Ballard Performing Arts News
December 7, 2021
Upcoming Events
Dec. 7 | Vocal Jazz Holiday Caroling during the day
Dec. 7 | BPA Boosters Board Meeting 6 pm
Dec. 14 | Orchestra Winter Concert 6 PM (9 and 10 grade); 8 PM (11 and 12 grade)
Dec. 15 | Band Winter Concert 6 PM (9 and 10 grade); 8 PM (11 and 12 grade)
Dec. 16 | Choir Winter Concert 6 PM (9 and 10 grade); 8 PM (11 and 12 grade)
Dec. 20-31 | Winter Break
Jan. 3 | School resumes

See our BPA Calendar for more details.
Featured News
Beauty and the Beast Cast List Announced!
Congrats to all the students who participated in the audition process. We’re excited to see the show!

Belle: Lydia Van Kley
Maurice: Kyle Fry-Holman
The Beast: Milo Palmer
Gaston: Alden Payne
LeFou: Elijah Graham
Monsieur D’Arque: Will Shepard
Cogsworth: Ezra Hage
Lumiere: Eliot Jamet
Babette: Tova Goedart
Mrs. Potts: Lili Reigart
Chip: Anna Hoffman
Madame La Grande Bouche: Hope Onstad

Villagers:
Sausage Curl Girl: Gabby Bandy
Candle Woman: Lucy Ingham
Hat Seller: Evan Dandakar
Milkmaid: Millie Atack
Tavern Master: Miles Haney
Bookseller: Maggie Stowell
Gaston’s Cronies/Male Villagers: Malcolm Laurier, John Coughlan
Laundry Lady: Giana Busiel
Marie: Miriam Mathan
Female Villager: Amelia Wignall
Silly Girl #1: Izzy Rampersad
Silly Girl #2: Ella Papineau
Silly Girl #3: Zoe Papadakis

Ensemble (Servants/Enchanted Objects & Villagers):
Peyton Cvitkovic
Autumn Bailey
Sylvia Bates
Corrine Iacobucci
Casey Middleton
Sophia Nash
Audrey Rasmuss
Mira Slotkin
Emma Van Steenis
Katherine Wenrick
Important Concert Attendance Vax Update
We’re so excited to be able to have concerts in person again. There's a new seating protocol in place due to Covid precautions.

PLEASE REMEMBER: ONLY TWO PEOPLE PER STUDENT are allowed to attend the concert. Per district mandates, families must seat in pairs, six feet away from each other. There are two show times per program; show times are based on your student’s grade level.

Note: The 6 pm shows of each program will be livestreamed, and available on our YouTube channels for viewing for additional family members who want to attend.

Upon entry:
All attendees will need to present vaccination cards and identification and complete a health attestation prior to entering the building. 

We are waiting to hear from the district whether they will also accept negative covid tests within 72 hours. 

The district’s policy is to check the cards of those 18 and over who are not students.  

Please consider arriving at 5:30 pm for the 6 pm show and 7:30 pm for the 8 pm show to allow for enough time to get everyone seated.

Please complete the health attestation by going to this link or scanning the QR code below. 
CONCERT SCHEDULE: BE SURE TO ONLY GO TO THE PROGRAM FOR YOUR STUDENT’S GRADE!

Dec 14 | Orchestra Winter Concert 
6 PM (9 and 10 grade)
8 PM (11 and 12 grade)

Dec 15 | Band Winter Concert
6 PM (9 and 10 grade)
8 PM (11 and 12 grade)

Dec 16 | Choir Winter Concert
6 PM (9 and 10 grade)
8 PM (11 and 12 grade)

General admission seating is free.

Reserved seating available!
Families can reserve seating through SHOWTIX for a donation of $25 per seat. 

Visit showtix4u.com, then search for Ballard High School to reserve seats.

Please be sure you are selecting the time and date for the correct program and for your student’s grade.

Don’t forget to pick up your coffee orders in the lobby!
Concert Volunteers Needed!

We need parent volunteers to help with the upcoming concert series. It will be best if parents from other groups can volunteer at a concert that their student is not involved with. For example, choir parents can volunteer at the band or orchestra concert.

Dec 14 | Orchestra Winter Concert 6 pm (9 and 10 grade); 8 pm (11 and 12 grade)
Dec 15 | Band Winter Concert, 6 pm (9 and 10 grade); 8 pm (11 and 12 grade)
Dec 16 | Choir Winter Concert, 6 pm (9 and 10 grade); 8 pm (11 and 12 grade)

We need a total of 12 volunteers for each evening:

  • Two volunteers needed to check IDs and vaccine cards
  • Two volunteers to usher groups to their seats
  • Two volunteers to supervise students as they wait in the music rooms

Please sign up for a slot via the signup genius.

To volunteer with Seattle Public Schools, you MUST complete the SPS online process. PLEASE start this process ASAP. Check with Cindy Peterson in the admin office to see if your paperwork is up to date.
Tuxedo-Wearers - do you have the right shirt?
Students wearing tuxes must wear a tux shirt as part of their concert uniform. Several students were wearing white dress shirts at the fall concerts, which don’t work with the bow ties.

  • Please pick up a shirts from Ted Brown Music. Do not order online; those shirts are not the ones required.
  • There are some gently used tux shirts, mostly small and medium, in the uniform room for purchase. $15 for shirt and cuff link/stud set. Come in before school starts to try one on.
Program Updates
Band

Does Your Student Want to Play in the Beauty and the Beast Pit Orchestra?
Interested students should complete the form.There won’t be auditions, but Mr Gillespie will choose the students based on instrument need. 

