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Post by marchingband1969 on Aug 17, 2022 22:25:07 GMT -5
The band numbers that we want to see, have we ever had them in the past minus 03 for the game against SU in Vegas? What would be better, an upgrade in band facilities with the same number of "scholarships" or more scholarships with the current band facilities? Scholarships are always important...especially to students trying to get a college education. So, I would definitely recommend putting more money in the scholarship budget. Then work on the facilities. It's going to be damn near impossible to turn that warehouse into an effective band facility but there are some upgrades that could make it "livable" for the short run.
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Post by marchingband1969 on Aug 17, 2022 22:27:45 GMT -5
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zai
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Post by zai on Aug 17, 2022 22:29:52 GMT -5
I'm still not understanding what's our fan provided priority list, band size or upgraded facilities? We all know everything is done in phases. What is more important to occur first? Are we expecting both to happen simultaneously? I got info from someone close to the band and they saying the same thing the “fans” are saying.
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Post by marchingband1969 on Aug 17, 2022 22:33:55 GMT -5
Most bands will perform for the first time this Saturday(FanFest for a lot of schools) Tennessee State usually only attends one battle of the bands and will only face Jackson State. Somehow they still regularly have large bands... View AttachmentGrambling also has a nice sized band this year View AttachmentOur numbers don't seem to be necessarily "Bad", but we could definitely use some more Euphoniums, Mellos and Trumpets. I hope my eyes were deceiving me because we have two botbs and will face Norfolk(If they come). *Can't speak too much for woodwinds , but Norfolk seemed to have more brass from the vid I watched* Check the scholarship budgets for Tennessee State and Norfolk State's band. The more scholarship dollars you have the more Euphoniums, Mellos and trumpets you can have. Plus, Tennessee State's out of state band students within 250 of Nashville pay in-state tuition.
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Post by marchingband1969 on Aug 17, 2022 22:38:41 GMT -5
I'm still not understanding what's our fan provided priority list, band size or upgraded facilities? We all know everything is done in phases. What is more important to occur first? Are we expecting both to happen simultaneously? I got info from someone close to the band and they saying the same thing the “fans” are saying. After nearly two decades at the same scholarship level and practicing continuing to practice in a warehouse, us band supporters are just hoping "something" happens!
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919aggie
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Post by 919aggie on Aug 17, 2022 22:47:39 GMT -5
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919aggie
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Post by 919aggie on Aug 17, 2022 22:49:34 GMT -5
Most bands will perform for the first time this Saturday(FanFest for a lot of schools) Tennessee State usually only attends one battle of the bands and will only face Jackson State. Somehow they still regularly have large bands... View AttachmentGrambling also has a nice sized band this year View AttachmentOur numbers don't seem to be necessarily "Bad", but we could definitely use some more Euphoniums, Mellos and Trumpets. I hope my eyes were deceiving me because we have two botbs and will face Norfolk(If they come). *Can't speak too much for woodwinds , but Norfolk seemed to have more brass from the vid I watched* Check the scholarship budgets for Tennessee State and Norfolk State's band. The more scholarship dollars you have the more Euphoniums, Mellos and trumpets you can have. Plus, Tennessee State's out of state band students within 250 of Nashville pay in-state tuition. I really wish we could offer instate to all band students, but I know I'm dreaming...
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Post by outsidethinker on Aug 17, 2022 23:12:58 GMT -5
The band numbers that we want to see, have we ever had them in the past minus 03 for the game against SU in Vegas? What would be better, an upgrade in band facilities with the same number of "scholarships" or more scholarships with the current band facilities? Scholarships are always important...especially to students trying to get a college education. So, I would definitely recommend putting more money in the scholarship budget. Then work on the facilities. It's going to be damn near impossible to turn that warehouse into an effective band facility but there are some upgrades that could make it "livable" for the short run. Would love to hear some of the low hanging fruit items that are possibly easier to address.. I'm 110% for the band and everything they want but where's the list of needs? Boots, spats, uniforms, instruments, water, food, cooling fans, water bottles, AC, TVs, scholarships, new facilities, paint? Some items may be easier to obtain now from alumni than others as oppose to nothing because they're left in the dark.
