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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2017)
October 13, 2017 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com • 7A Striking up the band at Seaside High School Dahlgren lets students ‘cut loose a bit’ By Rebecca Herren For Seaside Signal It is the beginning of the school year at Seaside High School, and with that, there will be another musically ex- citing adventure for the bands. The Symphonic Band will welcome new students into its band program. Without last year’s seniors, the first order of business, ac- cording to Terry Dahlgren, the high school’s band director, will be to get everyone used to playing together. “Quite a bit of time goes into rebuild- ing fundamentals of playing and sight-reading the first few weeks of school,” Dahlgren said. “Working up the music for pep band is also a fun pri- ority that needs to be accom- plished.” For many of the stu- dents, this is their favorite part of band, he noted. Dahlgren has a busy year planned for his band students. After they have settled into the new school year, their at- tention will be focused on the fall concert in November that will include patriotic, holiday REBECCA HERREN/FOR SEASIDE SIGNAL Seaside High School band director Terry Dahlgren works on rebuilding fundamentals of play- ing and sight-reading for returning and new band students. and Halloween pieces. Then in January, they will begin building their contest music. One of the pieces Dahlgren has planned for the contest is a medieval piece that conjures images of knights and majes- tic royalty. The district and league contest performances will de- A cast of zombies pend on the performance lev- el the students achieve while practicing their musical skill building. All the while work- ing on music for basketball pep band and supporting the school where they can. But it doesn’t end with all work and no play. Dahlgren will let the students “cut loose Seaside Signal REBECCA HERREN/FOR SEASIDE SIGNAL Students head ’em out for cowboy poetry festival Poet from Page 1A slam, as well as meet with sea- soned writers and poets. On Sunday, Feb. 4, they’ll catch the train to Reno where they’ll next board a plane for Portland where the beau- tiful yellow school bus will be waiting to transport them home again. “Along with parent and teacher chaperones, my wife and I have been taking students to the Gathering for 20 years. “The last one we attended fea- tured the world- renowned au- thor and activist Temple Gran- din as the keynote speaker, as well as Cowboy Poetry Gath- ering greats such as Michael Martin Murphy, Ian Tyson, Don Edwards, Cowboy Celtic, and Paul Zarzyski.” The Harvest Moon Arti- san Market promises to be an amazing event. “All the craft items are handmade by the vendor,” Mizell said. “And this is a fun way to help stu- dents afford the upcoming trip to Nevada.” For more in- formation about becoming a vendor contact Mark Mizell at 503-593-9044 or email him at mmizell@seaside.k12.or.us. Describe the type of hand- made craft you will be selling and any questions you have. To make a donation to the students’ travel fund,write a check to Seaside High School Elko Fund. “This is the first time we’ve ever done a fundraising artisan fair to get the students to Elko,” Mizell said. “Hope- fully, it won’t be the last.” for the district honor band in January. Two students who stand out from last year are Kendy Lin, who traveled with the Oregon Ambassadors of Mu- sic to Europe this summer; and Gretchen Hoekstre, who was a member of the Music in May honor band at the end of the last school year, and who, Dahlgren said, will be an in- tegral member to the bands’ success this year. “We have many great kids like Kendy and Gretchen, but it’s a team effort. Everyone is important to our success. That’s just not a platitude in our case, it’s the key to everything.” Dahlgren’s philosophy speaks volumes. The compe- titions are one of the learning opportunities used to increase performance skills and he’s upfront about the purpose of the competitions. As for beat- ing other bands, he’s no longer interested in providing that experience to students. What he is interested in giving them is the opportunity to play in a real auditorium and receive real feedback from leading music educators. “The key for me is that the kids are showing growth and that the feedback is valuable. If musical growth occurs, then it’s ‘mission ac- complished’ in my book.” New school, new language, new customs By R.J. Marx The cast for the fall play of “The Craving: A Horrific Comedy in Two Acts.” a bit” to play some movie music for their spring con- cert. “The students have made some great suggestions for pieces to play for pep band and the spring concert, so we’ll see how many of these we can ac- complish.” In the meantime, he will try to put together a jazz band for this year. Concerts and contests don’t come without a price and Dahlgren acknowledges the support from the community. “We have been extremely for- tunate in the bands to have had great financial support from our community that helps us avoid spending valuable classroom time and energy on fundraising.” He recognizes the support through organiza- tions such as the Lighthouse Jazz Society, Seaside Boosters and Broadway PTO among the community members who have made generous dona- tions. The bands in Seaside con- tinue to be one of the largest 4A programs in the state. There are approximately 230 students from grades 6 through 12. The Symphonic Band, which is the main band for the high school, continues to be strong at the 80- to 90-mem- ber range. Both the pep band and jazz ensemble are assem- bled from the membership of the symphonic band. Dahlgren notes that the band program is fortunate to have some of the best ac- ademic kids in school and there are several opportu- nities for students to shine. Ten students from Broadway Middle School and Seaside High School will be selected Among the 461 students enrolled at Seaside High School this year are three ex- change students from over- seas. Arthur Brugneratto Prada and Fernanda Vasconcellos, both of Brazil, and Mathil- da Gunleiksrud of Norway appeared with returning ex- change student Sam Thorn- ton at the school’s district’s September board of directors meeting. “I’m really enjoying my time down here,” Vasconcel- los said. “Last weekend I went to my first football game. I couldn’t understand what was going on, but it was fun.” Gunleiksrud, of Dolmen, Norway, will be living with her host family for the year. So far she’s traveled to Can- non Beach, Nehalem and Portland, and will be visiting Boston in November. She plans on participating in the drama club’s fall play. She likes her host family’s home cooking and the availability of local takeout food. Brugneratto Prada, a se- nior, said he liked the electives at the high school. The most fun he’s had in the U.S. was at a wedding in the California redwoods. “It was really cold,” he said, before adding, “Every day here is really cold.” He plans on joining the Fernanda Vasconcellos of Brazil, Seaside’s Sam Thorn- ton, Mathilda Gunleiksrud of Norway, Arthur Brugneratto Prada of Brazil. R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL wrestling team and partici- pating in the Key Club. The exchange program has a long history at Seaside High School, said Natalie Osburn, the school’s assistant principal. Students typical- ly take their exchange peri- od during their junior year because they want to spend their senior year with peers. Thornton returned from a year in Mexico. “I went in with no Spanish at all,” she said. Thornton lived with two host families and developed her language skills by speak- ing Spanish every day. “I re- ally connected with them,” she said. “I met some of the best friends of my entire life.” WE’VE GOT YOUR BUSINESS. AND YOUR BACK. 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