This form is only accessible by students, so please share with your student:

Recap of UW Ethnomusicologist’s Informative Visit 
Shannon Dudley, renowned ethnomusicologist and professor of musicology at the University of Washington spent time with Wind Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble discussing Robert Sheldon’s piece, Danzas Cubanas on Monday. Professor Dudley is an expert in the music of Latin America and the Caribbean, performing regularly in the Seattle area, and holds a PHD from the University of California Berkeley. Professor Dudley was able to shine a historical and utilitarian light on the song styles and instrumentation used in Danzas Cubanas. Robert Sheldon, while a gifted composer, is not native to Cuba and as can be expected was not totally faithful to the Cuban traditions references in the piece. We were able to pinpoint some of those discrepancies while also learning about the function and history of the unique instruments which are not widely utilized in Western music, such as the timbales, guiro, claves, bongos, congas and agogo bells. Danzas Cubanas will be performed Wednesday, December 15th at the winter band concert. Please tune in to hear all the hard work these students have put into learning to perform the beautiful music written in the Cuban tradition!

Schedule for Band Concert Day, Wed, 12/15
Rehearsal for concert bands only: 2:45-3:45 pm (jazz & brass band will rehearse in the morning)
Call time: 5:30 pm
Remember there are two performances, one at 6 pm, one at 8 pm

Individual Playing Test - Thursday 12/16 & Friday 12/17
Jay will be testing all band students (including jazz) individually on Thursday and Friday on a short excerpt, site reading, andscales - sharp.
Choir

The Winter Concert is December 16
9th & 10th grade parents/guardians at 6 pm (arrive by 5:30).
11th and 12th grade parents/guardians at 8 pm (arrive by 7:30).

Advanced Chorale and Treble Choir will be performing selections from Benjamin Britton’s Ceremony of Carols with a professional harpist.

Concert Choir will perform Beethoven’s Hallelujah from the Mount of Olives with a professional string quartet.

Vocal Jazz Caroling at Schools and Community Today
Today, December 7, Vocal Jazz will be on a caroling field trip spreading winter cheer to the community. If you are in the neighborhood, feel free to stop by and listen. All events are outside and masked.

7:15 Lawton Elementary
8:30 Whitman Middle School
9:30 Ballard HS
10:30 Lunch at Mod Pizza
11:35 Loyal Heights Elementary
12:25 Picolino's
1:25 Catherine Blaine K-8
2:15 West Woodland Elementary
2:50 Adams Elementary
Orchestra

Fiddler's Wrap Up
The Fiddlers performed an hour-long set for a large and lively crowd at Shawn O’Donnell’s pub during the Dine out for BPA event on Tuesday, November 30th. Thank you to everyone who came out to support the Fiddlers and BPA! 

Check out our YouTube Channel for some videos of the performances!
Theatre

Beauty and the Beast Cast list announced above!

Stay tuned for rehearsal and ticket info.

Performances are:
  • March 16-20
  • March 23-27
Help Fund Our Programs
The district only pays for teacher’s salaries; everything else we have to raise or donate.
Fundraising Update

Save Your Goodwill Stuff for January 22!
The Goodwill Truck fundraiser for BPA is coming back Saturday, Jan 22 from 9 to noon (or until Truck filled) in the back parking lot. Please save your donations and holiday clean up until then!
Help Wanted
Want to have a front row seat to the Ballard Performing Arts action?

We need help next year with the following positions, due to several families graduating from the school:
  • Jazz Band Rep
  • Choir Rep
  • Website Coordinator
  • Publicity Writer
  • Graphic Designer
  • Grant Writer - needed NOW
 
Contact Jeannette Chen for more information.
Please volunteer for a shift at the upcoming concerts!
We need people to check vax cards, usher people to seats, and supervise other groups while they wait to play. Sign up for a shift for a concert your student is not performing in,
here.

Volunteer Training Via Zoom Dec. 13
All Volunteers should attend the volunteer meeting Monday, Dec.13 at 7 pm via Zoom.

Join the Zoom meeting:

Meeting ID: 865 9782 2126
Passcode: 810703
Student News
Student Spotlight
This week, we recognize senior Anne Tinker.

Anne is a senior in Concert Choir, Vocal Jazz, and Chamber Choir. She serves as Alto section leader this year. Anne is a true leader in every sense of the word. She has a wonderful voice, always sings musically and expressively, reads music at a high level, is kind and supportive to those around her, and is always organized! We’re thankful to have Anne in the program!
Featured Video
The Fiddler’s Performance at Shawn O’Donnells on November 30th had a standing room only attendance. Check out a video of their take on a James Brown classic here:
Check out past performances any time on our YouTube and Vimeo channels.
Community News
Donate to Help a Ballard Family in Need for the Holidays

Bucky’s Home for the Holidays is a partnership between the Ballard High School PTSA and the Ballard High School Foundation, and the Teen Health Center and Ballard High School Staff.

Affectionately known as “Bucky’s”, the intent of this partnership is to provide gift card donations to Ballard High School community families in need of financial assistance to help with food and household essentials during the two week Winter Break and to help celebrate the holiday season during the holiday season. 

Passive Giving
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.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
Interested in becoming a BPA Sponsor?
Contact Russ Laurier at bpabsponsorships@gmail.com.
Ballard Performing Arts
 Ballard Performing Arts Booster Club
Contact us at: