Alumnus Kristin King Appointed to US Air Force Band Position

Congratulations to former 'Trojan Marching Band' Drum Major, and DGN Alumnus Kristin King (Class of '02), who this week was appointed by competitive audition to the clarinet section of the prestigious United States Air Force Band of Washington D.C.  Kristin flew to Washington D.C. early in the week to compete against hundreds of professional clarinetists for the coveted position.


The United States Air Force Band is the Air Force's premier musical organization. It has endeared itself to millions of listeners for more than 60 years through its exhilarating music, engaging concerts and masterful recordings. Since its formation in 1941, The United States Air Force Band has brought superb music and exciting entertainment to music lovers around the globe, earning its reputation as "America's International Musical Ambassadors."


Kristin is a graduate of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (2006), as well as the Northwestern University School of Music (2008).

Exchange Concert Video

25th Anniversary of Musikschule Exchange

Congratulations to the musicians of the Bietigheim-Bissingen Musikschule for their wonderful concert today in Downers Grove! Nearly 500 persons attended the afternoon concert of music at the historic Tivoli Theatre.

After the concert host families and guests from Germany enjoyed a terrific meal with one another and continued the tradition of a Futbol (Soccer) friendly match. As we have come to expect, the German students prevailed in the match. But the American students (assisted by Mr. Miller's coaching strategy to periodically sneak additional players onto the pitch until the official noticed there were 15 players on the field) put up a valiant effort. Still, even with the advantage of numbers, the Americans could not find the net and fell to Germany 0 - 2.

German Orchestra, Recorders & Guitars - Free Concert Sunday

Downers Grove and District 99 welcome student musicians from Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany for their concert this Sunday, August 29th, at 1:30 PM. The concert is free and open to the public. We hope to see you there!

Walls of Sound

Congratulations to the Trojan Marching Band for an impressive opening performance on Friday night. The musicianship, energy and spirit of the membership was evident throughout the evening.

(Photography by Colleen Hoppestad.)

Season Opener Friday Night!

The 2010 Trojan Marching Band spent Thursday night preparing for the season opener. North opens it's football season Friday night as the Trojans take on the Porters of Lockport High School.
The Trojan Marching Band will enter the stadium Friday night at approximately 7:10 pm., parade the track, and perform a Pre-Game show at 7:25 p.m. The half-time performance will begin at approximately 8:15 p.m.
(Photography by Colleen Hoppestad.)

Preview Show Tonight!

The Trojan Marching Band has been hard at work this week preparing for tonight's "Preview Show!" The band will perform in the stands of the football scrimmage tonight from approximately 5:15 - 5:45 pm. Following the stands performance, students will assemble on the practice field where parents, family and friends are invited to watch marching demonstrations and a preview of our "Pre Game Show" at 6:00 pm.

Coach Wander Welcomes the Marching Band

Coach John Wander addressed the 2010 Trojan Marching Band at last night's practice, stating "The relationship between our band and our team is special. You just don't find it anywhere else. They should do a 60-minutes special about it, because it's an incredible thing."

Text Message Alerts for Band Announced

DGN Band students (and parents) who carry a mobile phone and utilize text messaging services are encouraged to read the following post on our DGN Band's Blog, and to sign up for Band Text Message Alerts.

http://dgnbands.blogspot.com/2010/08/dgn-bands-text-alert-system-sign-up.html

Standard text messaging rates for the end-user will apply, but you do not need to sign up for any additional subscription service or account.

The Marching Band staff will begin piloting the use of Text Message Alerts this fall for announcements about the Trojan Marching Band.

Band Camp 2010

Band Camp 2010 opened today as DGN greeted over 50 new members of the "Trojan" Marching Band!

Percussion & Guard Mini-Camps

Members of the Percussion and Color Guard sections kicked-off Band Camp 2010 this weekend with mini-camps. Led by instructors Mark Botti (percussion) and Emily Rivera (Color Guard) students are on campus preparing for the upcoming marching band season.

Leadership Training Workshop

Led by Fine Arts teacher Bill Miller, 30 North High Band students are on campus this week exploring strategies for effective leadership.  Today's activities have included 'live blogging' by students as they set goals for the upcoming season and an activity where - working in small teams - students linked their views of leadership to "Heroes" from society and produced multi-media presentations to share with their peers.

"It's wonderful to be back on campus and working with these talented student leaders," said Bill Miller.  Drum major Elizabeth Meier (senior) added, "I'm very excited to gain new perspectives about student leadership. This should be a great week, and an amazing marching band season."

D99 Marching Band Wins CJ Shoemaker Award

On Tuesday, August 3, 2010 Bill Miller (DGN) and Glenn Williams (DGS) attended the Downers Grove City Council meeting to accept a special award on behalf of the students and staff members from both campuses.

Members of the District 99 Marching Band earned the CJ Shoemaker Award from Downers Grove Major Ron Sandack for their performance in the 2010 Downers Grove Independence Day Parade on July 4, 2010. Students from North and South combine annually for this community performance.


Congratulations to the student musicians from both campuses on this recognition for an outstanding performance!

