I am posting this for Craig Gardner, our band president. I hope there are some people who would like to serve on the board. It does not take much time and there are some exciting things the band will be pursuing. Please respond to this email, either for board interest or jazz band. I will set this up so any responses and/or questions will go directly to Craig Gardner. -Paul
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Greetings Fellow Bandmembers,
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I know that I am overly loquacious so I will put my overall gist as bullet points at the top, and move on to deeper explanations.
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· Officer Elections and Board Membership
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The final board meeting for this season will be held on Monday June 26, at 7:25PM, at the Black Walnut Café off of Research Forest Blvd. (9000 New Trails Drive, The Woodlands, Texas 77381) At this meeting we will elect officers and new board members. We are in need of three new board members. Currently we are without a vice-president and secretary, and we would like to have at least one additional member-at-large. Currently the board consists of:
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Paul Worosello – Music Director (non-voting member)
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Emilio Reyna - Associate Director (non-voting member)
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Doris May – Member-At-Large
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Jim Dorr – Member-At-Large
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Randy Essenberg – Treasurer
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(vacant) – Vice President
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Craig M. Gardner – President
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We really would love to have a few new members on the board as this often will help generate new ideas and new energy. The board generally meets on the last Monday of each month, However, I’ve found that we usually can get all of our business taken care of with meetings spaced about six weeks apart. Our meetings are generally under 1 hour in length. If you are interested in joining the board please talk to one of us.
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Over the years we’ve had several members inquire, request, suggest, beg for… a jazz band. We as a board have discussed it on several occasions. The main issue we’ve run into has been “when and where do we fit this into our already packed schedules?” So, we are going to give it a try during the summer break on Thursdays. We will start with a meeting and jam session on Thursday, July 6th at 7:00-9:00PM. The great thing is Dennis Belisle, who is our sponsor and music director at the church is a sax player and will be involved, so that helps answer the where issue. Once we’ve had an initial meeting and session, we can try to find an evening that we can do this that is not during our concert band time.
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And though I can not speak for the entire board, I am pretty confident that the board will fully support this as we’ve usually all had a positive response to the issue. Which means that we would most likely be able to use the band’s library, website, etc., and I believe that the board would fund the purchase of arrangements if and when the time comes. In addition, the jazz band would be able to use the WCB’s equipment as needed (drumset, vibes, aux percussion, etc.)
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So at least for now we have the when and where. Now…the who?
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Currently individuals that I am aware that are committed to this are:
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Aaron Wegner – Trumpet (and librarian? – he’s got nearly 500 big band charts)
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Dennis Belisle – Sax (arranger)
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Carlos Handy - Trumpet (I am assuming… please correct me if I am wrong.)
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Craig M. Gardner – Piano (arranger) (or vibes, or drumset – whichever is needed most.)
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As far as the question “Who will be the director?” I am thinking we’ll run it, at least at first, like a pirate ship, and eventually elect the captain. But, in the meantime, I know there are several others like myself who do arranging, so I figure we can bring in charts and work the ones we bring in, and in essence take turns being the band leader.
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Proposed Jazz Band Rehearsal Schedule (Summer 2023)
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July 6, 2023 First Meeting and Reading/Jam Session
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July 13, 2023 Second reading session (open)
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July 20, 2023 Third reading session (open)
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July 27, 2023 Fourth reading session (open)
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August 3, 2023 Fifth rehearsal Session (closed)
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August 10, 2023 Sixth rehearsal Session (closed)
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August 21, 2023 (MONDAY - Tentative) Recording Session #1 (closed)
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August 28, 2023 (Monday – tentative) Recording session #2
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Please let me know if you are interested and available for our first meeting reading and jam session (marimbadaddy@gmail.com). Also, if you are a doubler… which instruments. This will help us with picking/arranging parts and such. I will maintain an email chain to start and to keep everyone who is interested in the loop.
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We’ll actually be doing this in the choir room for the start. As per usual, please bring your own music stand, instruments, mutes, etc., and I think at least for now, a copy of the Real Book Vol. 1. (And there are actual legal and digital versions now, huuda thunkit?) Lastly, I think Everyone will need to bring their own microphone, stand, and cable. (Not to every rehearsal, but to performances and/or recording sessions. A Shure SM57B is a great affordable general mic but we’ll be flexible on that particular issue – Yes, we have phantom power.)
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I will provide more information and ideas on the Jazz band as we get closer to it’s kickoff.
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Anyhoo, that is all for now, if you’ve read this far thanks for your attention!
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