Welcome to the on-line home of the Dalton High School and Dalton Middle School band programs. As communication is not always easy, this website will be used to assist the band parents, students, alumni and friends in keeping them informed of upcoming events, news and information. This site will be updated frequently, so check back often. If you have information that needs to be included here, please let us know (email).

Sixth-grade band students begin learning music with practice and patience

— MIMI ENSLEY, Dalton Public Schools contributor

Most of the 116 new sixth grade band students at Dalton Middle School have never picked up an instrument. They’ve never produced a sound on a tuba, trombone, flute or clarinet. They’ve never translated a melody charted out in dots and lines on the page into harmonious concert music. However, in just a few months they will likely join older band students on stage to play some simple Christmas melodies. By March, they will be ready to perform their diligently prepared concert music in a competition with other young bands. And according to DMS band director Lewie Humphrey, all it will take is a lot of patience and a lot of practice. “You have to tell them it’s a process,” Humphrey said. “It takes time, and the problems and struggles they are having at first are not going to be an instant fix.” Most of the sixth-grade band students received their instruments around the end of August. Others are still waiting for their horns to arrive. But whether they are practicing finger positions on a pencil or blowing their timid first few notes, Humphrey’s band students are learning something new each day. Humphrey said he begins each class by going over some technique and trying to play a few simple notes as a class. As needed, he moves throughout the band to help students who have individual problems with the music. The process isn’t easy, and it may take an entire class period to get through a line of music, but Humphrey said the end result is worth the long practices. “Some are going to be very surprised at how well they sound at the end of the year,” Humphrey said. “When they complete that first performance, I think they really have a sense of self-worth about their accomplishment.” Humphrey said many of these first-year band students will continue on through middle school bands and into the Dalton High School concert and marching bands. He said the younger students look up to the older musicians as examples. They want to be a part of that peer group that band has provided those who have already gone through. They see music as an important way to express themselves. “It really is a worthwhile thing,” Humphrey said. “The kids that go from the sixth grade through the 12th grade understand the benefit of the program and what it does for them, even though it’s not always instant gratification.”

Sixth grade clarinet players practice some beginning notes.

Band director Lewie Humphrey demonstrates with a flute as a sixth-grade student looks on. (Left) Sixth-grade clarinet players practice some beginning notes. (Right)

9/12/11

Transportation Cutbacks

During the 2010-11 school year, DHS was 38% over budget on transportation costs allocated for all sports & extra-curricular activities. All groups are being asked this year to find ways to cut 40% based on last year's numbers. 40% for the band represents $8041 in cuts. The band club officers & directors have decided on these cuts for this year:

- no DCI trip to Atlanta = $360

- cut bus transportation for all 5 home games = $3349

~~- cut bus transportation to Southeast HS on 10/28 = $1000~~ [reinstated]

- use 3 buses instead of 4 for 4 away games (excluding SE HS) = $675

- cut transportation to District Honor Band auditions & performances = $887

- cancel charter buses for 3rd contest (we save $7500), use school buses instead = $-2140

- no Christmas Parade in Atlanta (this was for last year only) = $2169

Total projected DPS transportation cuts = $5300 (27%)

9/01/11

DHS Catamount Band 2011 Car Decals

DHS Catamount Band car decals for 2011 are now available: 1/$5 or 3/$10.

8/28/11

Marching Band Leadership 2011-12

"Congratulations to the follow band members that qualify as band leadership for 2011.

Many thanks to all who went out for leadership this year, and again, my apologies on the delay in getting the results of your exams graded.

Band Major elections will be this week." - Mr Henry

A quick explanation about criteria: Students' scores on the leadership seminar exam is the primary factor in the selection process.

Section Leader: Scores of 90% and above qualify students for Section Leader status.

Lieutenant: Scores of 75%-89% qualify students for Lieutenant status. (scores below 75% do not qualify for leadership)

Captain: Captains are selected from students in Colorguard and Drumline who have qualified as Section Leaders.

In the case of multiple Section Leaders, the highest exam score will determine Captain status.

Currently, there are no Captain positions in the hornline.

Drum Majors......................................... Spencer McCraven, Ashley Manzione
Band Major .......................................................................................... TBA
Colorguard ...... Deana Marler (Capt), Jessica Acosta (SL), Emily Weathers (Lt)

Drumline ............ Nate Rich (Capt), Ben Southerland (SL), Derrick Belanger (Lt)

Trumpets ........................................................................... Josh Parrott (SL)
Mellophones .................................................................... Julia Spinetta (SL)
Baritones............................................... Gregg McCurry (Lt), Josh Sexton (Lt)
Tubas ............................................... Jaime Delafuente (SL), Nick Walker (Lt)

Flutes .................................................... Angie Lee (SL), Katelyn Esters (SL)

Clarinets ................................................ Celina Gomez (Lt), Emily Poplin (Lt)
Saxophones ......................................................................... No qualifiers**

(** "candidates may re-test, 2 were very close to qualifying" - Mr Henry)

Capt=Captain, SL=Section Leader, Lt=Lieutenant

8/08/11

Introducing the 2011-12 DHS Marching Band...

