Guest Artist: Megan Elsier

We were pleased to have Megan Elsier (class of 2012) stop in and present a mini workshop on songwriting, guitar and perceptions of the music business. Megan is currently a student of the Berklee College of Music in Boston. She is a tremendously talented artist and we are proud to call her a GHS Alum. Be sure to catch the end of the video for a full performance of her original song "Waiter".

Grafton High School Music: Graduation Info for Band!

Grafton High School Music: Graduation Info for Band!: Graduation will be held at the DCU center this year. That means we are all going (save for the graduates) to play at the ceremony. Here ...

Grafton High School Music: Memorial Day Parade Information

Grafton High School Music: Memorial Day Parade Information: On Monday May 26th the students of the GHS Band have been given the honor of marching in the annual Memorial Day Parade. Students will meet ...

Full Virginia Beach Video Montage

Please enjoy this little compilation video from our trip to Virginia Beach. We made a lot of great memories and hopefully this video will help them last just a bit longer.

"This program was supported in part by a grant from the Grafton cultural council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency."

Student Piano Workshop

Would you like to gain exposure to the world of music?
Come to a free piano workshop for children of all ages, designed to introduce youth to the musical world.
Students will learn basic music theory and simple arrangements of classic songs in a group workshop environment.
Sponsored by the Grafton Chapter of the National Honor Society.
Wednesday, May 21nd, 2014 at Grafton High School

Workshop hosted by Sydney Davis, 16 years old, 10 years piano experience.
E-mail daviss2015@s.grafton.k12.ma.us to RSVP or for more information.

Arts Night/ Spring Concert

The annual Arts Night/ Spring Concert will take place on Thursday. Doors will open at 6pm and visitors are asked to peruse the student displays throughout the commons and surrounding hallways. The Spring Concert will begin at 7pm and feature the jazz workshop, band, chorus and chamber choir. We look forward to seeing you there!

If you can donate a baked good for the boosters bake sale, please let them know by signing- up at this link.

Virginia Beach Video Trailer

In order to build anticipation (and buy additional editing time) for the soon to be released video of our trip to Virginia Beach, I am releasing this sneak peek trailer.

Hope you enjoy. Watch for the the upcoming full-length feature.

"This program was supported in part by a grant from the Grafton cultural council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency."

Trip Update 6: The voyage home

The trip has been such a great experience. The students performed tremendously. Each group received excellent ratings. Grafton High School was awarded the Esprit de Corps trophy for being the school that best exemplified the spirit of the festival. I will post a link to results in the final update.

Though a bit of rain dampened some of the fun at Busch Gardens, the students made up for it with extra time at the hotel pools and beach. We are currently en route to Grafton. At the moment we are at a lunch stop in Delaware.

Look for more updates. You can follow the progress of our return journey on twitter. @grafton BAND

#ghsmusictrip

"This program was supported in part by a grant from the Grafton cultural council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency."

Trip Update 5: Day 2 Recap and a Look at Day 3

Each day is a blur of activity in Virginia Beach. The itinerary is packed which keeps kids the active (and very tired by room check in the evening). Day 2 was performance day which meant traveling between 2 different school in 2 different towns. The groups did a fantastic job! We will receive results on day 3 at the awards ceremony in the park. The tour of Norfolk naval base was quite impressive. A number of ships where docked including a massive aircraft carrier!
Today we will be taking a tour of Colonial Williamsburg in the morning before heading over to Busch Gardens Amusement Park. It looks like another long, but fun, day. Wi-fi has been spotty so blogging has been slow-going. Tweeting has been the main source of updates. You can follow the trip @graftonBAND on twitter and the trip hashtag is #ghsmusictrip.
We did have some early risers this morning and we got a treat when a pod of dolphins swam by the hotel!
One noticeable trend is the increasing difficulty in getting the kids awake each morning. Today's wake-up call was 6:30am. I got the impression that a number of them where not happy with that...

I will try to add some photos when I update this post.

Thanks for reading!

"This program was supported in part by a grant from the Grafton cultural council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency."

Trip Update 4: Day 2

After a big breakfast buffet at the hotel, we are on the buses heading to the Norfolk Naval Base. We plan to have some free time at the hotel for lunch before our performances in Williamsburg. The weather is beautiful and the students are having a blast.

"This program was supported in part by a grant from the Grafton cultural council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency."

Trip Update 3: Day 1 Recap

A long day of traveling was topped off by a big buffet in Virginia Beach and a couple of hours by the pools and beach. We get started bright and early tomorrow with 7am wake up calls before breakfast. We travel to Norfolk Naval Base and perform for adjudication tomorrow. Another full day! It is 12:10am so I will sign off until tomorrow.

Check back for more updates!

"This program was supported in part by a grant from the Grafton cultural council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency."

Trip Update 2

After a lunch stop in New Jersey, the nourished and reenergized band of merry music makers continue their journey toward Virginia Beach. Our advanced scout has told us that it is 87 sunny and clear at our destination. Our ETA in VA is just after 6pm. We will get some dinner and head to the hotel for some time at the pools before lights out.

Keep you posted.

"This program was supported in part by a grant from the Grafton cultural council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency."

Trip Update 1

The buses rolled at 6:45 am. The skies became angy by the time we reached Milford Ct. to swap our drivers. Under a light rain we continued south and by 9:30 we were passing through Bridgeport. Everybody seems to be in good spirits, however spotty wi-fi threatens to greatly inconvienience two busloads of folks with expectations of ubiquitous internet access...

Keep you posted.

"This program was supported in part by a grant from the Grafton cultural council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency."

Final Itinerary for Virginia Beach Trip

Here is a copy of the itinerary for our trip. This was handed out at the parent meeting on the 29th.

"This program was supported in part by a grant from the Grafton cultural council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency."

Suggested Virginia Beach Packing List

As you pack your bags, here are some things to keep in mind...

Suggested Packing List

One note about this packing list...

You don't need to have your performance clothes (black and white) as part of your carry-on. We are not traveling and performing on the same day. We will get dressed at the hotel on Friday prior to leaving for the performances.

Memorial Day Parade Information

On Monday May 26th the students of the GHS Band have been given the honor of marching in the annual Memorial Day Parade. Students will meet at the high school at 8:30am. The schedule is as follows:
9:45am: North Grafton – Start at St. Mary’s Church School to Quinsigamond Corner, with stop at bridge
10:30am: South Grafton – Start at Library to Soldiers Memorial,
11:15am: Grafton Center – Start at Norcross Park to a stop at the Common, to J.F. Kennedy School (via Oak Street)
12:00pm: J.F. Kennedy School Flag Raising

Students will wear khaki pants/ shorts with a green top. 
We will be boarding the busses at 9am to go to the staging area at North Grafton.

It is important that band students have their music memorized or have printed copies and a lyre to hold their music.

The trumpeters for taps will meet at the American Legion Delisle Goulet Post 92 at 7:00am. They will rejoin the band at North Grafton.

The Memorial Day Parade is a required performance as per our course expectations.

Grafton High School Students will be able to: Understand and demonstrate the duties and responsibilities that come with citizenship

Virginia Beach: Info about Travel and Accommodations

I wanted to post links to both the bus company we will be traveling with and the hotel in which we will be staying.

Academy Bus
I have been told that the buses will be wi-fi enabled.
From the company...
"All the buses in our fleet do have outlets, except for one of them. As the trip gets closer and buses are assigned, I will check to see which buses are booked to be on this trip."

Holiday Inn North Beach
Students will have oceanfront suites.

Emergency Forms Needed for Virginia Beach

It is important that we have medical/ emergency forms from all students planning to attend the trip to Virginia Beach next week. Here is the list of students who still have outstanding forms. Please submit these forms ASAP.

Arnold, Connor