Concert Program - Cary Academy

10 th Annual Spring Pops Concert
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
6:00 PM
Cary Academy Auditorium
Concert Program
Theme from Jurassic Park (1993)
Beginning Band
John Williams / arr. Sweeney
Theme from Mission Impossible (1966)
Lalo Schifrin / arr. Sweeney
Combined Beginning and MS Band
Eye of the Tiger (1982)
Medley from Lord of the Rings (2001)
MS Band
US Band
Sullivan & Peterik / arr. Vinson
Howard Shore / arr. Bullock
Gonna Fly Now (1976)
John Williams: The Symphonic Marches (1980-84)
Combined MS and US Band
Bill Conti / arr. Story
John Williams / arr. Higgins
Louie, Louie (1955)
MS Jazz Band
Richard Berry / arr. Grush
Theme from the Pink Panther (1963)
Henry Mancini / arr. Lewis
Combined MS and US Jazz Band
Song for My Father (1964)
I Got You (I Feel Good) (1966)
Big Noise from Winnetka (1940)
US Jazz Combo
US Jazz Band
Horace Silver
James Brown / arr. Jennings
Haggart & Bauduc / arr. Lavender
1

10-11 Beginning Band Members
Flute Tenor Sax Trumpet
Margaret Cece Damon Blair Michael Alberse
Jessica Jenkens
Matthew Glosson
Drake Richards * Baritone Sax Jonathan Kacvinsky
Michael Crow
Sam Kozlowski
Clarinet Jimmy McShane *
Tommy Baker Trombone Yusuf Nyang’oro
Esra Balkas Davis Braswell Bryce Patisaul
Anna Go Caleb Norfleet John Peterson
Matthew Lee Patrick Schaefer * Doug Smith
Luke Morin *
Sam Stanforth
Margaret Muth
Percussion
Charlotte Waechter Piano Ben Dungan
Jack Maxfield
Ryan Janssen
Alto Sax Danny Sharp *
Tommy Bright
Pranay Tankala #
Jessica McCoppin * * Section Leader # Officer
2

10-11 Middle School Band Members
Flute Tenor Sax Trumpet
Avery Campbell Jeonghun Lee * Jonathan Avery
Kevin Kenna *
Michael Hopkins
Alex Ramirez Trombone Matthew Hutzenbuhler
Kendall Bell #
Varun Kasula
Clarinet Shaan Buttar Josh Milligan *
Arnav Goswami
Emilio Ochoa
Jaren Hubal *
Euphonium
Aiden LeFebvre Ian Brundige Percussion
Ian O' Rourke
Michael Dudash
Nyal Patel # Tuba Tyler Gregory
Kevin Wu Jack Pullen Owen Guard
Pallavi Yerramsetty
Griffin Matsuo
Bass Brian Nelson *
Alto Sax Nick Trombetta Dre Ransdell
Mensheng Romano *
Richard VanVliet * Section Leader # Officer
3

10-11 Upper School Band Members
Flute/Piccolo Bass Clarinet Trombone
Emma Astrike-Davis Chris Martin Daniel Sheitman
Ruchi Desai *
Liz Walton Bassoon Percussion
Wynton Wong 11 * # Jen Kenyon * H Alexander Ade DL
Christine Yazdani 11 #
Archita Chandra
Alto Sax
Gerry Cuomo DL
Clarinet Michael Averell * Gaurav Judge DL
Andy Cooper H Alex Touzov Yates Parrish 11 # DL
Marisa Gao H
Elizabeth Hunt H Tenor Sax 11 Class of 2011
Michael Papich 11 H Andrew Tie 11 H # Officer
Andrew Tie 11 * H * Section Leader
Trumpet
DL Drumline
Nick Schumann 11 * H NCAIS Honor Band
4

10-11 Middle School Jazz Band Members
Clarinet Tenor Sax Piano
Tommy Baker Damon Blair Kaavya Ashok
Charlotte Waechter Jeonghun Lee
Bass
Alto Sax Baritone Sax Michael Todd
Jessica McCoppin Michael Crow
Pranay Tankala
Drums
Trombone
Matthew Glosson
Kendall Bell Yusuf Nyang’oro
5

