Band

Upcoming Events

First Band Rehearsals/Lessons of the Year

Week of August 26th

Band rehearsals and lessons will start up during the first full week of school. All instrument group lessons take place during the school day, as do full band rehearsals for the 5th grade band and 6th grade band. The 7th/8th grade band meets before school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Jazz Band meets after school on Tuesdays.

First rehearsal/lesson dates are listed below.  Each student will have band two (5th/6th grade) or three (7th/8th grade) days per week.

Monday, 8/26:  7th/8th grade flutes, 7th/8th grade saxophones, 7th/8th grade percussion, 6th grade full band

Tuesday, 8/27:  7th/8th grade full band (6:55-7:35 AM), 5th grade all instruments

Wednesday, 8/28:  6th grade flute, 6th grade saxophone, 6th grade percussion

Thursday, 8/29:  7th/8th grade full band (6:55-7:35 AM), 6th/7th/8th grade French horn, 6th/7th/8th grade low brass (trombone, baritone, tuba)

Friday, 8/30:  6th/7th/8th grade clarinet, 6th/7th/8th grade trumpet

WEGO 8th Grade Marching Band Night (8th grade band students, optional for 7th grade band students)

Friday, September 27th - Evening - West Chicago High School

On Friday, September 27th, band students who are currently in 8th grade will perform our national anthem and the West Chicago High School fight song with the WEGO Marching Band during their pregame show. This will be a fun night for 8th graders to come together with students from the high school and other area middle schools to get a preview of the high school band experience.

Details will be emailed to families and sent home with students as the date approaches.

Band Calendar 24-25

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August Calendar

Band Handbook

About the Band Program

The Benjamin bands are open to all students at Benjamin Middle School.  Band is an activity that meets throughout the school year. Our band program includes Beginning Band, 6th Grade Band, 7th/8th Grade Band, and Jazz Band.  Each band rehearses once or twice per week as a full group, and students in the Benjamin bands have a weekly individual or small-group lesson with students in the same band who play the same instrument. Students are pulled from class during the school day for their individual or small group lesson on a rotating basis to avoid continually missing any one class.  It is the student's responsibility to complete any work they miss as a result of band in a timely manner. Students are expected to attend all band lessons, rehearsals, and performances for the group(s) they are in.

Each band performs in two concerts per year: one in December and one in May.  Additional performance opportunities vary by ensemble, including Bengals Night, the Evergreen Holiday Bazaar, WEGO Marching Band Night and WEGO Middle School Band Festival at WCCHS, and the Solo & Ensemble Festival.

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About the Director

Morgan Martin began her band directing career at Benjamin Middle School during the 2020-21 school year. Ms. Martin attended Elmhurst University and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2020 with bachelor's degrees in Music Education and Percussion Performance. She is currently working towards a masters in Music Education from the American Band College at Central Washington University. Ms. Martin is also the Percussion Director of the Oswego East High School Marching Wolves and conducted the Oswego East High School Percussion Ensemble at the 2024 Music for All National Festival.

Ms. Martin is an active performer who has played with ensembles throughout the Chicagoland area including the Naperville Winds (principal percussion), Chicago Brass Band, Lake Shore Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, and the Midwest Philharmonic Orchestra. She will perform with the Naperville Winds at Carnegie Hall in June 2025. During her undergraduate studies, she was a two-time recipient of the Elmhurst University Honors Recital Award.

Ms. Martin is a member of the Illinois Music Education Association and serves as District IX Percussion Representative.

Frequently Asked Questions

Contact

Ms. Morgan Martin
mmartin@benjamin25.org
(630) 876-7820 ext. 2154

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