BPA Booster Meeting and New Family Open House April 5

March 30th, 2021

Ballard Performing Arts News

Featured News

New Family Open House

Monday, April 5 at 7 pm

Incoming and transfer families are welcome to join our virtual open house for an opportunity to ask questions about the program and hear about how parents and guardians can get involved in supporting Ballard Performing Arts. Find the Zoom link in our online calendar. You can also check out our New Family Page from this school year.

RSVP here so you can ask any questions you have in advance and so that we can add you to our mailing list for future new family events.

What Does Back to School Look Like for Performing Arts?

With the governor’s mandate for high school students to return to school by April 19, there are lots of questions around what returning to school will look like for performing arts students--especially band and choir students who expel air while playing and singing. While we don’t have any answers at this time, the Boosters group is working very closely with the directors to track the issues associated with students returning to school. Stay tuned for more details.

Solo and Ensemble Update

Solo and ensemble Submissions adjudications are now until April 4th. Get info from directors on how students should stay tuned.

Program Updates

Upcoming Concerts

Save the date for the “Spring Awakening” Musical and Spring concerts: May 6-8 and 13-15.

Spring Concerts

Choir: June 3rd at 7pm

Orchestra: June 4 at 7 pm

Band: June 5th at 7 pm

Band

Mr. Gillespie and band students are enjoying experimenting with music collaboration software "Soundtrap". Marching band is working on "Blinding Lights" by The Weeknd. Please check with your student to make sure they've signed in to Soundtrap so Mr. Gillespie can invite them to other collaborative projects in the future.

Hot Java Cool Jazz Goes Virtual

Although Starbuck's Hot Java Cool Jazz live event was cancelled last year and again this year, Ballard High school's Jazz Band will submit a recording for a video tribute to the event. More information on where to find the videos coming soon. Concert date is April 12; stay tuned for details.

For recordings of any of the masterclasses or clinics, clinician videos are located on all the band, jazz, and percussion schoology pages in a folder called “Guest Artist Videos.”

Choir

All BHS choirs will combine with the choirs from Kamiak, Steilacoom, and Franklin Pierce High Schools for a collaborative workshop and festival experience, culminating in an online performance of Andrew Ramsey's arrangement of "Hope Lingers On". Dr. Angela Kasper from Western Washington University led a combined workshop with the choirs from all 4 high schools last week. It was an amazing learning experience and so cool to see all the energy and interaction amongst the students.

We are working on bringing in more guest artists to do some workshops, including the composer Hyo-Won Woo (who arranged the Korean song "Arirang" that we are working on). This is a great time to reach out to and collaborate with musicians from around the world!

Orchestra

Pocketgrass Workshop with Martha Redbone

All BHS orchestras will be collaborating with other orchestras around the region (Cleveland, Rainier Beach, Seattle Pacific University) to perform as a full orchestra for two pieces for Pocketgrass, a virtual variety show. One piece will be a collaborative performance with Martha Redbone, a Native & African-American vocalist/songwriter/composer/educator based in New York. The date of the Pocketgrass episode featuring the BHS orchestras is June 2021 (date/time TBD). In preparation for the Pocketgrass recording, all orchestra students have a workshop with Martha Redbone on Saturday, April 3, 11am to 12:30pm.

Fiddlers Meet Every Tuesday at 6:30pm: All are Welcome to Join

Wintergrass Podcast Selfie and Recording 1 deadline is Today. Contact Elizabeth Fortune at eafortune@seattleschools.org for the link.

To watch the recordings, go to schoology page and click on recordings

Theatre

Spring Awakening Tickets on Sale!

This year’s Musical, Spring Awakening, will be May 6-8 and 13-15. Tickets are $25. Each ticket is good for the day and time of the show only and work only on one device (multiple people can watch on the device). Order your tickets now through Showtix.

Note: Parental Guidance Advisory for explicit language and content.

Order Tickets

The winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, told by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater through what Entertainment Weekly called, "the most gorgeous Broadway score this decade," Spring Awakening explores the journey from adolescence to adulthood with a poignancy and passion that is illuminating and unforgettable.

Stay tuned for more details on our Dinner and a Show take-out meal kit, which benefits the Ballard Performing Arts groups.

Trigger Warning: The musical addresses adult and teenage themes, such as teen pregnancy, suicide, academic pressure, and social acceptance. During the run of the show there will be virtual talk-backs with mental health professionals. Look for meeting dates/times in this newsletter as we get closer to showtime.

Help Wanted

Secretary for 2021 2022

Take notes at meetings, send agendas, follow up on action items, work with the leadership team, coordinate documentation. Contact Jeannette at bpabpresident@gmail.com for more info.

Newsletter Editor for 2021 2022

Work with the comms team to complile and send Ballard Performing Arts weekly newsletter (this year is biweekly, but we will return to weekly when school resumes) in Constant contact. Contact ballardperformingarts@gmail.com for more information.

Calendar Coordinator for 2021 2022

Work with directors to make sure our BPA calendar on ballardperformingarts.org stays up to date, create events on social media. Contact Rachel Hart Rios at ballardperformingarts@gmail.com.

Photo Montage and Video Montage Producers

We’re looking for a parent or two to collect photos and videos of seniors and create photo and video montages of this year’s seniors. Please contact Courtney Rowley or Rachel Hart Rios if you can help.

Spaghetti Dinner Leads for 2021

Coordinate and organize the most fun event of the year that involves all the performing arts groups. Work with a team who procures the food, sells tickets, organizes volunteers, etc. Contact Jeannette at bpabpresident@gmail.com if you’re interested.

Parents who are Counselors or Mental Health Professionals

We’re looking for volunteers to help with talk-backs related to the adult themes in Spring Awakening. Contact Shawn Riley.

Student and Alumni News

Congrats to Senior David Nicollella on College Acceptances

Congrats to senior wind ensemble and Jazz 1 drummer David Nicollela, who has been accepted to some of the most prestigious music schools in the country—with scholarships—including New England Conservatory of Music, Oberlin College, The New School and others--and he’s still waiting on more. He plans to study music in college with the intent of pursuing a career of a professional musician and educator. Congrats, David!

Stay tuned for more news on students pursuing their passion for music in this section of the newsletter and on our new Student and Alumni page of the BPA website

Featured Videos

Soothing Voices

Enjoy this video from our Spring 2019 Choral concert, the Ballard Performing Arts Choir Advanced Choral singing, with ASL, "Ain't No Grave Can Hold My Body Down" a traditional spiritual, arranged by Caldwell & Ivory.

Check out Past Performances anytime on our YouTube and Vimeo Channels,

Community News

Registration is now open for the 2021 All-City Band. This is a wonderful all-school summer marching band that, under normal circumstances, rehearses four days a week in the evenings at Memorial Stadium and performs at neighborhood and community parades, especially those related to Seafair. They are preparing as though this will be a normal summer but will adjust plans as additional guidance comes out from the CDC, OSPI, SPS, and Seafair.

Membership will be open to students in the graduating classes of 2020-2025.

Right now, it is critically important that those considering participating register via the online registration at https://www.allcityband.org/registration. This will help them to know how many students to plan for. For more information, contact mjpimpleton@seattleschools.org.

BHS BPA offers these Community Activities for informational purposes & does not necessarily support activities or views presented therein.

Give While You Get

Passive fundraising couldn’t be easier—Donate to BPA Every time you make a purchase. Link to Amazon Smile, Fred Meyer, and more, and donate every time you shop. To sign up, follow the links below and select “Ballard High School Performing Arts Booster Club” as the benefactor.