10-11 Upper School Honors Jazz Band Members
Alto Sax Trumpets Piano
Joe Calder Zach Graves Joseph Cornett C
Alex Coeytaux C * Nick Schumann 11
Rachna Kuchibhatla Daniel Orol C * H Bass
Devon Witek
Thomas Worm C
Tenor Sax Michael Papich (Clar.) 11
Andy Cooper
Guitar
Andrew Tie 11 # H Trombones Pujith Adusumilli
Andrew Hamrick Max Braun 11 *
Baritone Sax Daniel Sheitman Lars Dolder C
Austin Mangelsdorf
Matt Rushin
Drums
Harrison Wicker
Vibes
Jake Buchanan C
Gerry Cuomo
Alex Cooper C
Gaurav Judge Gerry Cuomo C Combo
H NCAIS Honor Band
# Officer * Section Leader 11 Class of 2011
6

Awards Program
Certificate Symbols of Participation
Audition
This represents the
effort made by any
student who
auditioned to
participate in an
honor ensemble.
Performance
This represents the
effort made by any
student who performed
in an honor ensemble.
Other Ensemble
This represents a
student’s
participation in a
second music class
at Cary Academy.
Jazz Band
This represents
membership in either the
US or MS Jazz Band.
Pep Band or
Drumline
This represents a
student’s
participation in Pep
Band or US
Drumline Club.
Officer or Section
Leader
This represents a
student’s leadership role
in class.
Festival
This represents a
student’s
performance at the
Elon Jazz Festival
Disney Trip
This represents a
student’s participation in
the workshop
on the
Band Trip to
Orlando, FL
7

Award Descriptions
Director's Award for Leadership
Students exhibit leadership in many ways. Some motivate those around them to work together to
stretch personal limits. Others lead by example, teaching those around them by being prepared and
playing their music as it is meant to be played. Still, others lead by demonstrating consistent effort
and excellence in their overall approach to playing music on their instruments. Students receiving
recognition for outstanding leadership have served as role models throughout the year by
demonstrating exceptional musicianship and effort.
Director’s Award for Improvement
Playing a musical instrument seems to come easier to some people than others. However,
determination and hard work often make the difference in a student’s musical growth. In addition,
seeking help from a teacher or friends and incorporating their advice into practice habits yields
further growth. Musical ability is less inherited than it is earned. Students receiving recognition for
outstanding improvement have shown an intense desire to better their playing, exemplary effort,
and have demonstrated a dramatic increase in their musical skills.
Director’s Award for Spirit
Students also display spirit in many ways: Energy… Interest… Positive Attitude... Some see what
needs to be done, often without being asked, and do it. Others are curious and always interested in
doing or learning something new or different about music. Still others have a demeanor and
enthusiasm about playing music and about life that is simply contagious. Students receiving
recognition for outstanding spirit have inspired and challenged us all to strive for excellence
throughout the year through their enthusiasm, service, and attitude.
John Philip Sousa Band Award
This national award is given to an Upper School student in recognition of outstanding achievement
and interest in band, for singular merit in loyalty and cooperation, and for displaying the high
qualities of conduct that school music requires.
Louis Armstrong Jazz Award
This national award is given to an Upper School student in recognition of outstanding achievement
and interest in jazz music. Exceptional ability in solo and ensemble playing are consistently
demonstrated by the recipient of this award.
Band Letter (first awarded in the 2004-2005 school year)
Upper school band students earn a band letter by being enrolled in a band class beyond the one unit
of credit required for graduation. Therefore, students enrolled in one band class per year earn band
letters during their third year. Students enrolled in both band and jazz band classes in their first
year earn band letters for enrolling in at least one band class during their 2 nd year.
8

