AKHS Band 2010-11 Information (updated 7/20)
The start of the 2010-11 school year is just around the corner! We will be starting band camp on August 2nd bright and early at 8am. For a complete listing of August dates (and all rehearsals / performances thru November), please click on the Band Calendar link to see all of these dates in calendar form!
There will be a parent meeting on Thursday, Aug. 5th at 6:15pm in the Auditorium. It will be MANDATORY that at least one parent of each marching band member attends this meeting. We will be going over very important information about the 2010 marching band season, and will be able to accept band fees thru credit cards this night as well. There will be a make-up meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 10h at 7pm if needed.
*** No student will be allowed to participate in the 2010 AK Marching Band if one of their parents do not attend one of these very important meetings!!! ***
Parents, here are some other helpful documents that will give you information about the upcoming year:
Tina Conrad will be acting as our Freshman Coordinator parent this year. She is a great resource and can help answer any questions that you may have. Just click on her name to email her.
Football ad sales have begun (added 5/27)
We have begun the football ad sale fundraiser. This is a great way to raise money for your band account to help offset band fees, trips, etc. Please go to the Fundraisers page for more information.
AK Jazz Band is Superior! (added 5/12)
On Friday, May 7th, the Ardrey Kell HS Jazz Band participated in the North Carolina Western Region Jazz Assessment held at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory , NC. With a great performance, the Jazz Band received a “Straight Superior” rating, which is the highest rating possible, scoring straight A's from all of the judges. Ardrey Kell was the only high school in CMS to receive this very prestigious rating!
This result, added to the previous "Superior" ratings that all 3 concert bands received in March, makes Ardrey Kell the only band program in this entire region of the state to have four bands receive "Superior" ratings at their respective assessments this year!
Congratulations to Mr. Shane and to all the members of the Jazz Band on their great performance!
Ardrey Kell Concert Bands are Superior! (added 3/29)
On March 24th and 26th, all three of the Ardrey Kell HS Bands participated in the North Carolina State Music Performance Assessment held at Shelby 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, the Symphonic Band, which is the AK 2nd Band, and the Wind Ensemble, which is the top band at AK, all received "Superior" ratings from the judges, which is the highest possible rating that you can get from the state.
Ardrey Kell was one of only two schools in CMS to have all 3 concert bands get the top score of “ Superior”. Congratulations to Mr. Shane and to all the members of all three AK Bands on their great performances at State!
AK Winter Guard finishes strong 2010 season! (added 3/29)
On Saturday, March 27th, the Ardrey Kell Winter Guard finished their 2010 season with a performance at the CWEA Winter Guard Championships held at the Winthrop University gym. The AK Guard was one of 65 units from both North and South Carolina high schools competing at the Championships. With their best show of the year, the AK Guard brought home the Bronze medal finishing in 3rd place in their class!
This year was a historic year for the AK Winter Guard that saw them make finals at the WGI Regional held in Richmond, VA and had them scoring their highest finish ever at the CWEA Championships. Congratulations to the entire team for a great 2010 season!
AK Winter Guard makes WGI Regional Finals in VA (added 3/14)
Congratulations to the Ardrey Kell Winter Guard, who continued their 2010 season this past Saturday at the Winter Guard International Regional Tournament held in Richmond, VA. This was the first time in school history that the AK Guard has attended a competition outside of the Carolinas and they competed against groups from North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. With their best show of the year, the AK Guard finished 4th in their preliminary round, qualifying themselves for the Regional Finals later that evening. At finals, the AK Guard again had a great show and finished in a very respectable 12th place. The AK Winter Guard will conclude their 2010 season at the Carolina Winter Guard Association Championships held at Winthrop University on Saturday, March 27th.
Way to go girls on making your first ever WGI Regional Finals on your first try!
Band Booster Meetings 2009-10 (updated 5/12)
We will hold regular Band Parent meetings the 2nd Thursday of each month. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, May 25th (please note the date change) at 7pm in the Band room. We will introduce the new Board and will be discussing all of our upcoming summer and fall dates. Rising 9th grade parents have also been invited and are highly encouraged to attend!!!
This meeting is open to all AKHS Band and Color Guard parents. Please plan on attending as we need as many parents as possible to be involved in order for us to build a successful program! 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!!!
Weekly AK Band Blast (added 3/14)
Attention all parents and friends of the AK Band Program: Did you know that we send out a weekly e-mail blast that has all of the latest, up-to-date information about our entire Band program? If you are not getting this email blast, please send me an email and I will make sure that you are added to the list. This is also a great way for rising 9th grade parents to hear all about the AKHS Band Program!!!
AK Band Students selected for honors groups (added 1/25)
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
Spencer Caldwell - Trumpet Amelia Fujikawa - Clarinet
Amelia Fujikawa – Clarinet Maria Lopez - Trombone
Stephen Hammargren - Baritone Will Lynch - Trumpet
Albert Hong - Clarinet Matt Marsico - Percussion
Sarah Pannenberg - Flute Natalie Rawls - French Horn
Ann Marie Pichirallo – Clarinet Dailey Toliver - String Bass
Natalie Rawls – French Horn Ian VanderJeudgt - Bassoon
Congratulations to all - Way to go Knights!!!
Parent Chapperone / Volunteer Information (added 8/25)
All parents who wish to volunteer and/or chapperone any Band functions this year must register as a volunteer with CMS. Please go to http://www.cmsvolunteers.com and register. If you have registered in the past with a different school, please go online and change your school designation to Ardrey Kell.
This must be completed before you can chapperone an event!
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.
