Van Wert Area Marching Band
News
April 6, 2009
Dear Friends,
We are ready to "strike up the band" for the 2009 marching season! Our director will again be Tony Alessandrini and he has put together an exciting medley from “You’re A Grand Ole Flag” and “Yankee Doodle”, to celebrate the band’s 20th anniversary. Both of these songs were used during the initial marching season.
The band encourages membership from all area musicians that are 16 years of age and older. If you have already been a band member, we are anxious to see you again. If you are joining for the first time, we are looking forward to meeting you. Because we play in more than the Peony and Holiday at Home parades, if you meet the age requirement and are a member of your high school band you can also join the VWAMB for those parades that do not conflict with your high school band commitment.
The VWAMB will provide shirts, available at the first rehearsal, but each member will need to provide their own shorts, black belt and all white shoes and socks. An all white (no logo) baseball style cap is permitted should you choose to wear one.
Your shorts need to meet band specifications as follows: Style: dress, Color: stone, Length: 1”-2” above the knee and please - no cargo pocket shorts. Refer to the registration form for ordering information.
All rehearsals will be at Van Wert Middle School, 10694 St. Rt. 118 South, Van Wert Ohio, and you are encouraged to attend as many as you can. Entrance to the band room is via door #M52 located between the Niswonger Performing Arts Center and Van Wert Middle School on the north side of the complex.
Our schedule of events:
Rehearsal #1- Saturday May 9th 2009 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
Rehearsal #2- Saturday May 23rd 2009 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
Rehearsal #3- Thursday June 4th 2009 7:00 p.m. - 08:30 p.m.
- Peony Parade (Van Wert) on June 4th, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. (Definite)
- Spencerville OH (Summerfest) Parade on June 27th, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. (Tentative with instrumentation.)
- Holiday at Home Parade (Van Wert) on July 4th, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. (Definite)
- Celina OH (Lake Festival) Parade on July 25th, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. (Tentative with instrumentation)
The band receives compensation for performing in the various parades so we encourage as much participation as possible as an additional source of income to allow the band to continue to participate in the future.
All members need to return a Registration Form prior to April 22, 2009 so we can finalize our season plans. Music will be sent to members after the above date.
Please help to increase membership by inviting your friends and other musicians to join. Additional registration forms are available online. Musicians are welcome to join us anytime during the marching season. If everyone would recruit just one member we would double the size of our band.
The Board is now under the leadership of Jerry Hoffman, President, so if you have questions please feel free to contact him at 419-238-9209.
Sincerely,
Your Board of Trustees: Judy Bowsher Charles Brickner Griselda Goings Jerry Hoffman
Rita Hurless Dewaine Johnson Tom Witten
Assisted by a Grant from The Van Wert County Foundation