A Brief History of the CA Band Program
Fourteen years ago, in the fall of 1997, Mr. Grush began developing the instrumental music
program. There were 10 students in the Upper School Orchestra, 32 students in the Middle School
(7th and 8th grade) classes and 25 students in the Beginning (6th grade) classes. All instrumental
music classes were held in room 108 in the middle school, now a science lab.
In the spring of 1998, twenty students in grades 6-9 formed an after school Jazz Band Club.
Beginning in ’98-‘99 rehearsals moved to twice a week before school at 7:00AM. Fall of 2000
marked the formation of MS Jazz Band - a club that met once per week for 45 minutes and was
open to all 6th - 8th grade students, regardless of their enrollment in Band class. US Jazz Band
became a class in fall of 2000, but still met before school twice per week until 2002. In 2001, Mr.
Qiao arrived to teach the orchestra classes and Mr. Grush focused on the Band and Jazz Band.
We began yearly themes in 2008-09 with Kansas City Jazz, and “Island Music” in 2009-10.
Performance Locations
On Campus
Dining Hall
Quad
Gym
Auditorium
Admin Building
Off Campus
SAS building V
UNC
NCSU
NC School of the Arts
Ravenscroft
Campbell University
Meymandi Concert Hall
Cary Senior Center
Carmen’s Cuban Cafe
District Festivals
Jacksonville, NC
Shelby, NC
Monroe, NC
Tarboro, NC
Asheboro, NC
Hillsborough, NC
Morrisville, NC
Other Festivals and
Performances
Myrtle Beach, SC
Orlando, FL
Atlanta, GA
Williamsburg, VA
Charlotte, NC
Richmond, VA
Winston-Salem, NC
Wilmington, NC
Elon, NC
Honors and Awards
Performed at the NC Music Educators Association Convention – November 10, 2008
2 Grand Champion/Highest Score Awards
9 First Place Awards
4 Superior Ratings at District Festivals
71 Students in All-District Band
10 Students in All-Region Jazz Band
18 Students in All-State Honors Band
2 Students in All-State Jazz Band
2 students in NC Governor's School
25 students in NCAIS Honor Band
19 students in CA Band for all 7 years
2 Performances at Meymandi Concert Hall
4 Videos with CA soundtracks from Disney
Over 250 pieces of music played in 14 years
Almost 80 performances in 14 years
For the 2010-11 school year, there are 32 Beginning Band students, 30 MS Band students,
21 US Band students, 24 US Jazz Band students, 7 US Jazz Combo Students, 7 Music Theory
Students, and many members of the MS Pep Band Club, US Drumline Club, and MS Jazz Band
Club. Our theme is “Movie Music” and we have welcomed both a guest audio engineer and a guest
film composer to help students record their own soundtracks and add them to videos from youtube.
9

Band Class of 2011 when they started at CA
Max Braun
04-05
Michael Papich
04-05
Yates Parrish
04-05
Andrew Tie
04-05
Nick Schumann
05-06
Wynton Wong
07-08
Christine Yazdani
08-09
Band Class of 2011 as Seniors
10

To the band class of 2011 from Mr. Grush . . .
Participating in the instrumental music program and putting up with me for this long does indeed deserve
special recognition and some reminiscing! I look back to 2004, when Michael, Andrew, and Max all began
playing clarinet and Yates began playing percussion. Nick joined the MS Band in 2005, playing trumpet.
Wynton came to CA in 2007 and Christine came in 2008, both playing flute. The seven seniors have played
for a total of 41 years in the Cary Academy Band Program! Wow!!! I am proud of your musical growth, but
most proud of the exceptional young people you have become. Without your amazing talent, dedication, and
leadership, the Cary Academy Band Program would not have approached the level of success we have
attained. I admire each of you, am deeply grateful to you, and will dearly miss you.
Do you remember . . .
04-05 the Beginning Band in-class demonstration when you wrote your own music to perform.
05-06 the performance at Campbell University.
06-07 the Disney Trip - our own video soundtrack and performance in the Magic Kingdom.
07-08 the Halloween Concert at the Cary Senior Center.
07-08 the Dixie Classic – US Jazz Band and Jazz Combo earned Superiors!
08-09 the NCMEA Convention – US and MS Jazz Bands performed for the state’s jazz teachers.
08-09 Kansas City Jazz – Cecil, Ramon, the CA Swing Dance Club Assembly, and the 30’s style outfits.
09-10 Island music - reggae with Mickey Mills and Panyelo; Salsa with Orcesta Gardel; the Salsa club
09-10 the Busch Gardens Competition – we won 9 awards!
Band Class of 2011 Future Plans
Max Braun University of Georgia Finance
Michael Papich Elon University Journalism
Yates Parrish SMU or Clemson Business Management
Nick Schumann NCSU Medicine
Andrew Tie UNC Undecided - science or communications, minor in Chinese
Wynton Wong UNC, NYU, McGill Undecided - Biology, Neurology, Pre-Med, new media,
Christine Yazdani
UCL (London)
Washington and
Jefferson College
broadcast and other such topics.
Pre-Med, Psychology
Senior Band Memories: Class of 2011
Max Braun
Music has been a hugely significant part of my life for as long as I can remember.
Getting exposure to concert band/Jazz music as art forms has gone a long way in
expanding my musical horizons, and I have only Mr. Grush to thank for his
wonderful leadership and his massive musical repertoire. It has been a great seven
years in band/jazz band, and I owe Mr. Grush greatly for guiding me in my musical
adventure.
11