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Post by marchingband1969 on Aug 18, 2022 6:18:04 GMT -5
Scholarships are always important...especially to students trying to get a college education. So, I would definitely recommend putting more money in the scholarship budget. Then work on the facilities. It's going to be damn near impossible to turn that warehouse into an effective band facility but there are some upgrades that could make it "livable" for the short run. Would love to hear some of the low hanging fruit items that are possibly easier to address.. I'm 110% for the band and everything they want but where's the list of needs? Boots, spats, uniforms, instruments, water, food, cooling fans, water bottles, AC, TVs, scholarships, new facilities, paint? Some items may be easier to obtain now from alumni than others as oppose to nothing because they're left in the dark. I believe the number one BGMM need that can be realistically accomplished today is increasing student scholarships. There are lots of alumni, former band members and supporter that would make donations now if... there was an organized sustainable fundraising process and procedure. No raffles, fish fries or one-time campaigns but an annual drive to get donors to set up a monthly donation plan. It must be organized, maned and managed by the University not the band staff. With regular communication with donors about what's been collected and how it's being used. Scholarships first then use the Capital Campaign to focus on the facilities.
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ohsixrain
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Post by ohsixrain on Aug 18, 2022 9:15:10 GMT -5
I will say this...each year the BGMM attended the Honda Battle of the Bands in Atlanta, the applications for the band has always increased. But, with no monies, they can only hope and pray that the student can afford to come to the school. So, that allows the competition to pick the potential students. On a smaller scale, when NCCU band program got its money with Reid, their band blew up in size by getting the student that would have ordinarily gone to A&T. So, being in a position to pay scholarship $$ for students is a game changer....PERIOD!
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Maxell
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Post by Maxell on Aug 18, 2022 10:17:55 GMT -5
Article posted from 15 years ago ...
Financial battle of the bands Money for the Blue & Gold Marching Machine out of step Michael Jones Issue date: 9/12/07 Section: Campus News In the blazing summer heat, Lee "B.J." Hargrove, captain of the Blue and Gold Marching Machine's drum line, known as "Cold Steel," is in full uniform.
With his drum strapped on and sticks to his side, sweat pours off of Hargrove's forehead as he prepares to signal off the next cadence and the drummers start down "the tunnel" to march the band into Bowman Gray stadium in Winston Salem.
This is Hargrove's third year marching in the band. While he enjoys it, Hargrove and other members are unhappy because the majority of them don't get any financial aid for their hard work.
"I don't think it's fair," said Hargrove. "We have heart in what we do here; we should be just as well off as any of the other athletes."
The band serves as an ambassador for A&T. The band practices five days a week, four to five hours a day, and sometimes more.
But even after their hard work, they watch as money and publicity they helped generate wind up in the athletics department. We contribute so much but we don't get much in return," said Hargrove. "I'd like to see the band program get recognized just as much as the other athletic departments." Freshman trumpet player, Buck Wright, echoed those sentiments. "With me being a music major, I feel that they could definitely contribute a lot more to the band as well as the music program," said Wright.
"I don't get any type of financial aid period. I love music and I love doing what I do, but some money could definitely be of help."
When asked if he feels that the band is overlooked by the football team and others, he replied, "Of course!" "I definitely feel we are overlooked because we're the band. The football team hasn't been doing all that well but still receives all the financial rewards. You say you're in the band and it's just like 'Oh, okay.''
The Marching Machine has roughly 150 members. The band would be a lot bigger and its sound larger if the band program had more money, says band students, but due to the lack of scholarships, students who would've marched for and attended A&T are attending other schools.
The Marching Machine's dedication has not gone unnoticed, however. "These students are terrific," says Dina Eagle, associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. She is working alongside Dr. Kenneth Ruff, director of bands, and Dr. Michael Plater, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, to come up with ways to provide more financial aid for band students.
"Last spring we were able to give out 25 book scholarships amounting to $240 for students who had a 2.8 or better," said Eagle.
"We were able to repeat it again this fall, giving out 21 for those with a 3.0 or better. We want adequate scholarships for students who excel musically as well as academically, we're also trying to have them self sufficient."
The band is also trying to raise funds on it own. It's looking to raise $16,500 in scholarships. In addition, an endowment has been set up that is strictly for band students, said Eagle.
"Once there are enough donations, we can start dispersing the money. We have initial targets for better opportunity. There is a strategic plan."
For Hargrove and the rest of the band members who get no financial assistance, it's all about the music and the performance.
"We love what we do," says Hargrove. "That's what keeps us going."
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ohsixrain
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Post by ohsixrain on Aug 18, 2022 11:06:07 GMT -5
Nuff said....oddly enough, this article was written when the football team was in the mist of its 27-game losing streak. Anybody remember that... Same ole problems.
