DuWayne Dale, Director of Bands and Orchestra, Grant County Schools
JoAnn Owens, Director of Bands, Grant County Middle School

GCMS Band Frequently Asked Questions

 

1.  When does band meet and what are the after-school commitments?

Band is a class that meets during the school day.  Students will report to class every day during a particular period and will receive a grade in band just like any other class.  After-school commitments include concerts (3-4 a year) and an occasional after-school rehearsal (usually just a few right before a concert).

 

2.  My child is involved in (football, basketball, track, STLP, KUNA, cheerleading, volleyball, baseball, etc., etc.), can he/she still participate in band?

Absolutely!  Band rarely conflicts with any other school activity or event.  If a conflict does occur it is worked out between the band directors and the coaches.

 

3.  How much does it cost to be in band?

Students and their parents who register for band for 2008-2009 and who do not already have a quality instrument (if unsure of quality, contact Mr. Dale or Mrs. Owens at GCMS) will take part in a rental meeting at the beginning of next school year.  Quality musical instruments can be rented (rent-to-own) from a company that comes to our school every week.  Rental prices vary from $25 - $60 per month depending on the instrument a student chooses.  Usually around $3 of this goes toward an insurance program that will fix or replace a damaged instrument while the rest of the monthly fee goes directly toward the cost of the instrument.  Some other occasional fees (method books, reeds for clarinets and saxophones, grease and oil for brass instruments, etc.) do occur).

 

4.  I don’t want to rent-to-own an instrument, where can I get a good quality instrument?

Although there are advantages to renting an instrument (insurance that covers occasional repair, instrument switches if a child’s first choice is not best suited to them, etc.), instruments can be purchased outright.  Mr. Dale and Mrs. Owens highly recommend Buddy Roger’s Music Company in Cincinnati, OH.  They visit our school once a week and we can send instruments with them for repair.  This saves parents from driving instruments to the repair shop.  Buddy Roger’s also has a list of brands of instruments that have been selected for quality by Mr. Dale and Mrs. Owens.  Choosing instruments from other sources may not always lead to the purchase of a quality instrument that will last and be relatively trouble-free.

 

5.  My child wants to be in band, but I’m not sure about the marching band – do they have to be in marching band?

No.  Marching Band is an extracurricular component of the band program.  It is open to all high school members and select 7th and 8th grade students who have obtained their director’s recommendation.  It is an OPTIONAL activity, but one that the directors encourage interested students to try.

 

6.  Is the Grant County Band Program any good?

A subjective question, but one we receive pretty often.  We’ve always been firm believers that this can be judged by our works.  The middle school and high school concert bands in Grant County have consistently scored Distinguished ratings (the highest possible) for at least the past 15 years.  In the past 3 years, the Grant County Band program has had more Solo and Ensemble events (a festival in the spring for solos or small groups of musicians) than any other school district in Northern Kentucky.  The Grant County Marching Band has been a two-time state champion and seven-time state finalist.  In the past two years alone, the band has been 5th and 6th in the state and has, in the past 5 years, doubled in size.  Students from the Grant County Band program participate yearly in 10 college and university honor band clinics where they play among the best in the state.  You be the judge – parents and students have a lot of choices when it comes to what activities to be a part of in Grant County Schools.  Don’t you want to be part of possibly the most consistently successful and recognized group out there?