In December of 2008, the CYO Band will be traveling to Italy for the Rome New Year’s Day Parade! To help get the kids ready for this cultural experience, we decided to take them to Milwaukee’s “Festa Italiana” to eat some great Italian food and listen to some Italian music…

One of the towns we are visiting is San Gemini, and the flag throwers from that town were at Festa Italiana, performing twice daily. So, we decided to make all of our kids watch the show and WOW it was fantastic!

Check out the videos:
Flag Throwers 1
Flag Throwers 2
Flag Throwers 3
Flag Throwers 4
Flag Throwers 5

and the pictures….
Flag Throwers Slideshow

I have to teach a lesson in 13 minutes.

Good thing I live about 2 minutes from St. Mark.

click the picture to see another person

Music lessons may foster brain development and improve memory in young children.

Researchers have found that not only did the brains of young, musically trained children respond differently to hearing music, but musical training also appeared to improve the children’s memories over the course of a year.
Read more

There are so many wonderful reasons to join the band. Having the skill to play a musical instrument has been one of the most cherished accomplishments throughout history. Students who decide to learn to to play an instrument can use this skill and knowledge for the rest of their lives. There is nothing like the joy of performing music with friends. It happens every day in school groups and continues for adults who still to play in community bands and orchestras or for those who perform professionally. In all cases, performing music can be an exhilarating experience.

Aside from the obvious benefits of playing a music instrument, there are a number of surprising academic benefits to students who study music. Students who take lessons on an instrument at a young age stimulate the brain in a unique way. Studies have shown that learning to play an instrument enhances a student’s academic performance in math, language arts, foreign language and other academic areas. Even standardized test scores such as the SAT are higher among musicians.

Whatever the reason, playing an instrument can bring joy and fulfillment like no other activity. The most common remark from parents following a wonderful band concert is, “I wish my parents would have encouraged me to play an instrument and stick with it.”

www.joincyoband.org

Thanks to my buddy, we got VIP Passes to the press box in Madison for the DCI World Championships!! This picture was taken with my LG Camera phone … for my digital pictures, check out: DCI Pictures on Flickr

Tomorrow’s the day the big article will run in the Kenosha News … here’s today’s teaser: