SCDBA MINUTES FALL MEETING 2006

The fall meeting of the South Central District Bandmasters’ Association was held in the Barnhardt Center on the campus of UNC-Charlotte on Monday, Sept. 11, 2006. The business meeting was held at 7:00 pm following dinner. John Mode, Chair, presided and opened the meeting with a moment of silence in recognition of September 11, 2001.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF GUESTS/SPONSORS/HOSTS

• Roger and Susan Stroud of the Northland Publishing Company were recognized and welcomed.
• Dr. Owen Summers and Dr. Matt Whitfield of Gardner-Webb University were recognized. Remarks were given concerning the marching band and Mr. Sid Haton was introduced as the marching band director.
• Dr. Lorrie Crochet brought greetings and announced details concerning the Winthrop Invitational on Nov. 17-18, 2006. She also introduced one new faculty member Dr. Mark Dulean. The Middle School Band Festival will again be hosted at Winthrop on April 21, 2007.
• Dr. David Garcia from Wingate University was also recognized.
• Bob Deaton and Dennis Howren of Howren Music were recognized.
• Don Peach, Mike Russell, and Tom Graham of the Music and Arts Center were recognized.
• Jason Gilchrist of the Music Center was also recognized.
• Sponsors of tonight’s meal, Sam Ash Music was also recognized and thanked for their contribution.
• A greeting and welcome was given by our hosts: Dr. Royce Lumpkin and Dr. Larry Marks from UNC-C. Dr. Marks issued an invitation for those interested in participating in the Charlotte Youth Wind Ensemble and Will Campbell, director of Jazz Studies at UNC-C, made remarks regarding a new grant the university received.
• An introduction of all members present brought the acknowledgements to an end.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Minutes of the last meeting were approved as presented.

OVERVIEW OF EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING 6/16/06

President John Mode presented an overview of the Executive Board meeting that was held on June 16, 2006.

• There was a discussion at the board meeting regarding the revisions to the Constitution and Bylaws.
• Reminder was given concerning the mail-out announcing this meeting with ONLY one mailing from the District in August and the rest being done through the website and Yahoo Group.
• We have now added the webmaster, 2 High School representatives, and two middle school representatives to the Board of Directors based on the voting at last spring’s business meeting.
• A spring business meeting was added. This year, it will be held on May 7, 2007 at Vance HS, with Rob Carrington, band director, hosting.
• Discussion was held about students auditioning on more than one instrument. We will stay with the current format with percussion being the only instrument on which you can audition on more than one instrument.
• Discussion at the board meeting also focused on lost percussion equipment during the clinic. Each student will now bring their own equipment. List will be given to students informing them about what equipment to bring to the clinic.
• Board made the decision that District Handbooks would not be published this year because everything is now on the website and is downloadable. The most important item, the directory, is also downloadable. Discussion was held and it was decided by the group not to publish the handbook and directory. Accommodations will be made for people that do not have Internet access.
• Board decided to protect the treasurer by not allowing the treasurer to write a check for over $300.00 without board approval. In the case of a dire emergency, only the Chair, Vice-Chair, and the Treasurer could approve a check over the set amount. In almost all cases, though, the entire executive board would be called on to approve expenditures over $300.00.
• Anyone that has something that needs to be presented at the District Band Auditions should have it printed and sent to John Mode so the information can be handed out. This will expedite the meeting and allow for auditions to commence earlier.
• Reminder was given that percussion students need to bring all basic auxiliary percussion items to District auditions.
• Scoring at auditions will utilize one-tenth of a point intervals.
• Friday dinner will be changed from BBQ to hotdogs and hamburgers.
• Some of the responsibilities for District Band will be delegated to others.
• Solo & Ensemble will again be held at North Lincoln HS with Neil Underwood hosting.
• Middle School Contest Festival will be held at Central Academy in Monroe.
• Board voted to increase the registration fee to $160 per High School. There was no request made from Middle School to increase fees. Middle School will stay at $150.
• Composer will be commissioned to write for 11/12 this year with 6/8 being commissioned year after next. Break in 2008 will allow for treasury to recover.

OLD BUSINESS/COMMITTEE REPORTS

Treasurer’s Report: (R. Holmes) Motion was made and seconded with the report being approved by the membership.

Committee Reports were received as follows:

Membership/Website/Yahoo Group: (R. Holmes) Reminder was given that each year everyone must go online and register. Difficulties were experienced at the beginning with the email confirmation, but these problems were corrected. Deadline for registration will be one week after this meeting. All individuals who have not registered will receive an email reminder.

The website was updated this summer. Forms and rules for each of our events are on the site. All District registration link will start working on November 1^st, but you must click on the button for email confirmation if you want to receive this confirmation. All questions and concerns regarding the website were addressed in the update this summer. If you haven’t subscribed to the Yahoo Group, the email address is listed on the agenda (Southcentraldistrict-subscribe@yahoogroups.com). An email with directions on how to subscribe will be sent when you email a message to this address. If you have any problems, email Richard. You can add another email address or separate address for District Band.

Fall In-Service – November 12-14, 2006 – Winston Salem: Reminder was given to get your registration in early.

