Successful Middle School Tour!

Last Friday, Chamber Orchestra, Brass Band, Chamber Ensemble, Tenor Bass Ensemble, and Vocal Jazz performed for students at five NW Region middle schools to showcase Ballard Performing Arts programs. If you know any incoming freshman, spread the word on how great it is to be part of BPA! 

Join us! BPA Meeting - Tues April 16 in BHS Library at 6pm

BPA Board meetings are open to all!

• 6-7pm - Listen to the director’s updates and board reports on our BPA business. 
• 7-7:30pm - Guest speaker - Mattress Sale Fundraiser. Your attendance at this meeting is very important as every adult in attendance will earn $5 for our program! EASIEST FUNDRAISER EVER! All we need is for you to be present. One lucky attendee will receive a pair of luxury pillows, valued at $180!
• 7:30pm - Mandatory Jazz Band Trip Meeting.

Welcome to New Sponsor: Milios Defense!

Thank you for supporting BPA! Click the sponsor logos at the bottom of every newsletter and on our website to support our BPA sponsors!

 Dine-out at Shawn O’Donnell’s Irish Pub

The Ballard Fiddlers will be performing at Shawn O’Donnell’s Irish Pub as part of a BPA Dine-Out fundraiser! All day on Sunday, April 21st, Shawn O’Donnell’s will donate 25% of dine-in and takeout sales to BPA (mention “Ballard Performing Arts” when you order).

Date: April 21, 2024

Time: Fiddlers perform a 30 min set from 6:00-6:30pm

Place: Shawn O’Donnell’s Fremont, 3601 Fremont Ave N., Seattle, WA 98103

11am-10:30pm daily

Call 206-420-3656 for takeout (mention BPA when you order). No third-party apps.

BPA Newsletter Schedule

Spring Break is next week! The next newsletter will hit your inbox on Tuesday, April 16th. Be sure to note any dates and events on your calendar! Thanks for your flexibility.

If you're interested in helping out with the newsletter or other BPA communications, feel free to reach out to bpabnews@gmail.com or bpabpresident@gmail.com.

Band

Upcoming Dates

Mark your calendars for these band events:

April 3 - Open Jazz Jam at the Elks Club 6:00-8:00pm.

April 16 - Mandatory meeting for Jazz Band trip, 7:30-8:30pm (Library).

April 18 - Jazz Rehearsal with Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra 4:00-6:00pm.

April 22 - Jazz Concert with Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra 7:30pm.

April 24 - Open Jazz Jam at the Elks Club 6:00-8:00pm.

April 25-28 - Jazz Band trip to Reno Nevada.

April 26-27 - State Solo and Ensemble Competition

June 7-9 - Marching Band Grand Floral Parade in Portland, OR.

Jazz Band Trip to Reno | Mandatory Meeting!

Save the Date for a Jazz Band trip meeting in the BHS Library on Tuesday, April 16 at 7:30pm.

Open Jazz Jam at The Elks Club

The Elks Club is hosting an open jazz jam on several upcoming Wednesdays. The first session was March 20 and it went fantastically well! The patrons really enjoyed the music and many spoke with the students afterwards. Students from Ballard and Roosevelt High Schools showed up and played very well together. Roosevelt even had some vocal jazz students attend who also fit in seamlessly with the instrumentalists and sang pieces from The Real Book. Everyone is welcome! Sessions are happening on April 3, April 24, and May 1, from 6-8pm.

Jazz Bands Performance with Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra

We have a wonderful opportunity for the jazz bands to play their Reno Jazz Festival pieces, followed by a performance from the premiere jazz orchestra in the Pacific Northwest. The SRJO will be performing an abbreviated version of the classic jazz album by Oliver Nelson, Blues and the Abstract Truth. This is an incredible opportunity to hear the SRJO for free. Please spread the word and let’s fill the house! The jazz bands will rehearse after school on April 18. The performance is on April 22 and at 7:30pm.

Jazz Bands to Reno Jazz Festival

Both Jazz Bands are traveling to Reno April 25-28 to compete in the University of Nevada, Reno Jazz Festival.  Wish them luck!

Brass Band and Drumline at Seattle Seawolves

The Brass Band will be performing before and after with Drumline performing at halftime. The Seawolves are Seattle’s professional rugby team and it should prove to be an exciting event. They had a great season last year as one of the top teams in the league and have won 3 of their 4 games this season. The game is May 3 and starts at 7:30pm at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila. Purchase tickets here: https://www.axs.com/series/20705/2024-seattle-seawolves-tickets?skin=seawolves

Syttende Mai Parade

May 17 is the annual parade here in Ballard and our Marching Band will be there! If you haven’t been to the parade before it's a delightful experience.

Brass Band and Drumline at Ballard FC

The Brass Band will be performing before and after with Drumline performing at halftime on May 24. Ballard FC won the league last year! The game starts at 7:00pm at Memorial Stadium Purchase tickets here: https://tickets.uslleaguetwo.com/venues/6747

Choir

Thank you to Charlie Hellstern, Carrie Wallace, Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, Karen Fossum, Jennifer Scheuerell, Von Brustkern, Tim Haradar and Tara Roth who chaperoned our three choirs at the EBMEA Choir festival last week. Our choirs sang beautifully!

Thank you to Karen Wooten, who accompanied our small choir groups on their tour of middle schools. 

Upcoming Dates

Please contact Sally at bpabchoirrep@gmail.com if you're able to chaperone/drive for any of these events. 

TODAY! Tues April 2 (evening) - NW Region Choral Showcase at Ballard. All Choirs are called. Call time 6:15pm, wear choir T-shirts and jeans. Evening will end by around 9pm.If you're able to help with ushering or the bake sale, please sign up here!

