R. Hazo Mr. Hazo writes:

Blue and Green Music is based on artist Georgia O’Keeffe’s 1921 painting of the same name. The idea for this composition came from one of Conductor Chris Gleason’s students, while planning a Comprehensive Musicianship Project. O’Keeffe is a celebrated native of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, the same town in which you will find the Patrick Marsh Band that commissioned me to write for them. I was intrigued by the idea of basing a piece on Georgia O’Keeffe so I began to research her life and works. That’s when I found Blue and Green Music. As O’Keeffe explained, it is painted upon “the idea that music could be translated into something for the eye.” My job would be to translate it back into something for the ear.

The entire piece is based on one theme that is varied into numerous alternate treatments. Although I tried to make certain parts of the music tie to specific aspects in the painting, I do not want the “observer/listener” to be influenced by my decisions. In fact, the more I go over the composition, the more I can see many different match-ups of musical and visual textures.

The original Georgia O’Keeffe painting Blue and Green Music is currently on display at the Art Institute of Chicago, where it has been since she gave it to them in 1969.

Spontaneous CombustionRobert Sheldon A fast-paced tour-de-force for developing bands, Spontaneous Combustion explodes out of the starting blocks and keeps moving relentlessly to the last note. Presented in a minor key with shifting tonalities and tuneful melodies, this musical juggernaut eventually yields to a major key, which only amplifies its inherent energy. Mixed meters and bombastic percussion help to drive the piece to the very end.

Spontaneous Combustion was commissioned by the Jose. M. Lopez Middle School Band, San Antonio, Texas, and their director, Andy Post.

St. Petersburg MarchJohnnie Vinson St. Petersburg, Russia, was founded by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703. Despite its relatively short life, St. Petersburg has a rich and exciting history. From the early days of Peter the Great’s “Venice of the North” to the modern events of the 1991 coup d’etat, the city has always bustled with life and intrigue, revolution and mystery. More evocative of Russia’s past than any place except perhaps the Moscow Kremlin, St. Petersburg is today considered the cultural heart of modern day Russia.

St. Petersburg March attempts to capture the spirit of this great city and its storied history. The minor keys and melodies harmonized in sixths combine to paint a musical picture of frigid winters, magnificent castles, and great cathedrals. Although most of the melodic material in the march is original, parts of two Russian folk songs, Tzar Nicoli and Gori are quoted in the trio section.

Written and scored during February 2005, St. Petersburg March is dedicated to the Auburn (AL) Junior High School Honors Band and its director, Larry Cornelius.

Student Notes

“Spontaneous Combustion is a fierce, combative piece that also has a softer, gentler side.” -Megan, flute

“This is one of those pieces you can really get into while playing. The tension created in it sounds great.” -Katie, flute

“I like this march because it isn’t like a lot of marches I’ve heard. It’s dark but fast.” -Lauren, percussion

FluteKali AndersonAtia AroonsakulwongseKatie CoeBarrett HarrisMeagan MandabachMichelle PerleySarah Anne PfitzerSamantha SarabiaBethany WhiteMary WoffordXiaolan You

OboeAndrew Gwaltney Ching Sullivan

BassoonJoe DekleYunchao Zhang

ClarinetJordan BarefieldAnna Grace BreedloveThomas HillDaniel HortonEdward HuangDaniel LiPatrick MillsAudrey PorterAbbey RompLyndsey SheltonGeorge TalleyFord WatersVinzent WesselmannAbigail WingoVarun Yerramsetti

Bass ClarinetRay GravesBrennan PughCharby Xu

Alto SaxophoneEmily GranthamCameron HughesHarsh JainNikitha PrattipatiWilliam Simmons

Tenor SaxophoneMarshall DyerWill Philpot

Baritone SaxophoneCarmelo Venero

TrumpetNoah BakerBrandon BogardNicholas ConfessoreAlex GoodwineEthan GuidryZack IngramLogan LockridgePeter MaluffRedmund Smith