Michael Papich
What I loved about band is that I not only learned to play my only instrument
through it, but it was my introduction to two of my best friends, Andrew and
Nick, and we got to spend so much time and have so much fun because of
band class, it was just awesome. My advice to underclassmen is to find out
what 8th graders are coming to band next year, so you can plan ahead and get
them nicknames. "Naptime" did not happen overnight; that was months and
months of drafts and re-drafts.
Yates Parrish
My favorite band memory would probably be when we first played apache for
drumline in my freshman year. It was a spur of the moment type thing and
everybody ended up loving it.
Nick Schumann
One memory I am especially fond of was our trip to Disney World back when I
was in middle school. I remember having tremendous fun as child playing music
and going on the rides there. With every trip and music festival we went to, I
enjoyed preparing and playing music with the band. People ask me why I still
take band class, even though it’s not required of me. My reason is because I
simply enjoy playing music and I find participating within a band fun. I may
have had to work hard at times; however, I always ended up having a great
experience.
Andrew Tie
I've really enjoyed the trips that we went on. Whether it was to Mechanicsville,
Disneyworld (twice), NCAIS, or Busch Gardens, it was a lot of fun for me to
work really hard on songs and to have fun with others. The jazz combo last
year was probably my favorite experience, though, because of all the talented
musicians we had and the amazing performance we had at Busch Gardens.
12

Wynton Wong
Band has been a great experience. I've been playing instruments for the majority
of my life but every time I get to play with a group I remember how much I love
to play music. I came into Cary Academy as a new student so having Mr. Grush
and my fellow bandmates constantly with me and helping was helpful and fun.
Mr. Grush may have a strange way of communicating sometimes but he is a
fantastic teacher and band director that makes the effort to relate to all of us. I've
loved the time I've spent in band; practicing, traveling and performing. And I love
the friends that I've made in band. Thanks for all of the great memories, and
underclassmen; remember to enjoy what you have and live life to the fullest.
Christine Yazdani
I enjoyed producing the music for the video project because it was different
from anything that we had ever done in band. It was a great experience as it
pushed us to create and learn music on our own to fit a video rather than just
playing from a sheet of music. Through doing the project, I feel that we were
able to explore a new aspect of playing music and gain an understanding of
what it’s like producing music in Hollywood movies. It was also interesting to
see how everyone interpreted their video through their music.
13

Mr. Grush’s memories of seniors and future predictions
Max Braun
Max,
I remember when you started on clarinet. You were shorter than me. As one of four seniors who have been
in band all seven years at CA, you are obviously a glutton for punishment. I remember a “discussion” we
had during your 10 th grade year. I was stressed while preparing us for the NCMEA Convention performance
and you were stressed amidst basketball season. You felt that I was asking too much by having extra
rehearsals. After your semester away from CA, I saw a different level of maturity and dedication and the
entire jazz band has benefited from your leadership. I’m sure it has been the same for the lacrosse team.
You say you are a man of simple tastes and I must agree. To be a Patriots fan is simply reprehensible.
Future Prediction – After graduating from UGA with a degree in finance, Max lands a job at the
headquarters of PNC bank, the 6 th largest bank in the country. He relocates and experiences first hand that
the true NFL dynasty resides in the Steel City – Pittsburgh, PA.
Michael Papich
Phoebus (as in the soldier from Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame),
You will always be famous in the lore of Cary Academy. You have been a rock on the CA swim team.
Remember all the hype you got back in 2008 when you won all those gold medals?! Oh . . . wait a minute.
That was Michael Phelps. Well, you have a wonderful dry wit and are quite a comedian. Remember all of
the movies and stand-up comedy shows you did?! My bad - that was Michael Winslow, the guy who made
all the noises in the police academy movies. Well, I’ll never forget the time you planted a big kiss on that
blonde intern, Denise. O yeah, right, that was Michael Mosley (Drew) from Scrubs. No, my jokes aren’t
very funny. They kind of fall flat . . . sort of like your clarinet. Seriously, I have never seen a student
transform himself into such an excellent clarinet player through such superb determination and dedication
over seven years. My hat is off to you! Future Prediction – Michael becomes the most successful music
critic in the country, with millions who follow him on twitter and read every post on his blog. His secret – he
goes into school music classes around the country to comment on what he hears and to share choice
recordings with his followers.
Yates Parrish
Yates,
Thank you for your leadership this year as drumline captain and for all that you have done as part of
drumline for the last four years. Seeing the joy on the faces of the Glenaire residents as you and Matt lead
their Olympic procession playing your marching drums is a beautiful memory. I admire you for earning the
rank of Eagle Scout this year, a remarkable achievement. I never made it past my first year of cub scouts.
For years you played basketball until this year, when you took up wrestling. I guess you needed something
to toughen you up a bit for lacrosse season! You are one of four “seven year seniors” in band this year and
one of nineteen in the history of the school. Thanks for staying in band! Future Prediction – After working
in corporate America for a number of years, Yates creates his own start-up company. It is an internet based
company that acts as a repository of epic fails – kind of a “how not to” guide. www.parrishthethought.com
14

