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For New Band Students

WELCOME New Band Students!!

Welcome to the pride, excitement and fun of the Rosemount High School Band!!!

Band at Rosemount High School is a respected organization with a strong tradition of musical excellence, prestigious performance invitations, close friendships among band members, source of great pride and fun!!! You are joining a "family" of band members in grades 9-12 who will be your friends and help you make your experiences and education the best it can be during your years at RHS!

Band Students Excel in the Classroom
A continuing tradition in the RHS band program has been excellence in the classroom. The numbers are staggering! In a typical school year at RHS, 60% of the "top ten academic" students in each class (Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors & Seniors) areband students, and usually the Valedictorian and Salutatorian of the senior class are all band members.
In addition, well over half of the National Honor Society students in our school are in band. Current research has shown a direct relationship between participation in music, intelligence, and success in the classroom.

Band Opportunities for Freshman at RHS
1.) Concert Band Blue & Gold (Trimester 1, 2 & 3)
2.) Pep Band(s) (Co-Curricular)
3.) Jazz Band(s) (Co-Curricular)
4.) Many small ensembles (Co-Curricular)
5.) Marching Band (Trimester 1, audition is required before registering)
6.) Wind Ensemble (Trimester 2 & 3, by audition only)

Questions??
Call the RHS Band Office: (651)423-7541
Band Directors: Ben Harloff, Leon Sieve & Andrew Dussl will be happy to talk with you!
Or e-mail us:
Taylor Eliason, Band Director - E-Mail:  taylor.eliason@district196.org
Ben Harloff, Band Director - E-Mail: ben.harloff@district196.org
Bojan Hoover, Band Director - E-Mail:  bojan.hoover@district196.org
Leon Sieve, Band Director - E-Mail: leon.sieve@district196.org

How to Fit in All the Classes You Need

One of the challenges in choosing classes for your freshman year at RHS is fitting all of the courses that look exciting into seven periods. New students soon realize that five periods are filled with required courses leaving only two periods for elective classes. The solution to the puzzle lies in the fact that in junior and senior years students have less required areas. Band students often delay other electives until 11th and 12th grade. This allows them to make better class choices based upon their plans after high school and "first hand" information of various course offerings. Last year's RHS Band graduates were accepted at such prestigious universities as Yale, Northwestern, Purdue, Stanford, Indiana, St. Olaf, Carleton and Wisconsin.

GRADE 9    
Trimester 1 / Trimester 2 / Trimester 3                                                                                                  
Class 1 - Required English / Required English / Required English                                                                
Class 2 - Required Math / Required Math / Required Math                                                                         
Class 3 - Required Phy Ed / Required Phy Ed / Required Phy Ed                                                                 
Class 4 - Required Science / Required Science / Required Science                                                              
Class 5 - Required Social / Studies Required / Social Studies / Required Social Studies                                  
Class 6 - Elective / Elective / Elective                                                                                                    
Class 7 - Elective-BAND / Elective-BAND / Elective-BAND                                                                                                                                 

GRADE 10
Trimester 1 / Trimester 2 / Trimester 3
Class 1 - Required English / Required English / Required English
Class 2 - Required Math / Required Math / Required Math
Class 3 - Required Health / Required Safety Ed / Required Phy Ed
Class 4 - Required Science / Required Science / Required Science
Class 5 - Required Social / Studies Required / Social Studies / Required Social Studies
Class 6 - Elective / Elective / Elective
Class 7 - Elective-BAND / Elective-BAND / Elective-BAND

GRADE 11
Trimester 1 / Trimester 2 / Trimester 3
Class 1 - Required English / Required English / Required English
Class 2 - Required Social Studies / Required Social Studies / Required Social Studies
Class 3 - Required Math / Required Math / Required Math
Class 4 - Required Science / Required Science / Required Science
Class 5 - Required Phy Ed / Elective / Elective
Class 6 - Elective / Elective / Elective
Class 7 - Elective-BAND / Elective-BAND / Elective-BAND

