The El Cerrito High School Music Department has embarked on a 2-year, $75,000 campaign to purchase new instruments for our students! Our inventory is in desperate need of new instruments and this is the first time we have taken on a project of this magnitude. WE NEED YOUR HELP TO REACH OUR GOAL! We are accepting pledges from friends, family, community members and supporters for 12-hours of continuous music featuring our Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, Marching Band, Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Workshop and Jazz Lab. The Play-a-Thon will feature 12 continuous hours* of rehearsals and performances by the EC bands open to the public and community members!
YOU CAN SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS BY MAKING A PLEDGE AT THE FOLLOWING LEVELS...
Fan Level: $25
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Donor Level: $50
Friend Level: $100
Find out what's happening in El Cerritowith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Patron: $250 and above
Donations can be made by filling out a donor form (see our webpage at echsbands.com) and returning it to a current band member or mailing to the address listed below. In thanks of your support, you will receive a letter acknowledging your donation for tax purposes and a gift of free concert tickets to our year-end performances (please check website for specific dates). In addition, donors coming in at the Friend and Patron levels will also receive a season pass to all 2012-13 ECHS Music home concerts as well as a ECHS Band decal or t-shirt. Help put quality instruments in the hands of our students by supporting these 12-hours of continuous music!
Please mail all donations (checks only, please) to:
El Cerrito High School Bands
c/o Keith Johnson, Director of Bands
540 Ashbury Avenue
El Cerrito, CA 94530
PLAY-A-THON SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (Subject to change)
7am – 7:55am: Jazz Ensemble (Open Rehearsal & Performance)
8am – 8:55am: Concert Band (Open Rehearsal & Performance)
9am – 9:55am: Jazz Workshop (Open Rehearsal & Performance)
10am – 10:55am: Jazz Lab (Open Rehearsal & Performance)
11am – 11:55am: Wind Ensemble (Open Rehearsal & Performance)
12pm – 12:55pm: Conduct the Gaucho Marching Band! (Community members can conduct the band!)
1pm – 1:55pm: Concert Band w/ Elementary Students
2pm – 2:55pm: Wind Ensemble w/ Middle School Students
3pm – 3:55pm: Jazz Workshop Sight-reading Session (Anyone is welcome to sit in!)
4pm – 4:55pm: Concert Band Sight-reading Session (Anyone is welcome to sit in!)
5pm – 5:55pm: Jazz Ensemble Sight-reading Session (Anyone is welcome to sit in!)
6pm – 7:00pm: Wind Ensemble Sight-reading Session (Anyone is welcome to sit in!)
* Please note that at the top of each hour the students and director will take a 5 minute break to allow time for changes in set-up between bands.
OPEN REHEARSALS & PERFORMANCES
All open rehearsals will be open to the public. Anyone interested in hear our groups rehearse or perform are welcome to attend, free of charge!
SIGHT-READING SESSIONS
All sight-reading sessions are open to community members wishing to sit in with the bands. Just bring your horn and play!
ELEMENTARY & MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS
Elementary and Middle school students are encourage to attend the Concert Band and Wind Ensemble afternoon rehearsals and sit in with the bands! Students will have the opportunity to sit and play with older students while also getting the opportunity to work on some of the music they are currently playing at their schools! No fee or pledge required!
CONDUCT THE GAUCHO MARCHING BAND!
At noon, anyone interested in conducting the Gaucho Marching Band will have the opportunity to do so. For a $10 donation, donors will have the opportunity to stand in front of the band and conduct two of of the band’s standard game pieces. All interested should plan on arriving at 11:30am in the lobby to register. No previous experience needed - don’t miss out!
Other events planned beyond the Play-a-Thon...
The Play-a-Thon is the first of many large fundraisers geared toward reaching our goal of $75k for new instruments. All efforts will culminate in a celebration of El Cerrito High School’s Instrumental Music Program’s history on March 21st-23rd, 2014. This reunion of past band directors and alumni will celebrate EC’s rich and storied music history, including performances by alumni ensembles, dinners and receptions, campus tours, the release of an historic book and CD set documenting the program’s accomplishments, enrollment history, director biographies, awards, testimonials and much more including recordings of the bands going back as far as 1958! More information of this historic weekend to be posted on our website in the summer of 2013.