Nick Schumann
Nick,
Where would we have been without your trumpet playing?! For the past two years you have been the only
trumpet player in US Band. Plus, without you, we also would have gone without the sometimes cryptic and
always annoying . . err, I mean entertaining nick-names for the freshmen. You have tried for years to keep
me from hearing you play guitar . . . but slipped up and let your full creative expertise shine through on your
soundtrack video project of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”. It is incredibly well done. So why did you
let me pester you for six years before you finally put all of your effort into your music?! I wish you all the
best throughout your time at NCSU, in med school, and in your medical practice. I’m glad my
recommendation for the candy-striper position at Wake Med Cary Hospital panned out for you! Future
Prediction – Dr. Schumann saves money on office expenses and feeds his musical passion by recording his
own ”muzak”, mostly covering favorite songs on guitar and adding drum loops and effects.
Andrew Tie
Andrew,
As a two-time winner of the Sousa award, I have known what an outstanding clarinet and saxophone player
you are. Sure, you also played a little piano here and there, as needed. Little did I know that you were . . .
a closet virtuoso concert pianist . . . until I attended your amazing senior piano recital. No wonder you never
auditioned for All-District Band no matter how much I pleaded and begged – you were practicing piano 27
hours a day and winning auditions and competitions around the globe! How did you ever find time to be the
reigning world champ of the chinese yoyo, and commissioner of the National Enthusiasts for Realityoptional
Football League (NERF)? My hat is off to you – a real renaissance man. Future Prediction –
Andrew joins the UNC Marching Tarheels and sprains an ankle during band camp. Rather than sit on the
sideline and watch, he takes an open spot in the “pit”, the sideline percussion instruments, and uses his
dazzling keyboard skills to play one mean marimba!
Wynton Wong
Wynton,
You are the band class fashionista. Band class just won’t be the same without having you there for me to
pick on, I mean compliment! You have also been a great co-president, flute section leader, and bass
drummer in the drumline. I always thought that basketball was your main sport and wondered why you had
stopped playing. Now I find out that you are an avid fencer and that breaking your leg playing basketball
kept you from fencing in the junior Olympics! Had I only known that you were so good with a sword I
would have been much nicer to you all these years. I hope that it works out for you to fence at UNC or
whichever one of the forty-seven schools that you decide to attend. Future Prediction – Wynton finds her
calling as she develops a virtual reality game room that scans the player’s brain to create a world based on
the player’s individual interests – thus relieving the player from having to make any choices for her/himself.
She calls it – UNDECIDED.
Christine Yazdani
Christine,
Thank goodness you saw the light and transferred from Ravenscroft to CA! Over the past 3 years, I have
used some of my best material to give you a hard time and still rarely managed to get a reaction out of you.
However, as a band co-president for the past two years, you did start talking to me more. I admire your drive
– taking college courses during the summer to pursue your interest in science and to better yourself. Also,
you are a wonderfully giving person - volunteering to assist with the MS cheerleading team, the key club,
and ESL tutoring for three years. The work you put into the Persian music presentation for Duke and UNC
is phenomenal. That creativity and drive came together in your soundtrack project as you wrote your own
part for flute to wonderfully complement the existing soundtrack. Don’t forget to take your terrible towel
with you to Pittsburgh in the fall! Future Prediction – Christine writes Mr. Grush after a few years to
thank him. Not for musical or leadership opportunities, but for earning her an A+ by being the subject of a
paper for her class on deviant behavior.
15