GRADE 12
Trimester 1 / Trimester 2 / Trimester 3
Class 1 - Required English / Required English / Required English
Class 2 - Required Social Studies / Required Social Studies / Required Social Studies
Class 3 - Elective / Elective / Elective
Class 4 - Elective / Elective / Elective
Class 5 - Elective / Elective / Elective
Class 6 - Elective / Elective / Elective
Class 7 - Elective-BAND / Elective-BAND / Elective-BAND
 
Athletics and Band
One of the common misconceptions about the band program is that athletes are not in band. The fact is that most band students participate in nearly every athletic team in our school. We have many varsity level athletes in band. We also have some band members who are team captains for their sport.
YES you can do sports and band!!!

Rosemount High School Tradition of Excellence
The RHS band program continues to be recognized as one of the outstanding band programs in the Midwest. The Wind Ensemble was a featured ensemble at the 1993 North Central Division Music Convention (MENC) and has performed by invitation at several Minnesota State Music Conventions (MMEA). The RHS Jazz I has won awards at many jazz festivals including first place honors at the prestigious Eau Claire Jazz Festival. Many students from the RHS Band program have been selected to Minnesota All-State Band, Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble. The marching band continues to be in demand for performances at area field competitions and professional sports events. Past performance highlights for the marching band include appearances at Minnesota's Prep Bowl, NFL SuperBowl XXVI, 1991 Baseball World Series, European Tour, DisneyWorld-Orlando, Universal Studios-Orlando, and numerous NFL Vikings & Green Bay Packers football games and Minnesota Twins baseball games (including performing at the 2002 Divisional Play-off's in the Metrodome!). Our annual marching band festival is the largest and most well attended festival of its kind in Minnesota, attracting over 4,500 spectators last Fall! The RHS Marching Band performed in Hawaii during Spring Break 2000 & 2004; Beijing & Shanghai, China during 2007, Puerto Rico 2013 and the Tournament Of Roses Parade & Bandfest in 2014.

Freshman Earn A Varsity Letter in Band at RHS!
One of the exciting opportunities for freshman Band members is to earn a Rosemount High School Varsity Letter in Band. Letters are awarded for students in grades 9-12 who participate in Band Camp (Summer) Marching Band (Fall) and Pep Band (Winter).
Many freshman Band members will be proudly wearing their Varsity Letter jackets at Rosemount High School!

Why Take Band?
In today's society there is much conversation about school curriculum, and the use of academic time. With an emphasis on "back to basics," it becomes increasingly more important to focus on Band as it relates to this ongoing educational discussion.
Why should a young person join the Band, or continue participating in Band? What will it mean to her/his life?
Several recent research studies have shown that music education instills students with responsibility, discipline, maturing social skills, communication and analytical skills. Music students tend to possess the qualities that employers consider essential. Simply put, learning a musical instrument is a positive preparation for life.
Music appeals to the part of the mind that opens new horizons. The study of music supports wonderment, imagination, appreciation and sensitivity. This creativity leads to an inventive thinking style allowing the individual greater personal choices.
Music is a language unto itself. It allows the human to experience and express feelings and personal understandings generatedfrom the soul, unlike any other form of communication.
Music is one of the few disciplines that requires the individual to access both the cognitive and affective sides of the mind. Critical assessment, the ability to conceptualize and respond to any given situation, is the foundation of intelligence as it applies to living a full rich life, and music is a pathway to this intellectual pattern.
One of the keys to success is completion of the tasks at hand. Positive, productive living is based on the establishment of habits of tenacity and personal persistence; commitment. In music, commitment is fundamental. It becomes a part of the musician's personality and transfers to every avenue of life.
Participation at the level of excellence is not a personal preference in music, it is a requisite. The musician quickly discovers that it is not the destination, but the journey that counts. It is not the product, but the process. The joy of music generates further growth and understanding of our very existence.
The Rosemount High School Band program is a unique organization whose purpose is to provide these life-expanding educational opportunities to students so they can further their skills and nurture personal growth and self-appreciation through an array of musical activities and events embracing all aspects of instrumental music education, (Concert Bands, Marching Band, Jazz Bands, Summer Band Camp, Broadway music theater Pit Band, On Stage, numerous solo & ensemble opportunities, Color Guard, Percussion Ensemble, travel opportunities and Pep Bands).