French HornAlec BeersAdam GriceSara HarbisonCorey JohnsonJames MaoBenjamin May

J.D. OlivetBen Whisenhunt

TromboneTanner CauseyJames LesterWill MathewsConnor PetwayScott PhillipsKatelyn PickardDaniel RhodesKayla Sherrod

BaritoneMitchell AppleberryAndrew Hutchinson

TubaJames BarrMason BrownP.J. CallahanAlec CulverSam Romero

PercussionKevin BryantQuin EstesAnderson GoreLexi LamarReggie LawsonJosh MoulderCorey NdunaBilly PrewittJack RobinsonLauren SandersonTyler TricquetMarshall Trowbridge

P I Z I T Z M I D D L E S C H O O L 2011-2012 Symphonic Band

BIOGRAPHIES

KIM BAIN is a native of Birmingham, Alabama. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Music Education, Master of Arts in Music Education, and an Education Specialist degree from the University of Alabama. She also holds a Master of Music degree in saxophone performance from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. Ms. Bain received National Board Certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in November of 2010. Recently, she was named Teacher of the Year for the Vestavia Hills City Schools.

Ms. Bain is in her twenty-fourth year of teaching. She began her career in 1988 at Ravenna High School in Ravenna, Ohio. She also taught at Tarrant Middle School in Tarrant, Alabama, prior to starting the band program at Oak

Mountain Middle School in 1992. Ms. Bain taught at R.F. Bumpus Middle School from 1999 until 2006. Currently, she is in her sixth year as the band director at Pizitz Middle School.

Ms. Bain’s bands have consistently received superior ratings at district and state contests. While at Pizitz Middle School, her bands have received national recognition at the All-Star Music Festival in Orlando and the Heritage Music Festival in St. Louis. She has served as a clinician for the Alabama Bandmaster’s Association and guest conducted numerous honor bands in Alabama.

Ms. Bain’s professional affiliations include the Music Educators National Conference, Alabama Music Educators Association, Alabama Bandmasters Association, and Phi Beta Mu. In addition to her teaching activities, Ms. Bain is an active performer in the Birmingham area with such groups as the Cahaba Saxophone Quartet, Just Friends Jazz Octet, and the Super Jazz Big Band.

LEAH SENG is in her first year as Assistant Band Director at Pizitz Middle School, and her ninth year of teaching. Before coming to Pizitz, Mrs. Seng was the band director at Columbiana Middle School, where she established a middle school band program that received consistent superior ratings at Music Performance Assessment. During this time, she also served as assistant band director at Shelby County High School. Prior to her time in the Shelby County Schools, Mrs. Seng began her teaching career at Gresham Middle School in Birmingham, AL.

She holds the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the University of Alabama, Master of Music Education from the University of Georgia, and Educational Specialist in Music Education from the University of

Alabama. Additionally, she has served as a clinician for bands in Alabama, Georgia, and Idaho. Mrs. Seng’s professional affiliations include Music Educators National Conference, Alabama Music Educators Association, and the Alabama Bandmasters Association.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to:

The 2010-2011 Pizitz Middle School Symphonic Band for your hard work and dedication. Our invitation to perform at the Auburn University Symphonic Honor Band Festival was made possible by you.

The 2011-2012 Pizitz Middle School Symphonic Band. Thank you for your patience, hard work and commitment to this endeavor and for striving to be the very best.

The Pizitz Middle School Band Parents for your continued support of our program.

Mr. David Miles, Principal of Pizitz Middle School, for your incredible support of the Pizitz Band Program and commitment to fine arts education in our school.

Mr. Tom Callahan and Mr. Andy Carpenter, Assistant Principals at Pizitz Middle School, for your support of the Pizitz Band Program.

The faculty and staff at Pizitz Middle School for your support of our students and our program.

Our group instruction staff for your work with the students of the Pizitz Middle School Bands: Mr. David Bradley, Horn; Mrs. Ann Edwards, Flute; Mr. Chad Fisher, Low Brass; Mr. Brad Palmer, Percussion; and Mr. Sean Womack, Percussion.

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