2010-11 Band Event Descriptions
Music Camps (Summer 2010)
Dre Ransdell (’16)
Basically, over the summer, I got to go to a music camp that was a lot of fun. The camp was where a few people all
playing different instruments got together, picked a song and worked together to play the song. I really liked the camp
overall. The songs we played were a lot of fun and the recording and putting the track together was fun also. I would
definitely recommend that band students try doing a music camp in the summer.
US Drumline Club (Year-long)
Yates Parrish (’11)
Drumline this year started out working very hard having summer practices and observing bigger, more organized
drumlines. As the year progressed, we played in the fall tailgate along with the variety show in the fall. Variety show
turned out to be a big hit for drumline because of the traditional Apache-Jump on it. The audience always gets into the
song because we dance along with it. In the winter we played in Homecoming as usual, also playing for the starting
line-up which was new this year. This year was a very productive and fun year for the drumline.
Movie Music Theme for the year (Year-long)
Michael Averell (’13)
This year has been a BLAST as the band has been playing songs from famous movies
that we can all connect with. We have used a new, interesting method of playing
music by displaying the correlating movie in the background. Therefore, the audience
not only hears our wonderful music, but they can visually see a movie, and observe
how our notes match up to the different scenes. We utilized this in the "Masters of the
Silent Screen" and "Lord of the Rings." Mr. Grush also brought in a few guests to add
to the songs and help the rest of the band through example. It is simply a great feeling
to play something from the big screen, and with everyone’s dedication and hard work,
we are also beginning to sound much better!
Beginning Band In-Class Demonstration (September 2010)
Drake Richards (’17)
The in-class demonstration turned out great! We all had a wonderful time playing in front of our parents and some of
our teachers. We should definitely do this again. It definitely prepared me to see what playing in a concert was really
like, and it was exciting. The class played a couple of beginning songs we learned, and we played our warm-up too.
Our parents enjoyed it, and I enjoyed it too. I had a great time doing this!
Audio Engineer Aaron Bittikofer in residency (September-October 2010)
Harrison Wicker (’12)
Earlier in the year I had the honor to work with Aaron Bittikofer, an audio engineer. I was lucky enough to get to spend
quite a few periods learning how to record and edit multi-track recordings to just short of studio quality. I was able to
put this new found skill to use to record a demo for my band and help other groups make recordings for their sound track
project. It was amazing how a few small changes made such a huge difference in the sound of the recording. I was
honored to have this chance and I would do it again if I were given the chance.
16

Jazz on the Quad and the F.O. Finch Quintet (October 2010)
Rachna Kuchibhatla (’13)
On the behalf of the Jazz Band, we all extremely appreciated the F.O. Finch Quintet band coming in and helping us with
all of our pieces. They really taught us some great tips on how to improve our playing and our coordination as a group.
We all really enjoyed having them play in our concert!
NCAIS Honor Band (November 2010)
Elizabeth Hunt (’14)
NCAIS was a select band made of students from
independent schools all over North Carolina. The
workshop itself wasn't all that interesting, but the
music we played was beautiful. We got to listen and
see an English Horn which is an amazing instrument
when played well (which it was). The conductor was
lively and the music really sounded good. I would do
it again. CA participants were Ryan Cinoman,
Andy Cooper, Marisa Gao, Elizabeth Hunt,
Jen Kenyon, Daniel Orol, Michael Papich,
Andrew Tie, and Christine Yazdani.
Grandparents Day Performance (November 2010)
Alex Cooper (’13)
The Cary Academy Jazz Combo, consisting of Alex Coeytaux, Thomas Worm, Daniel Orol, Joseph Cornett, Jake
Buchanan, and Alex Cooper played at the annual Grandparents Day assembly. They played 3 songs--Doxy, St.
Thomas, and Blues in B Flat, all of which went very well. The group had a great time playing and looks forward to
performing again next year.
Winter Band Concert with Guests performing with the US Band
(December 2010)
Margaret Cece (‘17)
The concert was a wonderful success! It was my first week at Cary Academy.
At first I was very nervous because I had only been able to practice the music
for a week. Everyone was so supportive and nice I felt like I was always in
band here. When the day of the concert finally came I freaked out. We practiced
a couple times which stopped me from having a major panic attack. The first
minutes of the concert Mr. Grush told everyone about how he forgot to put my
name in the program because it was such a late notice. When he said my name
everyone motioned me to stand up, I have to say it was more like a person with
arthritis trying to stand up. Of course my older sister made fun of me the whole
ride home, but I was ok with that because the concert was great. I had so much
fun doing it!
Film Composer Nick Melton in residency (December 2010)
Avery Campbell (’16)
Nick Melton showed us a lot on how we could create a soundtrack by recording multiple times then putting them
together. We used his expertise to help us in our band video projects that all of the band classes worked on. I do think
he should come again if we do this project again because I believe his expertise really helped. I also liked that each
group got a little bit of 1 on 1 time with him on how we could improve or how we could mix tracks in our videos.
17