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tony
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Post by tony on Aug 18, 2022 13:07:16 GMT -5
Nuff said....oddly enough, this article was written when the football team was in the mist of its 27-game losing streak. Anybody remember that... Same ole problems. I was just thinking this discussion is old as dirt. The recruiting discussion has started and stopped at the fact admin wont properly fund us. I first pointed this out on the board in 2013. I've known it a lot longer than that. I'm totally onboard with our push for more funding - from administration and giving. That alone wasn't enough to do it 30 years ago. It wasn't doing it 20 years ago. It wasn't doing it 10 years ago. It's not doing it now. I've been pointing out the need to build our recruiting pipeline for years. Nobody wants to talk about that. Boggles my mind why. Solid local recruiting done right will pay off in 7 years. By then today's 6th graders will be freshmen and the upperclassmen will have been looking at us for most of their middle and high school career. Those that don't join us will have raised the bar for the surrounding area enough that we should have more LOCAL talent looking to join. By pipeline, I mean us influencing kids from 6th grade on up. Blowout is a good start. But there's a lot more that can be done. Middle school band is NOT memorable for a lot of kids - otherwise they'd be more interested in band as elective in high school. I don't want to hear about different generation, video games... video games isn't making them take Spanish instead of band for a class. Marching band is a different discussion, but get them in the class and that will follow. Can we give them a couple grade level appropriate HBCU style middle school arrangements to be played DURING CLASS? We'd have to get band directors on board, but it can still be used to teach - music is music, the kids are going to love playing them in between everything else, and they'll want to come back next year to do it again. We've got to approach this carefully - not step on any toes - but can we do some professional development for band directors? WAY too many bands warm up on Concert B-flat whole notes forever. I've met high school kids who don't know a chromatic scale. You meant to tell me they learned 8 notes in 6th grade and never found the time in the next 6 years to learn 5 more? And once they can play a chromatic scale they can play any scale. I blame band directors. These same kids can't count eighth notes. Write a one measure pattern on the board, make the band count it, and warm up to that instead of whole notes. Counting, breathing, articulation, and scales, all taught at the same time. At most an extra 10 minutes of practice time, and it'll pay off when you don't spend half an hour teaching rhythms to every song every day. Get some of our music majors part timing as assistant band directors or substitute teachers. Yes, I know this can go wrong in a lot of ways, so you have to be careful about who you send, but there are a lot of garbage middle / high school band directors that blame everything on overwork and lack of resources. Put a competent student teacher in front of their class and watch the results. Get the band performing, or even practicing at local middle and high schools. I still remember when A&T showed up on Dudley's field - to this day I don't now why - blew a field show you could hear clean on the other side of campus, and left. Practice just to practice there, manufacture an event to have the band perform there. Just to make an impression. Preferably around the time they sign up for classes for next year - to build interest. This only goes so far if the school band directors mishandle things when they get there, so the other things are important too. Yes, funding is very important, and we shouldn't take the focus away from there AT ALL. But can we try adding some additional ways to build that don't involve waiting for someone else to do something?
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ohsixrain
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Post by ohsixrain on Aug 18, 2022 13:20:34 GMT -5
That's a long strategic plan...which could and should be included in the Capital Campaign. I don't mean the implementation cannot be done in this moment but, it will take resources to send students to middle and high schools. But, just from an immediate standpoint, fundraising is paramount. Just think if we hit the lottery and donated $500K to the band. We would be able to recruit the better musical students and the students that cannot afford school...then, the ones that can afford will come through pure attraction. But, I like the plan.
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Post by marchingband1969 on Aug 18, 2022 14:02:37 GMT -5
There are hundreds of great ideas about what needs to happen to help the BGMM. Hell every year we roll out that list of great ideas. And after all these years, we got all the ideas we need. The problem we have (and have always had) is we don't have the right people to drive the fundraising process. Answer this question... who's in charge of the BGMM's fundraising? What's their name? And until we have someone with that responsibility, we will get the same sorry results.
By the way, the BGMM staff shouldn't be expected to run the band program and conduct fundraisers. No more than we wouldn't ask Coach Washington and his staff to win games and be responsible for raising funds for the athletic program. Yet for the past 50 years the University has refused to assign someone to head up the BGMM's fundraising program.
Take one of those "Vice Chancellors" that are wondering around Dowdy Building and put them in charge of "BGMM Fundraising." Give them an admin staff, an operating budget and a fundraising goal. And if they make the goals, bring them Blue Death Valley TV and we'll congratulate them.
When no one is held responsible, then no one cares. Let's hold somebody responsible!
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