Free German Music Concert - August 29th - Tivoli

Sunday, August 29, 2010 at 1:30 pm, District 99 Fine Arts Departments of North and South High Schools will host students from the music school in Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany in a concert at the Tivoli Theatre in Downers Grove. Among the three groups performing will be a Guitar Ensemble, a String Orchestra, and a Recorder Ensemble. Directed by Antje Krüger Spindler, the String Orchestra will perform the music of J.S. Bach, Carl Stamitz and Irving Berlin. The Recorder Ensemble is directed by Annette Bachmann and will perform several renaissance selections including music by Henry Purcell. The Guitar Ensemble is directed by Bernd Gehlen and will perform both classical and contemporary works including Mozart and several popular German composers.

These visiting German students, ages 13-20 are part of a community music school that has been participating in music and cultural exchanges with the music students of Downers Grove North and South High Schools since 1985. Students from District 99 have traveled to Germany on six separate occasions and have also visited Austria, Spain, France, Italy, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. The community of Bietigheim-Bissingen is located in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, about 20 miles from Stuttgart. The concert which begins at 1:30 pm is free to the public thanks to the support of Classic Cinemas. The Tivoli Theatre is located at 5021 Highland Avenue in Downers Grove, IL 60515.

The story of our Theater Organ

Have you ever wondered how DGN ended up with the Wurlitzer Theater Organ that provides prelude music to many of our Fine Arts Department events?  C.A.T.O.E. (the Chicago Area Theater Organ Enthusiasts) recently uploaded a documentary to YouTube that shows how - in 1969 - DGN became one of the first schools in the nation to retrofit their auditorium for the installation of a Wurlitzer Organ.

Students and alumni will enjoy seeing video of how North High looked in 1969, and you will be amazed at the care that was taken in disassembling each piece of the organ in Lima, OH, and then reassembling the instrument in our auditorium.


Part I:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYkpqIlHnko&feature=youtube_gdata

Part II:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYW3TX5E_6I

We hope you enjoy!

District 99 Marching Band - DG July 4th Parade

Congratulations to the members of the North & South High Marching Bands for their collaboration in the 2010 Downers Grove July 4th Parade. Members of the Trojan Marching Band and the Marching Mustangs joined forces to present a unified and musically exciting performance, despite temperatures that climbed into the 90s. Thank you to all of the students who performed, and to the parent volunteers who helped keep us hydrated!

July 4th Parade Prep

Members of the DGN and DGS bands joined forces Wednesday night in preparation for a D99 Marching Band performance in the annual Downers Grove Independence Day Parade. 170 band students plan to represent District 99 at the parade this weekend.

Come cheer on the D99 band students this Sunday, July 4th, as the parade processes on Main St. from the Tivoli Theatre to North High School.

Mr. Teague sends "Cheers" from London

Hello to the members of the DGN Bands and Athenas from Merry Ol' England!

I am in London this week, having been invited by the London Parade Festival event organizers to attend a series of planning and logistics meetings relative to our upcoming performance at the end of the year.  The trip has been exceptionally well organized thus far, and I find myself even more excited about our invitation to perform than I had been previously.  (Is that possible?!)

This morning I had a chance to experience the luxury motor-coach tour that each participant will enjoy in December.  Following that tour the parade organizers then had each of the band directors walk the entire 2.2 mile parade route so we could see exactly what to expect.  

As you might guess, the route is spectacular, and will take us through he heart of London, ending at Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament.  Quite a bit of time was spent explaining the TV-zone to us, and going over very detailed instructions about how the band will be featured in this area.  Unlike any other parade I have been a part of in the past, there will be a specific 60-second period of time in which the band will actually turn to perform for the grandstands, and do a bit of drill while playing.  We will have to work on this very specifically next fall as we prepare for the tour.

Here is a picture of the area where the television performance will be broadcast to millions of people, all over the world.  Picture three massive grand-stands for seating in front of the buildings, and television cameras all over!

The remainder of my meetings this week will include opportunities to set our tour literature for the Wind Ensemble's performance in a New Year's Gala Concert, visit the concert hall where we will perform, visit with the hotel manager about the specific logistics of our band's accommodations (I'm staying in the hotel we will be in ... and you are going to LOVE it), and finalize all of the details of our itinerary (such as sight-seeing tours).

Here is a picture of the lobby of our hotel, The Cumberland.  It is very modern, with a lot of interesting art.  Much of the visual art (sculptural, video, etc.) is accentuated by translucent floor tiles that change color throughout the day.  Click the hyper-link above to see more about the hotel.

I will sign off this post by adding that our walk along the parade route today was - by coincidence - in the middle of England's World Cup match this afternoon.  Many schools let out early and many businesses in London closed so that people could watch the game.  Many flags flying for England today, including on the back of the taxi cabs.

As I was walking the parade route with the event organizers, and taking notes about the angles and width of various turns, a simultaneous loud roar erupted from many pubs as England scored and went ahead 1-0.  We had just walked through Piccadilly Circus (think London's version of Times Square), and the large video monitors were reporting that the USA had yet to score in their match.  This was important because England's chances of advancing into the final 16 were significantly improved today if USA played to a draw, or lost.  I returned to the hotel and walked into the lobby (where many had gathered to watch the match) just as the England game was ending.  Joyful cheering in the lobby was suddenly dulled when it was announced that the USA had just scored a goal in their match against Algeria (in the 91st minute) and had gone on to win ... thereby leaping over England in the standings.  I smiled, and quietly walked away from the crowd to the elevator.  

I look forward to seeing many of you next week at the D99 Marching Band rehearsal for the July 4th parade.  It's getting really hot in this phone booth ...