Homecoming Pep Rally and MS Pep Band Games (December 2010 and February 2011)
Nyal Patel (’15)
Pep Band was an overall enjoyable experience because you get to play fun songs, you get to catch the game, you get to
hang out with friends, you always play the melody, and you get to play super loud! I have played in the pep band since I
was in 6th grade, and I have strongly recommended others to do so too. Besides getting to do all the fun stuff listed
above, you do not even have to be a very good musician or have tons of experience (at least one year required though).
As an individual, I only had to practice very little because the songs selected for playing are not too challenging (for the
most part).
Disney Trip (January 2011)
Jonathan Avery (’15)
The Disney Band Trip was a phenomenal experience. Alongside from the rollercoasters, fattening food, and fun, we had
the opportunity to play and practice with a professional trombonist and composer. We learned about how a group of
musicians can sight read music and in 30 minutes make it sound like the real deal. The techniques we were taught
helped us progress on new music quicker and as a band. We also were able to get the chance to record this song and lay
the track over a video! It was amazing! It was also great to take a break from work and enjoy Disney World while we
were there. We got a chance to have a little bit more freedom with a few more responsibilities. Riding rollercoasters and
exploring the attractions was great! One great thing was the last day we went to a Gospel Brunch. The food was
exemplary and the music was better! We enjoyed the tunes of southern Gospel! Overall this trip was a great experience!
I really enjoyed the relaxing and the musical aspects of the trip.
MS Assembly – Film Festival (February 2011)
Jack Pullen (’16)
The Middle School Band and the Beginning Band had all done video projects where they took videos from Youtube
and made their own soundtrack for them. Mr. Grush took those projects and made them into one 45-minute video that
he displayed at the film festival for the entire Middle School to see. The event was a success and I think that it should
be done again.
Elon Jazz Festival (February 2011)
Daniel Orol (’13)
In February, the Jazz combo went to Elon for a jazz festival to play for some judges and receive feedback. Although
not our primary goal, we received a superior rating and Alex Coeytaux, Alex Cooper, and Jake Buchanan received
outstanding soloist awards. We played two songs, and afterwards two judges came on stage and gave feedback about
what the combo as a whole could improve upon. Although they focused mostly on the rhythm section, the judges
provided information about soloing, staying together, and volume control. Overall it was a good experience that I feel
was beneficial to the group.
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Band Pins 2010-11
Since we have started a tradition of awarding band letters to Upper School students who have participated in
more than two band classes, we want to give all students the opportunity to begin earning pins to wear as
well. Budget constraints prohibit awarding so many pins, but students who have earned special pins may
purchase their own to wear on their concert outfit if they wish, until they have earned a band letter. This is
strictly optional.
Pins cost $6 each. Special pins for which students may be eligible include:
Students may also want a pin of the instrument they play. Instrument pins also cost $6 each.
Options include:
You may order pins tonight if you wish. See the Band Pin Eligibility List to see who is eligible. We will
place a group order from the pin vendor next week. Our goal is to receive the pins before the end of year and
distribute them in class.
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