The Arts
Band Program
The Band Program at Chaminade provides a wide range of musical opportunities for students to develop their inherent spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and physical potential. Chaminade Bands offers a variety of ensembles for 6-12 students to participate in, regardless of skill level. In addition, the program’s ensembles perform at a wide range of events, including formal concerts, evaluated festivals, competitions, school functions, and football and basketball games.
- Beginning Band
- CMG (Contemporary Music Group)
- High School Jazz Lab
- Intermediate Band
- Jazz Combo
- Jazz Ensemble
- Pep Band
- Men's Chorus
- Middle School Jazz Band
- Wind Ensemble
Beginning Band
Students in Middle School or High School who show interest in learning an instrument should enroll in one of the Beginning Band courses. In these courses, students learn about the different instruments, choose an instrument to play, and develop foundational individual and ensemble skills. In addition, students learn how to self-assess, peer-review, plan and achieve goals, and work in a performance-based environment. Students in Middle School and High School Beginning Band are prepared throughout the year to join our Intermediate Band (MS) and Wind Ensemble (HS) the following year.
CMG (Contemporary Music Group)
High School Jazz Lab
Intermediate Band
In Intermediate Band, students continue to develop their musical skills and work with others to perform a wide variety of concert band literature. Students in Intermediate Band also take part in many music opportunities, such as the Bishop DuBourg Honor Band, Metro District 8 Honor Band and Honor Jazz Band, The Annual Chaminade Middle School Band Festival, and the Chaminade Middle School Solo and Ensemble Competition. On some years the Intermediate Band competes at the Music in the Parks Festival at Six Flags in the Spring semester.
Jazz Combo
High School students who wish to further develop their concepts of harmony, form, improvisation and ensemble playing are encouraged to audition for our zero-hour Jazz Combo. This group focuses on learning some of the core repertoire of great Jazz composers such as Duke Ellington, Thelonius Monk, Wayne Shorter, Horace Silver as well as Jazz standards that are frequently used in professional settings.
Jazz Ensemble
In Jazz Ensemble, high school students intensively develop a variety of skills related to the jazz idiom. Tone, Style, Time-feel, Harmony, History, and Improvisation are all taught in this course through the context of big band literature. As of 2018, Jazz Ensemble is a full credit class that takes place during the school day.
Pep Band
Men's Chorus
Middle School Jazz Band
Wind Ensemble
The Wind Ensemble is the premier performing ensemble at Chaminade. Students in the ensemble perform at formal school concerts, events and ceremonies. In addition, the Wind Ensemble has performed at the MSHSAA Large Ensemble Festival annually for over 35 years and has traveled for the past 20 years to competitions, festivals and universities. Students perform a wide variety of wind band literature in an ensemble of 40-50 other students, and they work with local, regional and nationally recognized conductors, musicians and composers.
Drama and Theater Production
AUDITIONS:
We are excited to continue the Chaminade Drama season with TWO epic plays which will be performed in rotation Dec 3-6 – the classic Greek tragedy OEDIPUS REX and the expressionistic drama THE ADDING MACHINE. These shows will hopefully be performed for a socially-distanced audience as well as will be live streamed. Both shows will follow safety protocols of social distancing and masking in rehearsals and production and will also integrate innovative uses of video content. Our plan is to create two technologically creative and cutting-edge productions which will each run 60-70 minutes.
The shows will be cast with two sperate groups of students and crew who will not overlap with each other for safety precautions. Each show will rehearse both in-person at Chaminade as well as some online. In total there will be up to approximately 40 acting roles available. Auditions are open to all Chaminade students and any ladies in 6-12th grades.
Both shows are very well-known theatre classics, so a simple Google search will easily provide you information on each show and its characters as well as video clips and more.
Auditions will be held next Tuesday, October 13 on Zoom. See the link below for more details and to sign up. If you cannot make one of those time slots, please email me and we will make arrangements. Potential call backs (if needed) will be on Wednesday, October 14. Casting will be announced later next week and rehearsals will begin after school on Monday, October 19.
Here are the links you need:
Sign Up Genius Link – Sign up for an audition slot for next Tuesday on the following link. Please read the directions. There are slots for SIX people per half hour block. If possible, when signing up try to mix male and females in each group so it doesn’t turn in an all-male or all-female group. If that is your only option, that’s ok though. If I need to add more slots I may have to add them on Thursday.
This weekend I will send those who signed up more specific information to help them prepare for Tuesday’s audition.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E044BACAD2EAAF58-oedipus
Online Audition Form – Please complete this form immediately after signing up for an audition slot on the Sign Up Genius link.
https://forms.gle/Fbc6eMUNWudhZTpu9
PAST SHOWS:
Click the title of the show to see photos of some of our previous productions.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Imaginary Invalid
How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying
Peter and the Starcatcher
CLUE The Musical
Under the Big Top
Visual Arts
Chaminade's Band, Drama & Theater and Fine Arts programs are among the best in the area. Housed in the beautiful Skip Viragh Center for the Arts, the technology and facilities available to all students rivals that of professional venues. Our theater productions, award winning band program and comprehensive art program are a large part of Esto Vir Journey for every Chaminade Gentleman.