Happy New Year  --  January 11, 2010

After the holiday break, we are now preparing for our next round of concerts.
Both Paul McGovern and I were most pleased with our December concert.  It
was one of the best concerts we have had.  It is always a great feeling to be able
to say, “We could not have played better on that date.”  That was the case for
this concert.  The audience response was outstanding.

It is most encouraging to see concert attendance by the community continuing
to improve.  Please encourage your friends and neighbors to attend a future
concert.  Jeff Shedd had a very nice write up in the school newsletter about the
concert.  I also received many great emails from community members and
faculty about the concert.  This support is heartening and is part of what makes
Cape a special place.

Beyond preparations for the next concert we are involved in many other activities.
The jazz groups have been in full swing since the middle of October and are
making wonderful progress.  Some 70 students – roughly half of the students in
the band program – are involved in the jazz program.  It is the jazz activities
that make our music program complete.

In a bit of an odd scheduling, all jazz events are in a five week period starting
with districts on march 4 and concluding with Jazz Cabaret April 9 and 11.  In
between are jazz states in South Portland and the Berklee Jazz Festival.  

The weekend of Jan. 22 will see Cape students involved in the Southern Maine
Music Festival.  We have students in the orchestra, jazz ensemble, band and
chorus.  This is always a great event for the students, and marks their
accomplishment as musicians who have met the rigorous audition standards
of the festival committee.

There is an additional Cape component to this year’s festival. I have been
chosen to conduct the jazz ensemble and am very excited about this project.
Mark your calendar. The next band concert is March 11 (snow date the 12th)
at 7 p.m. in the CEHS auditorium. More on that at a future date.

Have a Great New Year!