District Band Auditions: (Mark and Anne Reese, Jonathan Rudd) Registration link should be active on November 1st. No forms will be distributed, use typed forms on website. Performance order will be determined by order in which students are entered/registered but is verified/changed by postmark date when check is received. Registration will not be complete until check is received. Registration deadline is midnight on 12/6/06. Make sure that you print a confirmation for yourself so that you can check the spelling of names and the instruments on which students are registered. If you register students, then you are expected to be at auditions to judge and supervise your students. String bass students must be enrolled in a band class, not orchestra. Solo cuts will be to play only first page of solo, for district audition only. Students will still be responsible for entire solo at State Honors Band. Auditions to be held 1/6/07 at Olympic HS.

All-District Clinic: (Ken & Felecia Davis, Josh Stephenson) Ken Davis reported that clinic will be held at Mooresville HS on 1/26-27/07 with an alternate date of 2/2-3/07. Middle School clinician is Lesli Clowes, 9/10 clinician is Sean O’Loughlin, and 11/12 clinician is James Curnow, who will be bringing his commissioned piece this year. Dinner menu has changed and slight increase in meal cost as noted earlier. If percussion students make the band, they will be asked to bring equipment (labeled). Some duties are being delegated due to Ken’s lack of planning period. Neil Underwood will be assisting with copying of music and stuffing folders. Make sure that you read all the information completely in your packet if you have students who made the band.

All State Honors Band Auditions: (K. James) Keith reported that auditions will be held March 3, 2007 at East Davidson HS and Brown MS. Registration deadline Feb. 15, 2007. Majority of information is on the website and efforts are being made with Bill Pendergrass to make process easier by using the same form.

Middle School Contest-Festival: (Jim Hill) Contest will be held at Central Academy of Tech/Arts in Monroe on March 20-22, 2007 (Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday). Registration and fee are due by February 20, 2007. Judges confirmed are: Debra Davis, Arden Carson, and Bernie Hall. SR judge is Kirk Godbey. Facility has a good size stage, large warm-up area, and large sight-reading room. Pay attention to the deadlines.

High School Contest-Festival: (James Phillips) Contest will be held on March 27-30, 2007 at Shelby HS. Registration deadline will be February 20, 2007. Thanks were extended to North Lincoln HS and Neil Underwood for hosting festival last year. Judges confirmed for 3/27-28 are: Dr. Scott Tobias, Bernie Hall, and Marshall Kirby. SR judge is Randy Ingold. Judges confirmed for 3/29-30 are: Robert Palmer, Fran Shelton, and Joe Gulledge. SR judge is Dr. Royce Lumpkin. Pay attention to deadline and make sure that if you have trouble with buses that you get your registration in early. Fee has been increased to $160 this year.

All-State Honors Band: No report. Date is April 27-29, 2007 @UNC-CH this year. Deadline for registration is March 27, 2007.

Solo and Ensemble: (Neil Underwood) Solo & Ensemble will be held at N. Lincoln HS on May 5, 2007. Registration deadline is March 27, 2007. Be there!

Spring Meeting: Meeting will be held at Vance HS on May 7, 2007.

Western Region Jazz Auditions/Festival: (Jerry Lowe) Auditions will be held January 13, 2007 at East Mecklenburg HS. Jeff Reynolds has agreed to be site chair for auditions. Need additional help, so please consider stepping up to lend assistance. Make sure that you read the state jazz website that is linked to the Bandmasters’ website for important information concerning auditions and solos. Students auditioning on piano, bass, and drum should audition from the book with the rhythm section transcription. All students auditioning on brass and reed will be required to perform the solo with the CD accompaniment. There will only one drumset player for each band and one auxiliary percussionist. Students auditioning for auxiliary percussion chair can use any percussion instrument for their improvised solo including mallets. There is not a separate audition or chair for vibraphone - Do not send a student to audition on vibes. Students auditioning for drumset, auxiliary percussion, piano, bass and guitar will perform their auditions with a selected professional rhythm section. Audition fee has been increased by $5 to allow payment to the professional rhythm section. Audition process has not changed and scale requirements are the same as last year. Western Region Jazz Band Clinic will be held on February 16-17, 2007 at Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory. Fee is $35.00. Ted Neely is chairing this event. Western Region Jazz Festival will be held in vicinity of Hickory on May 5-6, 2007. Jerry Lowe is chair for this event. At convention, the person heading up the Jazz Committee will become an elected position.

Judges Committee: (Keith James) Committee was responsible for getting judges for MS and HS Contest Festival. This has been taken care of already. If you know of anyone that needs to be added to the list of possible judges, email Keith with person’s name, address, telephone number, and email address. Current list will be given to Richard to post on website.

Marching Band Committee: (Keith James) Check out the state website. There are several sanctioned contests that are in our area. Over 60% of HS Bands attended at least one event last year. Numbers on sheets have been reviewed and changed. Adjudicator’s manual has been put together by Keith James and committee, with some revisions being made by Jeff Fuchs at UNC. This should prevent cross over between judges since it lays out the responsibilities of each judge. Next MB Committee meeting will be at convention.

NEW BUSINESS

• Leigh Smith asked for donations for our Social Funds because funds are getting low. Discussion ensued.
• John Mode thanked membership for their thoughts and prayers during his recent illness this summer.
• Presentation of plaque for past service as District Chair to Blair Smith.
• Marching contests were announced and bands solicited to participate.
• Thanks were again extended to Sam Ash and Dr. Larry Marks for hosting and sponsoring tonight’s meeting.

All business concluded, the meeting was adjourned at 8:27pm.

Respectfully submitted

Keith James, Vice Chair and District Scribe