8/06/11

DHS Marching Band Photoshoot - Mon Aug 8 @ 6PM

Band pictures for the football program will be Monday August 8th at Harmon Field. Pictures will begin promptly at 6pm. You will need to change into your uniform at the DHS Bandroom beforehand and get your instrument for the pictures.

8/06/11

Catamount Band Club Meeting - Tue August 16

The Dalton Band Club will hold it's monthly board meeting of officers/directors on Tuesday August 16 at 6:00 pm in the band room at Dalton High School.

8/06/11

2011 Marching Band Photos

Photos courtesy of Darryl Hayes. If anyone has other pictures to post, please let us know and we'll provide a link to them.

Band Camp

5/29/11

2011 DHS Football Schedule

Date	Opponent	Location	Score
26-Aug	Calhoun	Away	L 14-24
2-Sep	Murray County	Home	W 73-00
9-Sep	Gilmer	Home
16-Sep	Allatoona	Away
23-Sep	OPEN	-
30-Sep	Ridgeland	Home
7-Oct	Heritage	Home
14-Oct	Ringgold	Away (Chattanooga)
21-Oct	LaFayette	Home
28-Oct	Southeast Whitfield	Away
4-Nov	Region Playoff	TBD

(http://ga.prepcountry.com/?t=5&w=1&sc=88&s=1&tm=1&wy=2011)

6/22/11

DHS Marching Band 2011 Summer Rehearsal & Band Camp Information

2011 MARCHING BAND FEES

HORNLINE:

$ 55 - Band Camp Fee

$ 40 - Uniform Cleaning Fee

$ 25 - Charter Bus Fee (for last contest)

$ 10 - Band Camp Kit

$ 10 - 2011 Member T-shirt

$ 10 - 2 Pair White Gloves

--------

$150

+$ 20 - Black Pants (optional ***)

+$ 30 - White Marching Shoes (optional ***)

--------

$150 - $200

*** may use last year's pair if in good condition

DRUMLINE:

$ 55 - Band Camp Fee

$ 40 - Uniform Cleaning Fee

$ 25 - Charter Bus Fee (for last contest)

$ 10 - Band Camp Kit

$ 10 - 2011 Member T-shirt

--------

$140

+$ 20 - Black Pants (optional ***)

+$ 30 - White Marching Shoes (optional ***)

--------

$140 - $190

*** may use last year's pair if in good condition

COLORGUARD:

$ 55 - Band Camp Fee

$ 60 - Uniform Purchase Fee

$ 35 - Guard Shoes

$ 15 - Guard Gloves

$ 25 - Charter Bus Fee (for last contest)

$ 10 - Band Camp Kit

$ 10 - 2011 Member T-shirt

--------

$210

DRUM MAJORS:

$ 55 - Band Camp Fee

$ 25 - Charter Bus Fee (for last contest)

$ 10 - Band Camp Kit

$ 10 - 2011 Member T-shirt

--------

$100

Payment Schedule: June 30 - first payment due ($75), July 29 - balance due

Required Forms for Band Camp:

(Please print, complete, and submit)

Insurance Card

(need copy of front &

back of insurance card

that covers your child)

Completed forms may be mailed (Catamount Band Club; PO Box 1522; Dalton, GA 30722), or returned to the band room during a rehearsal.

6/22/11

DHS Catamount Band Drumline & Colorguard Announced for 2011-12

DRUMLINE

Snare - Nate Rich, Sawyer Stinnet, Ryan Harper, Hank Henson
Tenors- Ben Southerland, Ronnie Smith
Basses- Rosa Moreno, Danielle Thomas, Eduardo Guerrero, Josh Belles, Giavanni Reyes
Front Ensemble- TBA

COLORGUARD

Saila Chadwick, Xena Defoor, Alesha Moore, Jessica Acosta, Emily Weathers,

Taylor Starks, Sara Starks, Ty Hill, Jenna Maddux, Deanna Marler, Brittnay Lance,

Delaney Plaisted, Stasia Harrison, Abby Cochran, Janet Gonzalez, Cayla Dills,

Sarah Cordero, Blanca Alvarez, Lauren Little, Kayla Kimble, Nyishsa Hester,

Erin Cloer, LaShae Bradley, Jasmine Botello, Samantha Rainey, Yazmin Nunez.

