Mar. 27, 2013

The 2nd Annual BHSN Swing Dance was a big success last Friday! Is anybody still a little Swungover?!

Thanks to the nearly 300 who came! You listened and danced to fabulous live big band music; imbibed mocktails; savored lindy-licious desserts; and several of you bid on and won silent auction gift baskets. As a result of your generosity, we raised $5,000 for the BHSN Band Program! Outstanding!

Special thanks to Directors Janis Stockhouse, Tom Wilson, Student Teacher Matt Morey and all the students in three big bands and combos who performed all night long to our great delight. Thanks also to volunteers from the IU Ballroom Dance Club for their dance lessons and showcase demonstrations.

And to you volunteers - I don't know where to begin with all the Thank You's that are due. See below for the "Army of Volunteers" acknowledgement to find my best attempt at showing my sincere gratitude.

You will also want to check under Albums for pictures and links to video as they come in!

The last opportunity this year to hear stellar performances by all of North's jazz bands will be at the Jazz Finale Concert, Friday, May 17 at 7:00pm in the Auditorium. See you there!

Still with a Swing in my Step,

Janis Cooper Parker BHSN Swing Dance Chair

Army of Volunteers

Thank you to all who have contributed to the success of our Spring Fling Swing Dance!
Below are event acknowledgements, and a listing of volunteers and what they contributed.
Apologies for any omissions.

Event Sponsorship: BHSN Band Boosters
Swing Dance Chair: Janis Cooper Parker
Band Directors: Janis Stockhouse, Thomas Wilson, and student teacher Matthew Morey
Big Bands: BHSN Advanced, Studio, and Intermediate Jazz Bands
North Jazz Combos: Combo #1: Chris Parker, Evan Main, Stefan Lenthe, Jessica True, Tai Mikulecky
Combo #2: Matthew Waterman, Philip Wailes, Christina Dragnea, Chris Parker
Tri-North Jazz Combo: Under the direction of Lissa and Phil May - Patrick Wailes, Ahmad Rahman, Chelsea Campbell, Carl Tafoya, Nicholas Ford, Nick May
Ballroom Dance Lessons & Showcase Demonstrations: Volunteers from the I.U. Ballroom Dance Club - Crystal Wespestad, Becca Mandell, Jordan Jalles, Erica Olivero, Yilmaz Koylow and Olivia Williams
Master of Ceremonies: Perry Metz
Dessert Donations: Longhorn Steakhouse, Baked of Bloomington, Golden Corral, Eastside Kroger, Sahara Mart E. 2nd, Dats, Bloomington Sandwich Company, Macri’s At the Depot, Nadia’s Bistro, Potbelly Sandwich Shop, Bloomingfoods W. 6th, Seminary Square Kroger, Sam’s Club
Silent Auction Donations: Families: Burke, Alexeev, Cattani, Notess, Connor, Wager Miller, Ensman/Shankar, Ellison, Womock, Lee/Mikulecky, Anonymous, and Parker. Businesses: Oliver Winery, Ivy Tech Community College, Starbucks East, Regis Salon, Mia and
Maxx, Chelsea’s at College Mall, Creating Harmony, College Mall Nailtique, TGI Friday’s, Applebee’s, Cheddar’s Casual Cafe, Domo Steak and Sushi, McAlister’s Deli, and Red Lobster
Tickets & Publicity Coordinators: Vladimira Dragnea and Sharon Mayell
Refreshment Coordinators: Kevin and Judy Killigrew
Silent Auction Coordinators: Janis Parker and Lisa Ensman
Physical Arrangements: Debra Rayl and the BHSN Custodial Staff
Flyer Graphic Designer: Esther Smail
Website: Lisa Ensman
WFIU Interview: David Brent Johnson
News Coverage: April Toler, Herald-Times
Tutorial Coordination: Mr. Thomas Wilson; Instructors Becca Mandell and Vladimira Dragnea
Rehearsal Recordings: Matt Morey
Engineer: Fred Parker
Accounting: Tania Gardner, BHSN Band Booster Treasurer
Sound Engineers: Chris Alexeev, Hans Riess
Greeters: Lisa Dellacqua, Zach Dellacqua, Cindy Ohslund
Door Monitor: Matthew Keefe and the North student who pitched in last minute (sorry didn’t get your name)
Admission Table: Susie Graham, Lisa Ensman, Harriet Burke, Moira Wedekind, Vladimir Derenchuk
Dessert Pick-Up: Carolyn Lee and Jeannie Galbreath
Refreshments: Michelle Bright, Emma Bright, Anurag Shankar, Vicki Polanski, Sammi Davila, Emily Brzegowy, Jeffrey Parker, Lauren Killigrew, Judy Killigrew, Kevin Killigrew
Silent Auction: Erin Wager Miller
Set-Up Crew: Mark Munroe, Pat Connor, Becky Connor, Tai Mikulecky, Carolyn Lee, Christina Dragnea, Vladimira Dragnea, Cindy Ohslund, Sammi Davila, Emily Brzegowy, Jazz Band Students
Photography: Mitch Merback & all attendees! Please forward your pics and videos to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Pin Lights: Southside Rental
String Lights: Mrs. Francesca Sobrer, Theater Department; and Sam Spevak - layout and installation
Stand Lights: Carolyn Lee
Maroon Tablecloths: Cougars for Better Education
White Tablecloths: Anonymous
Guard Flag “Drapes”: Mrs. Christy Wilson
Black Backdrops: Mr. Tom Wilson, Winter Guard
Tear Down: All those who graciously pitched in to help!

