ATTENTION to all students using a school owned instrument: The School District will be conducting our inventory check on Wednesday, February 6th and 7th.

This means that ALL school owned instruments MUST be returned to Milwee on either Monday, February 4th or Tuesday, February 5th to be checked off the school districts list and may be picked up at the end of the school day on Thursday the 7th.

I am available to check in your school owned instrument from 8:45am until 4:30pm, daily. If you can drop off your instrument in that time frame, there is no need to make specific arrangements.

I am also happy to get to school early/stay later by appointment, so please simply email me to make arrangements that will meet your schedule. No big deal at all! The most important thing is to get these instruments back!

Thank you for your cooperation with this! This inventory check is way earlier than normal, but should be the only time you need to return the instrument until the last week of school.

Thank you again!

Joshua Autrey
Director of Bands
Milwee Middle School

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Greetings Milwee Band!


I hope you had a wonderful holiday break! Before we left for vacation, band students were briefed with  information about an upcoming opportunity to participate in a music festival called Solo and Ensemble Festival. 
For your convenience, I’ve added some information about the importance of the festival below, but you can find this same information (and more!) on the S&E Sign Up Page.
Students must sign up by Wednesday JANUARY 16th, on the S&E Sign Up page online, if they wish to participate in the festival this year.


Solos can be found near the back your Milwee band book, students can choose any solo in these packets. If you were assigned a Solo by your private instructor, please stick with that solo as they have an individual lesson plan targeted for your growth for this festival.
Please email me if you have any further questions.


S&E DETAIL INFO:
Solo and Ensemble Festival is an opportunity for students to perform a solo piece (one student plus piano accompaniment) in front of a judge for feedback and growth.  All Students in Symphonic Band participate in this event as part of their course grade, as it is THE BEST way to develop independence while playing and confidence in performing!  Though it is NOT required as part of the BAND 1 & 2 curriculum, I am strongly encouraging many beginners and concert band members to participate in this event and I have been very impressed by the amount of interest garnered from our students.


Students who are interested where to find solos in their Milwee band books, and I have told students to please decide by the time we return from the holiday.  Please sign up online – there is a google form that takes about 5 minutes to fill out. CLICK HERE to sign up.  The final sign up day is Wednesday, January 16th


Students who are participating in this event must have a piano accompanist to play with them during their solo slot.  Students may arrange to find their own accompanist, or they may request that I find one for them. The accompanist that I find will charge $30 which will cover a rehearsal and the performance at the festival itself -- this is a very competitive rate for accompanists in the area.

Please communicate any hardships to me directly, and I will work with you to arrange a way to have your student still participate in the festival -- one of the program goals at Milwee is to never hold back a student due to financial hardship -- we will find a solution!


Lastly, here are the dates for the festival -- please add them to your calendar now -- your performance time will be scheduled about two weeks before the event, so keep both dates clear!


District 6 Solo and Ensemble festival at Hagerty High School on Friday, February 22nd and Saturday, February 23rd.


Thank you everyone and GOOD LUCK BAND!!!!!


Joshua Autrey