We hope everyone enjoyed a little break from school during the Thanksgiving Holiday! We have a busy couple of weeks leading up to the end of the semester with our Winter Concerts and several other events.

Special Assembly: On Wednesday, December 1 there will be a special assembly at 2:20 PM in the PAC that involves a presentation to our Band Program. Band and Guard members not in Symphonic Band (7th Block) will be excused from class at 2:15 PM to attend. See additional details in your Canvas Inbox on Monday morning regarding this and our concert prep.

Winter Concerts: Please make sure you have your Concert Uniform ready to go for next week! Please remember we have some dress rehearsals coming up in to prepare for our concerts. Details can be found in the  December Concert Blog Post .

This Week:
Tuesday, November 30
Concert Band Dress Rehearsal Advisory / PM AST

Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Wednesday, December 1
Special Assembly & Band Presentation 2:20 - 2:55 PM

Thursday, December 2
Symphonic Band Dress Rehearsal 7:30 - 8:15 AM

Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Friday, December 3
Jingle Jazz!

Saturday, December 4
ECKMEA All-District Band Rehearsals and Performances

Next Week
Tuesday, December 7
Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Thursday, December 9
Band Winter Concert 7:00 PM - PAC

Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Two Weeks
Tuesday, December 14
Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Thursday, December 16
Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Friday, December 17
Final Exams Begin

Looking Ahead
Pep Band - info soon! 1st Game - January 7

KMEA All-State Auditions - January 8

We need a few volunteers to help with refreshments at Jingle Jazz on Friday. The shift should be short, easy and fun! We're serving holiday cookies and hot cocoa before the show and at intermission. Sign up here: www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4aada928abf58-jingle

We have two concerts coming up in December:

Jingle Jazz: Friday, December 3 - 7:00 PM
Jazz Ensemble report at 5:45 PM for warm-up and rehearsal with alumni guests

BVW Band Winter Concert: Thursday, December 9 - 7:00 PM
Wind Ensemble - report 5:45 PM
Symphonic Band - report 5:45 PM
Concert Band - report 6:00 PM
Concert Begins at 7:00 PM

Dress Rehearsals - While having a separate percussion class provides terrific musical learning opportunities for our percussion students that they would not normally have, it does mean we need a little extra time to put together our wind and percussion parts for our performance. As we have discussed in class, we will have a dress rehearsal the week prior to our concert, as well as a sound check the prior to our concert performance. These were scheduled to minimize any loss of time from other classes and to avoid an extra evening rehearsal at this point.

Symphonic Band - Thursday, December 2 from 7:30 - 8:20 AM
This is for all Symphonic Band members and percussion students assigned to Symphonic Band for the concert

Concert Band - Tuesday, November 30 during PM Advisory & AST - start of 6th Block
This is for all Concert Band members and percussion students assigned to Concert Band for the concert

A short week before Thanksgiving Break! 

Congratulations to the 5 students selected as members of the State-wide Kansas John Philip Sousa Honor Band! This is a state level honor band for students in grades 6-9. The Blue Valley West area was well-represented with 14 students total from Lakewood, Pleasant Ridge, and West. Students will rehearse and perform at the Lied Center in January.

Lost and found - there are a number of jackets, water bottles, and other items in the Lost and Found baskets by the water fountain. Please claim them before the end of the day on Tuesday, November 23. Items left after that point will be disposed of or donated.

Band Room Clean-up: We could use a handful of volunteers on Monday, November 22 after school for about 1 hour to help move some equipment from the band room to storage areas now that marching season has concluded. No doubt there will be some sugary treats for any available to help!​

Concert Uniform: Also - make sure you have found items for your Concert Uniform as our first performance will be here quickly! Please see additional details regarding our upcoming concerts in December in the  December Concert Blog Post .


This Week:
Tuesday, November 23
Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Next Week
Tuesday, November 30
Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Thursday, December 2
Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Friday, December 3
Jingle Jazz!

Saturday, December 4
ECKMEA All-District Band Rehearsals and Performances

Two Weeks

Thursday, December 9
Band Winter Concert 7 PM 

Looking Ahead
Pep Band - info soon! 1st Game - January 7

KMEA All-State Auditions - January 8

Each year we get questions from students and parents about upgrading their instrument. Good equipment always makes a positive difference in how any musician performs. From time to time local vendors offer specials. Please see below for an informational flyer from Meyer Music regarding an opportunity to try professional level trumpets and trombones. If you are interested or shopping around, this is a great chance to try out some really high quality instruments. 

Meyer Pro-Sale Brochure

Sign-up for a trumpet / trombone "test-drive" In Overland Park: https://calendly.com/meyermusic/bach-sale-overland-park

Thank you to Wind Ensemble for an excellent performance at our Veterans' Day Assembly this past Tuesday!

​Congratulations to the 30 students selected as members or alternates of the ECKMEA District Honor Bands!

Many different groups are starting up and we have a number of performances in December. Please be sure to check the calendar frequently!

Also - make sure you have found items for your Concert Uniform as our first performance will be here quickly!


This Week:
Tuesday, November 16
Winter Guard Parent Meeting @6 PM
Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Thursday, November 18
Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Next Week
Tuesday, November 23
Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Two Weeks

Tuesday, November 30
Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Thursday, December 2
Winter Guard Rehearsal 6-9 PM

Friday, December 3
Jingle Jazz!

Looking Ahead
Band Winter Concert - Thursday, December 9

Congratulations to the BVW Band Students selected for the East Central KMEA District Honor Band! We had 30 (THIRTY!) students selected for the band or named as alternates - a fantastic showing as we come back from COVID.

Selected band members will perform IN-PERSON with the Honor Bands on Saturday, December 4. Schedule details will be sent out later this week. District Band members are then eligible to audition for the KMEA All-State Ensembles in January.

Full results can be found HERE.

Over the past week interested students have participated in audition clinics for the 2021-2022 BVW Winter Guard season. The team roster will be posted on Monday. There will be a meeting for all members and parents on Tuesday, November 16 at 6:00 PM in the BVW Band Room. Topics will Include Winter Guard schedule, program announcement, fees, and contracts.

Jingle Jazz is an annual event for the BVW Jazz Ensemble. Unfortunately we were unable to hold this concert last Winter due to COVID, but we are excited to bring it back this year.

Traditionally we have Included an alumni / parent jazz ensemble as part of the performance. We were not sure we would be able to do this due to COVID mitigation until recently. We are please to invite any interested alumni / parents who would like to sit in with our Jazz Ensemble on a couple of numbers to join us!

If you are Interested, please RSVP using this FORM. Please submit registrations no later than Friday, November 19.

The Alumni / Parent Jazz Ensemble will have a brief rehearsal at 5:00 PM on Friday, December 3 prior to our performance.

Our mighty Jaguar football team has advanced to the state semi-finals, and a win this coming Friday would send them to the State Championship on Saturday, November 27 in Emporia! We would be the "home team" at the state championship, and tradition is that both schools bring a pep band.

Because the state championship occurs during Thanksgiving Break we know that many of our families will be traveling and unable to participate in the pep band. This is not an issue at all. Students will be asked to fill out a survey form this week so that we can get a headcount for reserving busses and other logistics.