Interesting Facts:
 
Students with coursework and/or experience in music performance classes scored higher on the SAT College Entrance Tests in 2004: 57 points higher on the verbal and 40points higher on the math for music performance students, compared to students with no music participation. - 2004 Profile of SAT Program Test Takers, The College Entrance Examination Board, Princeton, New Jersey
Students with coursework and/or experience in music performance classes scored higher on the SAT College Entrance Tests in 2004: 57 points higher on the verbal and 40points higher on the math for music performance students, compared to students with no music participation. - 2004 Profile of SAT Program Test Takers, The College Entrance Examination Board, Princeton, New Jersey
Data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1998 showed that music participants received more academic honors and awards than non-music students, and that the percentage of music participants receiving A's, A's/B's, and B's was higher than the percentage of non-participants receiving those grades. - National Center for Education Statistics, Washington DC
Physician and biologist Lewis Thomas studied the undergraduate majors of medical school applicants. He found that 66% of music majors who applied to medical school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group. 44% of biochemistry majors were admitted. - Phi Delta Kappan
Music lessons can enhance spatial reasoning performance, a critical higher-brain function necessary to perform complex tasks including mathematics. - University of California
The Mozart Effect surfaced about four years ago when research uncovered that adults who listened to music of complexity for ten minutes or so experienced temporary increases in their spatial IQ scores. (Source: Frances Rauscher, Ph.D.,Gordon Shaw,Ph.D. - University of California
According to a recent statewide survey, student involvement in extracurricular makes students resilient to current chemical/tobacco substance use among their peers. Secondary students who participated in band, orchestra or choir reported the lowest lifetime use of all chemical/tobacco substances. - Texas School Survey of Substance Abuse Among Students: Grades 7-1
All-State music students consistently score over 200 points higher on the SAT than non-music students, indicating that high performing students have a strong interest in pursuing serious music interests while excelling in other academic areas. - Texas Music Educators Association Survey

Quotes on the value of Music Participation

"We must encourage our youngsters in such pursuits as music education. In addition to learning the valuable lesson that it takes hard work to achieve success, no matter what the arena, music education can provide students with a strong sense of determination, improved communication skills, and a host of other qualities essential for successful living." - Edward H. Rensi, President & Chief Operating Officer - USA, McDonald's Corporation

"We cannot forget that music is an integral part of a student's educational element. We must insure that the present 'back to basics' mentality includes access to arts and music education. As we push to increase high school graduation and college entrance requirements, we must not ignore the cultural and artistic development of our students." - U.S. Senator Paul Simon, Illinois

"The things I learned from my experience in music in school are discipline, perseverance, dependability, composure, courage and pride in results. . . Not a bad preparation for the workforce!" - Gregory Anrig, President - Educational Testing Service

"Music Education aids students in skills needed in the workplace: flexibility, the ability to solve problems and communicate; the ability to learn new skills, to be creative and innovative, and to strive for excellence." - Joseph M. Calahan, Director of Corporate Communications, Xerox Corporation

"Music education opens doors that help children pass from school into the world around them - a world of work, culture, intellectual activity, and human involvement. The future of our nation depends on providing our children with a complete education that includes music." - Gerald Ford, former President, USA

"Music is about communication, creativity, and cooperation, and, by studying music in school, students have the opportunity to build on these skills, enrich their lives, and experience the world from a new perspective." - Bill Clinton, President of the USA

Questions?? Call the RHS Band Office: (651)423-7541

Or e-mail: Ben Harloff: ben.harloff@district196.org