Ms. Stockhouse reports that our students performed magnificently at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival! Out of some 200 high schools from the Western U.S. plus provinces in Canada and even Alaska, Bloomington North had 4 of the top 12 Outstanding Soloists of the festival. These students were announced and honored in front of 20,000 people at the final concert and invited to perform at "Hamp's Club" on Saturday night. The award winning students from Bloomington HS North were: Sadie Johnson (guitar), Evan Main (piano), and Chris Parker (on BOTH tenor saxophone and drums). In addition, Honorable Mentions were awarded to vocal soloist Lydia Elmer, trumpet soloist David Burke, and a combo composed of Sadie Johnson, Lydia Elmer, Samantha Johnson, Evan Main and Chris Parker.

Here are links to a few pictures image1 , image2, and image3. We'll post more on this website in the photo albums soon!
And here's a video of Chris Parker and Sadie Johnson performing at the evening Hamp's Club Concert : YouTube video.

This was the 46th Annual Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, a huge event hosted each year by the University of Idaho. BHS North alum Sara Caswell was a featured artist on the main stage on Friday night and really brought down the house. She paid a special tribute to BHSN, by the way. The North group also crossed paths with several IU Jazz department grads who are now teaching at colleges in the West. The Bloomington/IU reputation is alive and well.

Other North students who attended turned in strong performances also - Miro Sobrer, Stefan Lenthe, Ian VanArsdel, Tai Mikulecky, Hans Riess, Chris Alexeev, Evan Graham, Dhruv Shankar, and Aurora Detor.

On Sunday, the trip included a chance for everyone to go skiing or snowboarding! Unfortunately flights were cancelled early Monday morning due to bad weather, so half the party was rebooked to return very late on Monday night, the other half on Tuesday night.

A HUGE Congratulations to the following North students for having been selected to the prestigious 2013 Indiana All-State and All-State Honor Bands!!
Members of these bands are composed of exceptional musicians selected following highly competitive auditions held early in January at nine centers across Indiana. Over 950 talented young people applied to audition. A committee then reviewed recordings from each center and 165 students from 54 high schools were selected for participation in the 2013 Festival, the very best being placed in the Honor Band.

All members will participate in a series of activities including seating auditions, sectionals, and full rehearsals from Friday, March 8 through Sunday, March 10. A grand finale concert will be presented to the public on Sunday, March 10 at 2:30 pm in the Elliott Hall of Music on the Purdue University campus. Dr. Tom Caneva, from Ball State University, will direct the 82 piece Indiana All-State Band. Paul Popiel, from the University of Kansas and formerly from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, will direct the 83 member Indiana All-State "Honor" Band. Directions to Elliott Hall of Music may be found on the IBA website at www.indianabandmasters.org.

Congratulations for to all for achieving this truly exceptional honor.

The Winter Guard placed 3rd, only 4 points from 1st place, at their first competition of the season! They also won the movement category. Way to go!

Bloomington North also finished very strongly at this year's Purdue Jazz Festival.
Advanced Jazz Band won Loeb Playhouse (Miro Sobrer was named outstanding soloist of the room)
Studio Jazz Band won North Ballroom (Chris Parker was named outstanding soloist of the room)
The Jazz Trio of Evan Main, Stefan Lenthe, Chris Parker won Combo Room 1. Evan, Stefan, and Chris were given summer music clinic scholarships and soloist plaques.
The newly formed Jazz Sextet of Matt Waterman, Jordon Frye, Zach Thames, Gleb Alexeev, Philip Wailes, Chris Parker won Combo Room 2. Philip was named outstanding soloist of the room.
The other two North combos also turned in strong performances, and the following earned Outstanding Solo Certificates in either Big Band, Combo, or both:
Tai Mikulecky, Sadie Johnson, David Burke, Chris Alexeev, Lia Bobay, Jesse McBride, Christina Dragnea, Henry Kathman, Sam Johnson, Ian VanArsdel, Dhruv Shankar, Evan Graham, Aurora Detor, Matt Waterman, Zach Thames, and Jordon Frye.

Congratulations to all of our jazz musicians!