MHCB Board President Roger Oram announced this week that our Thursday evening rehearsals will be held at Jefferson High School (2305 Pierce Street, Edgewater) starting with the fall session.

MHCB offers four bands: Beginning, Intermediate, Jazz, and Concert, which provide music and cultural experiences uniquely accessible to adults, youth, and families.

Concert and Jazz Band rehearsals begin at Jefferson High School Thursday, August 28th. Beginning and Intermediate Band rehearsals begin Thursday, September 4th.

"Music will stay with you a lifetime," Oram stated. "We hope that MHCB--whether it be through rehearsal or community performance--inspires youth and adults in the Denver area to learn and enjoy music."

Read the YourHub article announcing MHCB's move to Edgewater!

Don't miss the YourHub article featuring MHCB! The then-and-now article explores the organization's 70 year old roots with the Denver Junior Police Band, features our very own Roger Oram, and examines today's goals and bands.

Update: The MHCB article was featured in the print version of Denver-area YourHub editions, included in Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post newspapers.

On July 12, 2008, MHCB held its first meeting of the Board of Directors and the newly-formed Advisory Board. Set in the home of Director Thomas Blomster and Nikki Tsuchiya, this first meeting allowed Board and Advisory Board members to meet and socialize, as well as to update Advisory Board members about MHCB activities and progress in the past year or so. With that, the 10 members who attended spent much of the meeting brainstorming ideas and discussing ways to further our successes and reach into the community.

In attendance were MHCB Board members Roger Oram (President), Joel Knutson (Vice President), Don Anderson, Stephanie Berg Oram, as well as Executive Director Deborah Ray. We welcomed Advisory Board members:

• Ira Bigelow
• Thomas Blomster
• Lloyd Bowen
• Don Hilsberg
• Steve Moores

Advisory Board members not in attendance included Perry Shank, Gerald Endsley, Steve Gonzalez, and Natasha Gonzalez.

A successful Advisory Board meeting! Attendees included (from L to R) Ira Bigelow, Stephanie Berg Oram, Don Anderson, Steve Moores, Joel Knutson, Nikki Tsuchiya, Lloyd Bowen, Roger Oram, Thomas Blomster, Don Hilsberg, and (not pictured) Deborah Ray.

Thank you, visiting conductor Howard Warren Willet! Mr. Willett is originally from San Antonio, Texas, where he received his BM in Music Education at UTSA, and he completed a Masters in Percussion Performance at CU Boulder. He has taught middle and high school in Texas and Colorado, and is currently the newly appointed band and orchestra director at Adams High School in Commerce City. He has also performed and recorded with many orchestras and jazz bands, including the San Antonio Symphony, Colorado Springs Symphony, and Boulder Philharmonic. We look forward to working with you again!

MHCB's Jazz Band rocked at downtown Denver's D'Vine Winery June 27th. Providing opening entertainment for Expand A Sign's teambuilding weekend, the Jazz Band performed a number of favorites under the direction of Conductor Thomas Blomster, including It Don't Mean a Thing, Green Onions, Misty, All Nite Long, and others.

Joel Knutson on percussion and Daun Gretzinger on bass set the foundation for the evening's musical success. Soloists included Expand A Sign's very own Alex Gonzalez on the trumpet, along with other solos from Tim Hammonds, Linda Smoke, Kahlie McPeek, Mitch Wolberg, and Andrew Gonzales. Demonstrating her musical versatility, Stephanie Berg Oram--normally playing French Horn in the Concert Band--filled in on keyboards for the evening. Performing for the first time with the Jazz Band were Darius Alizadeh on the trumpet and Eric Ray on the trombone.

An unforgettable evening for us!

MHCB Jazz Band Rocks at D'Vine Winery in Denver June 27, 2008

Jazz Band Members Celebrate a Successful Performance Outside D'Vine Winery

Mile High Community Band put on a solid show at the May 1st concert at Red Rocks Community College. The band set record attendance for their RRCC concerts, with a near-full audience and more people coming in during the Jazz Band performance. Several jazz pieces featured soloists, including Linda Smoke, Alex Gonzalez, Andrew Gonzalez, Mitch Wolberg, Isaac Garcia, Tim Hammonds, Jerry Berry, and Kahlie McPeek.
Visiting musicians Brent Paulson on the trumpet and Charlie Ortega on the tuba also added to the evening's performance. Mile High Community Band's Intermediate members joined the performance as well, showing the diversity of musicians and progress of those students as they enter the Concert Band level. Congratulations! Job well done!

MHCB Jazz Band at Red Rocks Community College, May 1, 2008

Jazz and Concert Band members were delighted to have the opportunity to sit in with guest conductor Mike Lucas on March 6th, a woodwind specialist who has played with artists such as Nelson Riddle, Mel Torme, Ella Fitzgerald, Suzanne Sommers, Steve Lawrence/Edie Gormet, Sammy Davis Jr., Robert Goulet, Johnny Mathis, and Clark Terry. Mr. Lucas is a member and Assistant Conductor of the Denver Municipal Band, as well as a member of the Dean Bushnell Orchestra and Prestige Orchestra. Thank you, Mr. Lucas! We look forward to having you again!

by Ben Clapton

Don’t feel like practicing, but know you should, 'eh? It can be tough sometimes, and we need to be aware of some things that we can do. Here’ are 10 things that I do when I don’t feel like practicing.

• Take a break. No really… just go away and not do anything for a while. You’ll soon feel that you want to practice, especially if you just sit there doing nothing. “OH well, there’s nothing else to do, let’s do some practice.”
  

Have fun with this music terminology word search! Challenge yourself to define the music terms, too. Don't know all of the definitions? Check out www.essentialsofmusic.com for a straight-forward glossary of music terminology.