Rio Band Welcome, Information and News

August 20, 2015

Hello Returning and New Rio Band Members and Families,

Welcome to another year of “Great Kids, High Expectations and World-Class Music”! We’re off to a roaring start, and we’ll soon have the bands placed and chaired, so we can really get down to business. We have enthusiastic returning kids, joined by a new crop of talented and excited musicians. Should be a fantastic year in one of the world’s finest band programs!

I’ll be sending out numerous email communications throughout the year, and students and parents will be responsible for the information contained in the emails, so please make sure to read each one thoroughly. Please let me know if any addresses should be added to or deleted from my lists.

New this year- We will be demolishing the band room and moving to temporary housing, as we build a brand-new, state of the art Theater and Music classroom complex. Construction is slated to begin in early Spring. It’s going to be truly amazing, so hang on for the ride. Also, some of our band members will be traveling to Japan for a performance tour next June. More info below.

Lots of nuts & bolts to cover in this first email. I have attached some documents to help everyone to understand how our unique program works, and to plan for the year-

  1. Rio Band Handbook, 2015/16. This outlines our policies and practices, and provides answers to many of your questions. Please look it over and keep it handy. A hard copy was already sent home with every student.
  2. Rio Band Contract. This form must be signed by students AND parents. If you have not already done so, please return it on Monday. Failure to return the contract will result in removal from Rio Band
  3. Rio Band Calendar for 2015/16. Some dates will be added, but it’s a good start. Each event is listed with the bands or students involved. Please mark your calendars, as Rio Band performances are mandatory, and we all want to avoid schedule conflicts.
  4. RABB Membership form. Rio Americano Band Boosters (RABB) is the parent organization that is responsible for keeping our band program afloat financially, and allowing our students to have experiences not available elsewhere. We would like to have every single band family join, so please consider doing so, if you have not already joined.
  5. List of RABB Officers and Chairs. If you’re looking to get involved, these are the people to contact. We need all hands on deck to keep Rio Band strong!

Here’s some information about very important upcoming events:

  1. We will be holding a Japan Trip meeting on Tuesday, 8/18 at 7pm in the Band Room. Anyone interested in going to Japan next summer should attend. We will discuss the itinerary, payment schedule, scholarships, chaperones, expectations and much more. To be eligible for the trip, students must be currently enrolled in our Honors Concert Band, 0 period Jazz, or Small Ensemble. Freshmen are not eligible to travel.
  2. Our first Rio Americano Band Boosters (RABB) meetings will be Tuesday, August 25th, in the band room. The RABB Board will meet at 6pm, and there will be a General Meeting at 7:15. All band parents are encouraged to attend the General Meeting , to find out more about how Rio Band works, and to get involved in helping to keep it going.
  3. A word for parents- We want our students to be as independent and self-motivated as possible. Please encourage your kids to be proactive in their own education, and to approach Mr. Kiesner and me with any questions or concerns they may have. If students are not able to get the information, or if there is something that cannot be answered by your student, please feel free to contact us.
  4. There are many ways to stay connected with Rio Band. Visit www.rioband.net for our web presence. We’re on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RioBandBoosters, and twitter at www.twitter.com/RioBandBoosters. The Facebook and Twitter sites are for communication about band events, and are NOT moderated by the Directors. All posts and activity must adhere to SJUSD policy on social networking.

That’s it for now. Look for lots of important information throughout the year.

Josh Murray
Band Director
Rio Americano High School
4540 American River Dr
Sacramento, Ca 95864
(916) 971-7512

Preliminary Drawings of the Rio Theater

April 30, 2015
The new theater will provide a new face to the public for Rio, and we all hope it will be the first phase of a comprehensive re-imagining of the entire campus. As part of the new theater construction, an entirely new music complex will also be constructed, roughly on the site of the existing band room. This means that the existing band room will be demolished and replaced with a state-of-the-art music education facility, incorporating most of the best elements of our current building, while adding new design elements like- working HVAC! Soundproofing! More space! Adequate storage! More practice rooms! An office suitable for meetings! A shape that doesn’t look like Darth Vader’s spaceship! Rio band will be displaced during demolition and construction (roughly one calendar year), but rest assured that we have a plan to make the transition as seamless as possible. We’ll still have all the same events during construction, and Rio Band will be as great as ever!
I know that many people will have very mixed emotions regarding the demolition of the building that has provided a sanctuary for thousands over the years, and has silently witnessed the creation of so much phenomenal music. I have spent much of the past 17 years here myself, and I’ll be sad to see it go. However, we can’t let emotion and sentimentality stand in the way of genuine progress. We’ll be sure to hold some sort of “say goodbye to the band room” event. Ever onward!

Here’s a description of each attached slide:

  1. Cover page
  2. Bird’s-eye view of the Rio campus, showing the approximate placement of the new theater and music building, superimposed over the existing building.
  3. A more detailed rendering of the new facility, and how it would fit into the campus. You’ll see a ‘river’ and ‘bridges’. They are actually walkways, designed to incorporate our geography into the Rio campus. Also, and outdoor plaza, an outdoor ‘music plaza,’ suitable for informal lunchtime performances.
  4. An initial architectural drawing of the floor plan, including a lobby (to be used as an art gallery), lobby restrooms (accessible from the outside, for use during sporting events), a ticket booth, plenty of storage, boys’ and girls’ dressing rooms, 350 fixed seats, 100 additional seats as needed, the new band rooms, and bathrooms for daily use (YAY!)
  5. Second floor, accessible by stairs or elevator. Here will be the sound/ light room, hopefully with a fully-functioning recording studio.
  6. Very tentative mock-up of the front.
  7. Side view.
  8. Basic view from the stage, without many details.
  9. Birds-eye view.
Please remember that ALL of the design elements are tentative, and many will change. Nonetheless, this gives you a good idea of the scope of the project.
Again, thank you to everyone who voted for Measure N, manned the phone banks in the weeks prior to the vote, attended meetings at Rio, lobbied the school board or otherwise provided assistance in making this happen. These are very exciting times.
More info, including a timeline when I have it.

Santa Cruz Sweep

March 27, 2015

Our PM and FM Jazz Ensembles, as well as two combos performed at the Santa Cruz Jazz Festival last Saturday. PM and FM were both selected to perform at the command performanceon Saturday night. Judges and audience alike were impressed with all of the Rio kids. Solo awards were won by: Jackson Stafford, Neta Galili and Valentina Makovey (for PM AND her combo). Valentina was also selected for a scholarship to the Stanford Summer Jazz Camp. Way to go!