Alex Band

beginning of the school year, a lot of the first few days of school has involved work outside of playing music and rehearsing, including things such as organizing the band room, assembling music and folders, and going over handbooks and general classroom rules and regulations. Teaching at the school year really made me realize how much a band director has to do outside of actually teaching the students. A lot goes into…

As I walked into the classroom, I was immediately stuck by the noise. Sounds resonated from every corner of the room in discordant refrain, inflecting a deafening blow on my still-waking ears. “Welcome to morning in Pre-K”, I thought. While soaking up the sound, I followed the secretary who had led me to the classroom to meet the classroom teacher. She looked young and kind, the secretary securing this perception with her stamp of approval, “This is Mrs. Davis. She’s a great teacher”. The…

Introduction Quantum dots (Q-Dots) is very small semiconductor particles that means it can be either conductors or resist electricity depending on the temperature and purity of the semiconductor. Q-dots range in size from 2-10 nm, so because of their small size, quantum mechanics governs the physics of the particles. The synthesis Q-Dots were first studied in 1982 by Efros and Ekimov, and then many developments have reported the synthesis of semiconductor nanoparticles.1 Q-Dots have unique…

Any student that attends Hoover High School knows that on Friday that will see many different uniforms including: dance team, cheerleaders, color-guard, football players, and the band members. Between every class, the fight song will be played over the intercom and a certain anxiousness overcomes the student body as the hours upon game time draw near. Most Fridays, class schedules will be shortened so that there will be time for…

In Roll With It: Brass Bands in the Streets of New Orleans, Matt Sakakeeny explores how New Orleans is very different from the other stereotypical American city as he writes about it as “utilize voices and instruments as technologies for producing subjectivity, identity, and culture” (p.6). Sakakeeny also uses fieldwork to learn about and explain different power-related processes, such as personal and professional mobility, which will be discussed in greater detail. Because Sakakeeny’s approach…

everywhere, I become very aware of what’s happening. The announcer comes over the speaker and says, “Welcome the Pride of the Dutchmen marching band from Orange City, Iowa- are you ready to preform your 2014 show named The Flying Dutchmen?” Our conductor raises her hands and the next thing I know I’m marching the show alongside my fellow band members. Band has been a part of my life since fifth grade. Mrs. TG handed me a flute gesturing for me to try and make a noise. After a few attempts I…

Domingas Fernandes Evaluation #3 On Wednesday night March 30th, I opened my Blackboard page and noticed that I had a notification from my Virtual Group. My group members had already started the discussion about what Electronic Meeting System we would be using for the assignment. GoogleDoc, being the most widely used, was suggested and everyone seemed to agree with it. We also shared our phone numbers and decided to use iMessage. On the following day, it seemed that everybody forgot that we…

teachers what I’m all about. The high school jazz band was the finest ensemble in the school for me to showcase my musical ability, specifically playing the saxophone. I’ve spent my life looking up to the jazz band at local performances. It was my dream to play in that prestigious group. I thought I did well during the audition. I was confident and professional, and I was content to get any spot in the group. After another easy day of concert band, I packed my saxophone up and walked to the…

the color guard, which is the marching season, and winter guard. Marching band is during football season and everyone participated, including the band and guard. Winterguard is performed inside where you spin to music, and this is just the participation of the guard itself, excluding the band. Tryouts are usually held around the end of April. You usually try out your eighth grade year, and if you make it…

intense band program while maintaining an AB academic average and that experience, along with my academic experience of taking advanced courses all while staying in touch with the musical side of the world, is what’s going to help me achieve this lifetime goal. Being a part of a rigorous band program where success is all that we strive toward, all the while maintaining suitable grades in my advanced classes is what’s going to give me the foundation to start my life on. Seven hours of band…