AKHS Band 2009-10 Information (added 4/13)
Information for next year has finally arrived! We would especially like to welcome all rising 9th graders! You can read the Welcome Letter and the Summer Calendar of Events by clicking on the links. Parents, you can read about some great reasons on why your child should join Band in high school by clicking on the Why Should I Join Band link. You can always click the Band Calendar link to see all of these dates in calendar form!
Summer rehearsals for the 2009-10 Mighty Knight Marching Band will be as follows:
Band Camp 1 - June 15th thru 19th from 9am to 3pm each day
Band Camp 2 - August 3rd thru 14th from 8am to 5pm each day (M-F only)
Please mark your calendars now! More details to come!
AK Jazz Band is Superior! (added 5/4)
On May 2nd, the Ardrey Kell HS Jazz Band participated in the North Carolina Western Regional Jazz Assessment held in Morganton, NC. With a great performance, the Jazz Band received a “Straight Superior” rating, which is the highest rating possible from the judges. Ardrey Kell was the only high school in CMS and one of only 6 high schools in the western part of the state to receive this very prestigious rating!
Congratulations to all the members of the Jazz Band on their great performance!
Ardrey Kell Concert Bands are Superior! (added 4/13)
On April 1st and 2nd, all three of the Ardrey Kell HS Bands participated in the North Carolina State Concert Band Assessment held at North Lincoln HS. Each band was evaluated by three state appointed judges performing a prepared concert of three songs each. After the prepared concert, the bands were then judged on sight-reading, where they had five minutes to look over and then perform a song that they had never seen before.
The Concert Band, which is the AK 3rd Band, scored a mixture of “A’s” and “B’s” on stage and all “A’s” in sight-reading for an overall rating of “Excellent”, which is the 2nd highest rating possible. The Symphonic Band, which is the AK 2nd Band, scored 26 “A’s” out of a possible 28 and received a “Straight Superior” rating, which is the highest rating that a band can receive from the judges. The Wind Ensemble, which is the top band at AK, scored 27 “A’s” out of a possible 28 and also received a “Straight Superior” rating.
Ardrey Kell was the only high school in CMS (and one of only 2 schools in the entire region) to have multiple bands get “Superior” ratings and the combined scores of all 3 bands makes Ardrey Kell HS the highest rated Band program in CMS! Congratulations to the members of all three AK Bands on their great performances at State!
Band Parent Meeting (updated 6/14)
Our next monthly Band Parent meeting will be held on Friday, August 14th at 7pm just before the start of our Band Camp concert / Pot-Luck Dinner. More details will be sent home this summer. Band parents from all of the AK ensembles (Marching Band, Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Jazz Band, and Color Guard) are strongly encouraged to attend!!!
Jazz Band gets Superior Rating at UNC-Charlotte Jazz Festival (added 2/23)
Congratulations to the Ardrey Kell Jazz Band for receiving a Superior rating (the highest score possible) this past weekend at the UNCC Jazz Festival.
Three jazz band members were also given recognition as outstanding soloists at the festival. They were Brian Babcock - Trumpet, Greg Hendler - Guitar, and Matt Kellerman - Drum Set.
AK Band Students selected for honors groups (added 1/20)
Congratulations to the following Band students for being selected to represent Ardrey Kell HS in the following ensembles:
SCDBA All-District Band Western Regional Honors Orchestra
Lauren Denhof – Clarinet Ian Anzola - Trombone
Amelia Fujikawa – Clarinet Ryan Cude - Percussion
Maria Lopez – Trombone Amelia Fujikawa - Clarinet
Wesley Mattox – Snare Drum Michael Holmes - Trumpet
Ann Marie Pichirallo – Clarinet Darlene Lopez - Clarinet
Natalie Rawls – French Horn Jordan Miller – French Horn
Elizabeth Segarra - Flute
NCJR-W All-Region Jazz Band Dailey Toliver – String Bass
Ian VanderJeudgt - Bassoon
Greg Hendler – Guitar
Matt Kellerman – Drum Set
Congratulations - Way to go Knights!!!
AKHS is a GRAMMY Signature School National Finalist for 2008-09 (updated 1/8)
Congratulations to the Music Department at Ardrey Kell HS! They have been announced as a National Finalist for the GRAMMY Signature Schools award. They are one out of 150 public high schools across the country and the only high school in North Carolina that is being considered for this prestigious award. As the GRAMMY award signifies excellence in recording, the GRAMMY Signature Schools award recognizes outstanding U.S. public high school music programs in the area of program excellence. Up to 40 high schools nationwide are awarded each year.
For more information, please visit the GRAMMY Signature School website by clicking here.