08/08/10

Dalton Catamount Marching Band E-mail Distribution Groups

Parents: Keep up with the latest news all season and get instant updates on rehearsal schedules, events, etc.

As important information is posted on this site, you can be notified immediately by joining our e-mail distribution.

To be added to our e-mail distribution, send an email to DaltonCatamountBand@charter.net/Parents.

We also invite you to follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DHSMarchingBand.

Alumni, friends, and extended family of the band: You too can receive emails announcing upcoming band events and contest results throughout the season.

To be added to our Alumni & Friends e-mail distribution, send an email to DaltonCatamountBand@charter.net/FriendsFamily.

Alumni: To all alumni of the DHS Band - Please submit your name for our alumni database. To be added to the on-line Alumni Register please send your Name, Graduation Year, Instrument(s) Played, Current City/State, Current Job/Activities, Fondest DHS Band Memory, and Your E-mail Address (if you want it posted) to this DaltonCatamountBand@charter.ne/AlumniDB. Please help us spread the word to other DHS Band Alumni. Click here to see who is already registered. Welcome to our latest alumni to register with us: Jim O'Donnell (1977), Karen Hill Sutherland (1999), Scott Keefer (1985).

(Note: Your privacy and protection is important to us, so email addresses will not be shared with the entire group.)

7/10/10

New Design for the Band Trailer

We want to thank Ace Transportation Repair Inc and A&M Signs, as well as Bryan Morton for coordinating all the efforts.

1/10/10

Dr Jack Stamp - Why Music Matters

Dr. Jack Stamp is Professor of Music, Chairperson of the Music Department and Director of Band Studies at Indiana University and is a strong advocate for keeping music in our school systems. We are very fortunate to have such a strong music/band program within the Dalton Public School system!! And, we should thank our superintendent, board of education, and all our school system leaders for that. There are schools across the US that no longer have music as part of their curriculum due to budget cuts and other issues. You may have heard the example in the video before; Mr Henry & Mr Humphrey have done similar exercises in recent years.

06/11/08

100's of Vintage DHS Band Photos

We received this email from DHS alum Steve Hill this week: "Jeff- I have hundreds, perhaps thousands of band (and other DHS) photos from most of the mid to late 70s. I've been scanning many, many of them in high-resolution for a year or so. Most of these photos have never been seen by anyone else, and many of them I haven't printed or scanned until now, so it's been a real treat. I'm building a SmugMug gallery of the images that anyone will be able to access, view, and download or order prints from, at no profit to me. So far I have built galleries for the majorettes, cheerleaders, colorguard, and I'm starting to build galleries of general band photos and general DHS photos. Please encourage anyone visiting the photos to use the comment button at the bottom left of each gallery to post a story or thoughts about them, or to email me with comments if they wish. I'll be adding more photos as I have time in the next few days and weeks. I still have several thousand negatives to sift through." Main Site: http://stevehill.us/dhs

DHS Band - Late 70s

DHS Colorguard - 1970s

DHS Majorettes - 1970s

DHS-Miscellaneous Photos

02/02/08

DMS - DHS Band Bridge

The Band Bridge is a publication intended to help build a bridge and bond between the DHS Marching Band students and those middle school students involved in music at DMS. The DHS Marching Band’s long history of excellence is only possible with the yearly pilgrimage of students from DMS over to DHS. Studies have shown that music education is important to developing smarter kids and that skills learned through the discipline of music transfer to study skills, communication skills, and cognitive skills useful in all academic subjects. Over the last 25 years at DHS, more than 85% of the senior class valedictorians, salutatorians, and star students were band students.

2007-08

Jan-2008

2006-07

Ideas for DMS band retention

2009-10 WebPage Archive

2008-09 WebPage Archive

2007-08 WebPage Archive

2005-06 WebPage Archive

2004-05 WebPage Archive

WebPage updated on 10/23/2011 Hit Counter

To view PDF format you will need acrobat reader

National Anthem	-	1:30 pm
Washington County	A	1:45 pm
St. James School	A	2:00 pm
Whitefield Academy	A	2:15 pm
Henry County	AA	2:30 pm
Luella	AA	2:45 pm
Lithia Springs	AA	3:00 pm
Cherokee	AAA	3:30 pm
Northgate	AAA	3:45 pm
Dalton	AAAA	4:00 pm
Lassiter	OPEN	4:30 pm
North Cobb	OPEN	4:45 pm
Richmond Hill	OPEN	5:00 pm
Ola	OPEN	5:15 pm
East Coweta	OPEN	5:30 pm
Preliminary Awards Ceremony	-	6:00 pm
Finals Competition Begins Performance order decided by random draw	-	7:30 pm
Exhibition: Fayette County	-	9:30 pm
Finals Awards Ceremony	-	9:45 pm