DSMA Brick Pizzeria Fundraiser

Wednesday, April 21, 2021  4 – 9 PM

We have teamed up with Brick Pizzeria Napoletana for a delicious fundraiser!  Stop by for dinner and $2.00 of every pizza purchased with be donated back to the DSMA.   Please make sure to mention you are with the DSMA at checkout.

Where: Brick Pizzeria Napoletana 634 State Rd. Dartmouth MA

When: Wednesday, April 21st

Time: 4 – 9 PM

If you have any questions please email Ann Lamere or call 774-365-2678

Drumroll, please: Indoor percussion snares semifinals spot at virtual competition

This article appeared in the Dartmouth Week by Kate Robinson – editor@dartmouthweek.net – Mar 7, 2021 . To view the original article, please click here.

Dartmouth High School indoor percussion performing “The Web”

Dartmouth High School indoor percussion performance 2

Dartmouth High School’s gym — home to sports victories and defeats, and even the last town-run Covid vaccine clinics — rang out on Sunday afternoon to rolling drums and crashing cymbals.

The winter indoor percussion season is in full swing, and Dartmouth’s world-class group has already made it to the semifinals to compete against six other schools in their division from across the US.

“These kids look like professionals,” noted percussion instructor and Assistant Band Director Tom Aungst. “They’re highly motivated — that’s the most impressive thing.”

Although the band normally travels to compete before massive audiences in stadiums all over the country, this year everything is a little bit different, with tournaments held virtually.

The percussion ensemble tapes their performances to send to competitions at the national and international level in three different circuits, including one based in the Netherlands.

So far they’ve made it to the semifinals of the Winter Guard International competition.

On March 7, the kids were taping a performance of “The Web,” a spider- and technology-filled show with sparkly costumes and glimmering lights, for a US Bands competition that sees more than 500 ensembles competing across 20 states.

Show Coordinator Darcie Aungst explained the theme as a double entendre.

“I just thought it would be cool, that play on the web — it’s the interweb, and also a spider’s web. You get kind of stuck to both,” she noted. “Like getting addicted to your phones…It’s very relevant now, I think.”

Aside from the empty stands, Tom said that not much else has changed.

“Basically, we’re doing exactly what we normally would do,” he said. “Except we’re not performing in person, and we’re not going anywhere. Everything is virtual.”

Students all wear masks and maintain social distancing during practices and performances, and they seem to have adapted well to safety precautions and other Covid-related issues.

“It’s going better than I thought it would,” said the percussion instructor. “We’ve had kids in and out because of Covid, but we just kept going. Kept focused.”

“We’re getting better each week,” he added. “It’s a good group. Really talented!”

Results from the semifinal rounds are expected by April 10, when the group will learn if it has moved on to the finals.

DSMA Scholarship Golf Tournament – May 1st

Saturday May 1st, 2021

The DSMA Scholarship Golf Tournament benefits the scholarship fund for students in the music program. The event will be held in a scramble format, and we will also be offering a buffet dinner after the event for those that want to support our program but don’t golf! We will have raffle prizes, 50/50 and more, with all proceeds going to our Scholarship Fund.

Where: Allendale Country Club

When: Saturday, May 1st, 2021

Time: 1 PM

Price: $110/person Dinner and Golf or $30/person Dinner only. Corporate hole sponsorships are also available for $100.

For more information or to sign up for a foursome (singles and smaller groups welcome as well!) or hole sponsorship, please view the flyer or contact: Sue Benoit. All signups and checks due by April 20th, 2021

Panera Fundraiser – March 13th

Saturday March 13th  from 4 – 8 PM

Help support Dartmouth School Music Association

Order online at panerabread.com and enter code PRFUND at checkout. You can also bring this flyer or show a digital version to the cashier when ordering at the cafe to ensure your organization gets a portion of the proceeds.

Where: 84 N Dartmouth Mall Drive, North Dartmouth, MA 02747

When: Saturday March 13th

From 4 PM – 8 PM

With virtual concerts, DHS band proves the show can go on

This article appeared in the Dartmouth Week on September 20, 2020, by Christopher Shea. To view the original article, please click here.

Despite the postponement of Dartmouth football to February, Memorial Stadium is once again in-use. 

This weekend saw the first two socially distanced shows put on by Dartmouth High’s marching band as part of its fall season of virtual concerts. 

“It’s great to be able to do something like this,” percussion director Tom Aungst said. “The kids were really excited about the season.”

To prepare, the band has been having regular rehearsals via Zoom, Google classroom, and — in since August — in person.

The band is taking many physical precautions when it comes to Covid-19 safety. Students remain socially distant — six feet apart for regular instruments, and thirteen feet for wind instruments — and masks are required for all except those who need their breath to play.

“Six feet is pretty normal distancing for the drumline,” band director Ian Flint said. “Wind is a whole nother story.” 

To meet those regulations, shows were split into different days, with wind playing on Sept. 18  and percussion on Sept. 20. 

At the wind show, the band played a couple of jazz songs. At the percussion performance, the band played two songs about masks — “The Mask of Zorro” and the theme to “Phantom of the Opera.” 

