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The Pride of the Wildcats
Band News
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Band Directors
Middle School Band
Beginner Band
The WMS Beginner Grade Band is an elite and prestigious group of students in Whitney that performs special concerts and trains students for future involvement in the award winning and world traveling Whitney Band. Students can sign up for the following instruments: Flute, Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Trumpet, French Horn, Trombone, Baritone, Tuba, and Percussion. Once we setup the instrument testing night, students will be able to test their natural abilities on each instrument and the band director, parents, and student will help decide what instrument is best for each student to learn throughout the year.
What if I'm interesting in Band and other activities?
Great! Several students in the band program are active in other activities like football, volleyball, theatre, tennis, basketball, baseball, choir etc. Some of our best band students have been involved in multiple activities and been very successful in their endeavors. Of course this takes some creative thinking and hard work, but the Band Staff works with other school organizations so that students can participate in multiple activities.
Musical Food for Thought:
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30% of young people in the U.S. Take Music Lessons.
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70% of Adults Wish they had.
Being in Band has proven to be one of the best and most effective ways for student to boost their academic achievement levels. Students involved in band are more likely to:
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Make good grades
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Have good attendance
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Stay out of trouble
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Score higher on the SAT and ACT.
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In fact, students involved in music organizations such as band outperform all other student organizations on college entrance exams such as the SAT.
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Texas All State musicians scored an average of 1829 on the SAT compared to the state average of 1437.
Check out this link about what learning how to play a musical instrument does to children's brains:
http://trendinghot.net/what-playing-a-musical-instrument-does-to-your-brain/
http://trendinghot.net/what-playing-a-musical-instrument-does-to-your-brain/
Symphonic Band
The WMS Symphonic Band is the varsity ensemble and works to prepare/perform pre-high school level music to be judged by expert band directors at UIL events. The Symphonic Band has earned several UIL Sweepstakes awards and works to continue that tradition of excellence.
Here's a few performances the Symphonic Band will be gearing up for this year:
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Pep Band Performances
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Fall Concert
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Christmas Concert
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Region Honor Band Auditions
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UIL Concert and Sight-reading
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Spring Band Concert
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and many more!
Concert Band
The WMS Concert Band is the JV performing ensemble. These band students have demonstrated the necessary skills to continue learning and enhancing their instrumental abilities at a higher degree of musical challenge. The Concert Band is a non-competing ensemble, which will allow students to further their abilities without the added stress of adjudication.
Here's a few performances the Concert Band will be gearing up for this year:
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Christmas Concert
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Solo Contest
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Spring Band Concert
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Select events with the Symphonic Band
For incoming 7th graders, there will be a lot more performing for audiences this year compared to when you were a 6th grader. Embrace these opportunities and let's look forward to a fantastic year for the Whitney Middle School Concert Band.
The Power of Music
Check out these amazing Music Research Facts about the Power of Music and what it can do for young people.
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Acceptance into many university graduate programs is enhanced by experience in music. Engineering schools prefer it and a prestigious medical school listed it as a requirement for admission.
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"A recent study of an expansive U.S. Department of Education database of over one thousand communities spanning the past decade showed that students who were involved in the music and arts education by the tenth grade performed significantly better on standardized tests, reading proficiency, and math proficiency."
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"Music students out-perform non-music students on achievement tests in reading and math. Because of their study of music, their skills are better at reading, anticipating, memory, listening, forecasting, recall, and concentration."
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"A research team (University of California – Irvine) exploring the link between music and intelligence reports that music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children's abstract reasoning skills necessary for learning math and science. After six months of lessons, those children who received the music training performed 34% higher on tests measuring spatial-temporal ability than the others. These findings indicate that music uniquely enhances higher brain functions required for mathematics, science, and engineering."