The Dowell Elementary Singers chorus were special guests at Turner Field in Atlanta April 17, performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the Atlanta Braves vs. Kansas City Royals game. Check out the video below!

The Daniell Middle School 8-1 Band recently had the unique opportunity to receive feedback on their performance, directly from the composer. Using online video conference technology, the band linked up with Larry Clark, composer of “Whispers,” one of the band’s selections for its March 27 large group performance evaluation. The band played “Whispers” for Clark, who listened from his home in Florida and provided suggestions for improvement.

Mr. Clark spent additional time chatting with the Daniell band, sharing his background and inspiration for composing “Whispers.” He also allowed students interested in choosing music careers to ask questions about his career as a professional musician and composer.

Mr. Koji Mori and Mrs. Chrissy Holbrook, Daniell’s band directors, also use video conferencing between their own band groups. During 6th grade classes, woodwinds have class in one band room while the brass and percussion sections have class in the other. Both sections use webcasting to perform for one another, as student musicians share ideas and challenge their peers to perform at the highest levels of excellence.

Watch a video of the Daniell 8-1 Band’s performance for composer Larry Clark:

Sixty fourth and fifth graders from Tritt Elementary performed the musical Oklahoma! March 5-9 at the Lassiter High School Theater. The shows marked the 10th consecutive year of musical performances directed by Beth Irwin and choreographed by Ellen Linebaugh. The first Tritt musical was Fiddler on the Roof, Jr. in 2004; next year’s production will be Annie, Jr.

The Cobb community is invited to attend a showcase of performing arts talent from Cobb County schools! Join us for Theatre & Dance Night at The Earl Smith Strand on Marietta Square, Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. Tickets are just $3.00 at the door. Theatre programs from Campbell High, Cooper Middle, Harrison High, Hillgrove High, Kell High, Kennesaw Mt. High, Lassiter High, Lindley Middle, Pebblebrook High, Pope High, and South Cobb High will provide an evening of top class entertainment.

For directions and information about The Earl Smith Strand, visit the venue Web site.

Five Cobb County marching band members and two football players will participate in the 2013 U.S. Army All-American Bowl Game this Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013 at 1 p.m. in San Antonio, Texas. The game is considered the nation’s premier national showcase for high school football talent, featuring the best 90 players in a East vs. West match-up from the Alamodome. Walton High School players Tyren Jones (RB) and Brandon Kublanow (OL) were selected in September to play in the bowl game by the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Selection Committee.

The game’s halftime entertainment will be provided by the 2013 All-American Marching Band, which will include three Hillgrove High School marching band members and two ladies from the Pope High School Color Guard. Hillgrove’s Dennis Korwek will join the mellophone section, Michael Korwek will play clarinet and Samuel May will be part of the trumpet section. Nicole Johnson and Andie Leeds will represent Pope High School as part of the All-American Marching Band Color Guard.

The 125-member ensemble is selected by the National Association for Music Education, in cooperation with Drum Corps International (DCI) and All American Games. Each student submitted an online application and performance video after being nominated by his or her band director. Selection criteria for the U.S. Army All-American Marching Band include performance ability, grade point average, community service, and demonstrated leadership within their schools.

The game will be broadcast live Jan. 5 at 1 p.m. on NBC.

The award-winning 225-member Lassiter High School Marching Trojan Band is busy preparing to march in 124th Annual Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade, in Pasadena, California on January 1, 2013. The Trojan Band will showcase its sound and precision on New Year’s Day as it marches 5.5 miles down Pasadena’s famed Colorado Boulevard in the “Granddaddy of Them All,” the Tournament of Roses Parade. This performance will mark the Trojan Band’s fourth appearance in the Rose Parade. The New Year’s Day Parade also marks the 25th anniversary of the Trojan Band’s 1988 performance. “We are proud to represent Lassiter High School, Atlanta and the State of Georgia, as we travel to Pasadena to participate in our fourth Rose Parade. We have a talented group of individuals who are looking forward to sharing their skills with the world. The students have worked hard this season and are very excited to share their talents” said band director Alfred L. Watkins.

Each year on New Year’s Day, the Roses Parade is seen by approximately one million in-person spectators and has a worldwide television audience of nearly a billion people from over 235 countries worldwide. Locally, it can be viewed on ABC, NBC, CBS and HGTV television networks. The Trojan Band, one of the most decorated bands in the country, is one of 26 bands chosen from over 475 high school applicants from the United States and abroad. Bands selected to march in the parade include 18 outstanding bands from throughout America. International bands include groups from Japan, China, El Salvador and Mexico. Approximately 43 majestic floral floats and 18 high stepping equestrian units (with approximately 400 horses) will also be featured in the parade. The Trojan Band will travel with 225 band members and 30 staff members and chaperones on the trip. Hundreds of followers and supporters are also expected to make the trek to California. Lassiter Principal Chris Richie, who will make the trip with the band to California, recently said, “The prestige, rich tradition and pageantry of the Rose Parade makes this another monumental event in our school’s history. The entire Lassiter community is excited to be involved in such a time-honored tradition and look forward to seeing our Trojan Band marching in this wonderful event.”

The invitation to participate in the Rose Parade is one of the most prestigious invitations a marching band can receive. Rose Parade President for 2013, Sally Bixby, called Lassiter Band Director Alfred L. Watkins on September 27, 2011 to personally invite the Lassiter Band to join the line of march. As Georgia’s lone representative, the Trojan Band’s seven-day, six-night trip to Southern California will include: trips to Disneyland, California Adventure and Universal Studios Hollywood, a group photo in front of the Rose Bowl Stadium, a tour of the float pavilion, a tour of Los Angeles which will include visits to Grauman’s Chinese Theater and the Stars Walk of Fame, the Kodak Theater (Home of the Academy Awards), the Walt Disney Theater, a field show performance at BandFest, stops in Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, Venice Beach, Malibu and Santa Monica Pier, Farmer’s Market, and they will enjoy a dinner atop Madame Tussauds Wax Musuem.

The band is in its last stages of fundraising and preparation, culminating with a send-off concert in the school’s Lassiter gymnasium this Thursday, Dec. 13 at 7:30pm. The band departs for Los Angeles on Dec. 27 and returns home on Jan. 2.

Submitted by Alfred Watkins, Director of Bands, Lassiter High School

[Editor's Note: The original post on Nov. 14 unintentionally omitted some students' names, which were not available at the initial publication time.  -DG]

Ten outstanding young musicians from six Cobb County high school marching bands have been selected by Music for All to be a member of the Bands of America Honor Band in the 2013 Tournament of Roses Parade. These students were selected from among hundreds of applicants across the nation to become a part of a long-standing New Year’s Day tradition:

Allatoona High School
Samantha Stammen

Harrison High School
Lena Paradiso
Kenneth Hubbard
Ethan Thompson
Rachel Thompson
David Boughter

Hillgrove High School
Sarah Grayburn

Kennesaw Mountain High School
Meredith Lipman

Pope High School
Sydney O’Donnell

Walton High School
Walker Cook

The BOA Honor Band is a 325-piece national ensemble with winds, percussion and a flag and dance team. Bob Buckner, who recently retired as director of the Western Carolina University ”Pride of the Mountains” Marching Band, will direct the 2013 BOA Honor Band. Bands of America is a program of Music for All (MFA), one of the nation’s largest and most influential organizations in support of active music making. Kennesaw Mountain High School band director David McGrath will also serve as one of the band instructors assisting Buckner with the parade preparations.

All ten Cobb students will spend a week in southern California to participate in rehearsals, listen to performances at the Tournament of Roses Bandfest and Disneyland, enjoy special activities and be featured appearance in the world-famous parade. The 124th Rose Parade presented by Honda will take place on Tuesday, January 1, 2013 at 11 a.m. EST.

The Kennesaw Mountain and Walton high school marching bands traveled to Indianapolis, IN Nov. 7-10 to compete against more than 90 other ensembles in the prestigious Bands of America Grand National Championship. This event is considered “the nation’s premier high school marching band competition.”  The KMHS band captured first place in Class AAA Preliminaries after besting bands from Tennessee and Nebraska, earning honors for Outstanding Music Performance, Outstanding Visual Performance and Outstanding General Effect. Kennesaw Mountain moved onto the Grand National Finals the night of Saturday, Nov. 10 and finished ranked seventh of the final 12 bands in the competition. David McGrath serves as director for the KMHS marching band.

The Walton High School band competed in Class AAAA of the competition, reaching the event Preliminaries and finishing among the top 20 bands in competition. Walton’s band program is helmed by Mike Back.

The KMHS theatre troupe recently performed Pride & Prejudice.

The theatre program at Kennesaw Mountain High School was named the best in the southeast by Stage Directions magazine, an industry publication focusing on the art and technology of theatre. The November 2012 issue features the nation’s top five high school theatre programs, based on leadership, community support and providing challenging productions for student participation. Eleventh grader Alexandra Fincher nominated KMHS for inclusion, then students, staff, parents, alumni and community supporters were able to vote and provide reasons why the program meets the highest standards.

The KMHS theatre program engages more than 200 drama students in studies of Fundamentals of Theatre, Children’s Theatre, Advanced Acting, Technical Theatre and Advanced Technical Theatre and is led by Coy Dunn, 2011 Cobb County School District Teacher of the Year.

Read more on the Stage Directions magazine website.

The Palmer Middle School Chorus created its own salute to the men and women of the U.S. armed forces in advance of Veterans Day next Sunday, Nov. 11.Watch below:

The Palmer Chorus is directed by Mrs. Marla Baldwin.