“This music was actually something we did in 2001,” Flint said. “We weren’t sure if the competitive season would happen, so we chose something that would work for this season.”

Normally, the band would play these songs in-front of a judge where they can immediately get outside feedback on how they did. 

Since the concerts are done virtually, the band instead records its shows and uploads them online where judges will watch the submitted videos and rank the bands.

While this can take multiple takes, Flint said his students try their best to perform the song once.

“Our goal is always consistency,” Flint said. 

Aungst agreed, adding that, if anything, going virtual is “even more of a motivation” for the band.

Moving forward, Flint said he hopes to find a way to get parents watching the shows beyond standing by the fence. 

“We’re taking baby steps with this whole thing,” he said. “But I think at some point we can spread people out. But we still need to take things one week at a time.”

“It’s a lot different season than normal,” Flint added.

Workout with Tom Aungst

The full article can be found on Zildjian’s web site. For direct access to this article,  please click here.

We want to thank Zildjian for putting together this great WORKOUT episode featuring Tom Aungst, who runs through some exercises he does with the Dartmouth HS Drumline.

Not only does it show an awesome video, but it comes with a free PDF download of all the exercises the Dartmouth drumline does.

    

TOM AUNGST is the Director of Percussion at Dartmouth Public Schools in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. His job includes teaching percussion students at all levels of the program, from the beginners starting in 5th grade, to the middle and high school students. Mr. Aungst has been in the Dartmouth school system for the past 24 years. Under Tom’s direction, Dartmouth has participated in the WGI indoor percussion activity since 1998, capturing five World Class Percussion Championships (1998, 1999, 2008, 2009, 2014) and has consistently placed in the top three.

Mr. Aungst has also been involved in the drum corps activity for over 36 years. Tom has recently returned to The Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps as the Caption Head and Arranger for the 2017 season. He was formerly the Caption Head for Carolina Crown in 2015 and 2016. Mr. Aungst got his start in drum corps in the late 70’s by marching with the Reading Buccaneer’s all-age corps, winning two DCA World Championships in 1979 and 1980. In 1981 Tom became involved with The Cadets, first as a member from 1981-1984, then as the Percussion Arranger and Caption Head through 2008 and later returning as a consultant in 2013. While with the corps, Tom was involved with capturing nine championships and seven percussion awards. Mr. Aungst has always remained actively involved in the drum corps activity, recently writing for the Cadets2 corps in 2013, and working with various groups like the Blue Stars, Pacific Crest, Hawthorne Caballeros, and the Connecticut Hurricanes. Tom is a member of The Cadets, Drum Corps International and the WGI Halls of Fame.

Mr. Aungst is a graduate of West Chester University, where he received his Bachelor’s in Music Education and also has a Master’s in Jazz Performance from Rutgers University. Tom is a Vic Firth, Yamaha, Zildjian and Remo artist. He is also a proud father to Alan Aungst and Noah Aungst.

Congrats to our Winter Guard and Indoor Percussion groups for their WGI performances!

The DSMA would like to congratulate all of our students for their excellent performances at WGI World Championships in Dayton, OH!

Our Winter Guard competed from April 3-6, 2019 in the Scholastic Open Class, finishing in 12th place with a score of 86.600! Our guard also received the coveted Fan Favorite Award for their captivating performance!

Our Indoor Percussion group competed from April 11-13, 2019 in the Scholastic World Class, finishing in 4th place with a score of 94.888, just barely missing out on medalling! Their show also won Fan Favorite as well.

Congratulations to all of you for your hard work and dedication all season long. We also would like to thank the staff members who worked with the students all season long, as well as the parent volunteers who chaperoned, built and moved props, and selflessly gave up their time to help our kids!

 

Night of Percussion & NESBA Finals April 5 & 6

Night of Percussion

The annual Night of Percussion is quickly approaching! This night showcases the talent of Dartmouth students in various percussion programs throughout our schools, and ends with a performance of the Indoor Percussion show “All In”. Proceeds from this event benefit the music programs in the Dartmouth Public Schools

Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for students and seniors. You can RSVP on our Facebook page by clicking here!

NESBA Indoor Percussion & Winds Finals

This year’s NESBA Indoor Percussion & Winds Finals will once again be held at Dartmouth High School!

Come see over 30 units from throughout New England perform some of the best indoor percussion & winds shows in the country. Tickets are just $15. You can find more info on our Facebook event page by clicking here.

For a full schedule and list of performing groups, please visit http://nesba.org/events/04062019/2019-New-England-Percussion-and-Winds-Championships/#

Indoor Percussion Itinerary – Week of March 18, 2019 (Triton & Shepard Hill NESBA shows)

The indoor percussion itinerary for the week of March 18 can be found at this link. We recommend printing it out for easy reference! Our Google calendar (which can also be found in the BAND app) has been updated as well.

All costumes that went home with the students after the NJ trip should be washed and returned during rehearsal this week. Any questions about costume washing and care should be directed to Greg Jones (gregjones@dsmahome.org) or Sue Benoit (suebenoit@dsmahome.org).