Fri - Sat April 26-27 - Solo and Ensemble State competition at Central Washington University in Ellensburg. This is NOT a field trip, so parents are responsible for getting their own performer there, but typically we organize in car pools. Parent drivers are needed for Tenor-Bass Ensemble, Vocal Jazz, Chamber Choir, and solo finalists. Soloists will need to plan to stay overnight in Ellensburg for finals on Saturday (book your hotels soon). The group competitions are on Friday only. Please let Sally know if you are planning to drive your student to Ellensburg and if you can take other students with you, so we can start to plan carpools.

Thurs May 23 - Sat May 25 - Advanced Chorale and Concert Choir, trip to Portland, OR. One more female chaperone needed. Our tour will include a choir exchange with three other excellent high school choirs in the PDX area, an intensive clinic with Dr. Coty Raven Morris at Portland State University, a performance at The Grotto in Portland, a performance at our Washington State Capitol Building in Olympia on the way home, and lots of group bonding and sight-seeing in between, including the Portland Saturday Market, Pearl District, Washington Park, BOWLING, and more😊! 

We will stay at the Embassy Suites in downtown Portland and will have two charter buses with us for the entirety of the trip. Cost for chaperones and for students is $440. The first payment was due on March 20 and the second payment is due asap. Please use the following link to make the two payments of $220: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/fc9d7c8c-47a2-4b8d-b920-19d89ebd3a7c. You can also find this link by going to www.ballardperformingarts.org, choosing the Payments and Tickets tab, Trip Fees, and scrolling down to the bottom.

Please contact Ms Rowley if you are in need of scholarship money to cover this trip and contact Jill Hansen, bpabtreasurer@gmail.com if you want to use money from your student account.



Mon June 3 - Vocal Jazz night, at BHS

Orchestra

Chamber Orchestra Middle School Tour

Chamber Orchestra, along with choir and band groups, performed for students at five NW region middle schools to showcase Ballard Performing Arts programs. Thank you to BPA President Kelsey Fatland for stepping in to chaperone!

McClure Middle School

Hamilton International Middle School

Cheering on the band!

Robert Eagle Staff Middle School

Upcoming Dates

April 2 NW Pathway Concert Orchestra

Chamber Orchestra will be performing with Lincoln High School and feeder Middle/Elementary schools at Whitman Middle School. 6:30pm call time.

April 21 Ballard Fiddlers at Shawn O’Donnell’s

The Ballard Fiddlers will perform at Shawn O’Donnell’s Irish Pub and Grill as part of a dine-out for BPA. Come and hear some great fiddle music, have some delicious food, and support BPA! Performance at 6pm.

May 2 Concerto Concert

Performing Arts Center

May 15 Ballard Fiddlers Performance

Fiddlers performance at Ballard Homestead. Details to follow.

Orchestra Vancouver B.C. Trip

Final payment was due March 15. Pay with cash or check (made out to BPA) or online at https://www.ballardperformingarts.org/trip-payments. Email bpabtreasurer@gmail.com if you'd like to apply your student's fundraising credits toward the upcoming trip payments.

ALL STUDENTS GOING ON THE VANCOUVER TRIP MUST REGISTER ASAP! Register online if you haven’t already: www.worldstrides.com/register (Trip ID:214462)

Trip details:

• Dates – 5/24-5/26
• Activities: Adjudicated Festival Performance and clinic, Dinner and awards banquet, Grouse Mountain tour
• Included in cost: Charter bus travel, 2 nights hotel stay
• Not included in cost: Meals outside of banquet dinner (hotel may have breakfast—will confirm).

More details will be coming soon, along with an information night sponsored by the festival on a date TBD. Students planning to attend this trip must have a passport and/or Real ID that will allow them entry to Canada.

*Email bpabtreasurer@gmail.com if you'd like to apply your student's fundraising credits toward the upcoming trip payments.

Theatre

Auditions for One Acts are This Week!

The sign ups are posted inside the black box. Students need to prepare a one minute comedic contemporary monologue and fill out an audition packet. Auditions are Thursday, April 4th with time slots starting at 3:50pm! Rehearsals start the Monday after spring break. Performances will be held on May 9, 10, and 11. Hope to see you there!

The district only pays for teachers’ salaries; everything else we have to raise or donate.

Mattress Sale Fundraiser May 5

We need your help! The Ballard Performing Arts Boosters are holding a special parent meeting. Your attendance is very important as every adult who attends will earn money for our program, up to $1,000! EASIEST FUNDRAISER EVER!

All we need is for you to be present to learn more about the mattress fundraiser.

One lucky attendee will receive a pair of luxury pillows, valued at $180!

Tuesday, April 16th @ 7pm in the BHS Library. Hope to see you there!



Also, be sure to click the printable flier to pass out to family and friends. 

Volunteers Needed Tues April 2 ~ 6pm

The NW Choral Showcase event is fun and incredibly important for inspiring and recruiting future BPA participants! Please click here to see how you can help.

Seeking Treasurer, Communications, and Other Volunteers for Next School Year!



We have many ways to get involved. Please check out the list below to see how you can help out. Some roles are short-term, some can be done completely over email (no meetings involved), some are year-long jobs with monthly meeting commitments ensuring that you will make new friends and feel part of an amazing team of other parents (without embarrassing your teenager)! No experience necessary! 

Open Positions: 

• Treasurer (or Co-Treasurers - ask a friend to join you!)
• Communications Chair
• Social Media Lead
• Goodwill Truck Coordinator
• Dine Out Coordinator

Want more information? Please see the list of available volunteer positions. Full job descriptions are provided in the link at the top of the form. Email bpabpresident@gmail.com with any questions or come to our meeting on April 16th at 6pm in the BHS Library to learn more.

Check out past performances any time on our YouTube and Vimeo channels.