Elementary Band



Student Registration Steps:

  1. Click on the "STUDENT REGISTRATION" button below (Eventbrite platform)
  2. Purchase a Ticket by clicking on "Get Tickets"
  3. Donations (optional)

2024 SUMMER STUDENT REG OPENS FEB 24


2024 SUMMER TA REG OPENS FEB 24

Elementary Band Program Features





Instruments Offered:
Bagpipe*
Flute
Oboe
Clarinet
Alto Saxophone
Tenor Saxophone
Trumpet
French Horn
Trombone*
Baritone / Euphonium*
Percussion (Bells & Snare)**

*TBC provides a limited number of free rentals for these instruments, with priority going to low-income families.
**Students must learn both bells and snare



Student Materials Needed:

-Instrument
-Instrument bell cover
-Music Stand
-Standards of Excellence Book 1 & 2
-Tuner (optional)
-Metronome (optional)
-Additional accessories for your instrument



Details:
Starting: Sunday September 10th, 2023
Ending: Sunday May 19th, 2024

Times:
Class times vary by group and level, see below for details

Costs:
FREE!
Donations are greatly appreciated to help keep music programs in our communities.

Grades:
Open to students grades 4+



23-24 School YEar Program Levels



Beginning





East Bay: Sundays 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM OR 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

South Bay: Sundays 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM


Locations:

East Bay: Stratford, 43077 Osgood Rd, Fremont, CA 94539

South Bay: Stratford, 3800 Blackford Ave, San Jose, CA 95117



Requirements:
None



Intermediate





East Bay: Sundays 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

South Bay: Sundays 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM


Locations:

East Bay: Stratford, 43077 Osgood Rd, Fremont, CA 94539

South Bay: Stratford, 3800 Blackford Ave, San Jose, CA 95117

*Both Intermediate & Advanced classes are for returning musicians



Requirements:
Must be able to comfortably play Sawmill Creek in Standard Excellence Book 1



Advanced





East Bay: Sundays 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

South Bay: Sundays 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM (No sectionals)


Locations:

East Bay: Stratford, 43077 Osgood Rd, Fremont, CA 94539

South Bay: Stratford, 3800 Blackford Ave, San Jose, CA 95117


*Both Intermediate & Advanced classes are for returning musicians



Requirements:
Must be able to comfortably play Turkish March in the Standards of Excellence Book 2



Introduction Video



Want to learn what the Hastati Regiment is all about?

Come join our award-winning elementary band program!



23-24 SCHOOL YEAR
VOLUNTEER INFORMATION


2024 SUMMER TA REG OPENS FEB 24

Starting: Sunday September 10, 2023

Ending: Sunday May 19, 2024


Locations:

East Bay: Stratford, 43077 Osgood Rd,

Fremont, CA 94539


South Bay: Stratford, 3800 Blackford Ave,

San Jose, CA 95117)​



OUR PROCESS





Sectionals





Sectionals are led by students and teachers who specialize on your instrument, providing instrument specific instruction to help speed up your learning. Sectionals are crucial for student success and is the reason why we've been able to progress 4 times faster than most other programs. Sectionals are held on Sundays.



MakeMusic





MakeMusic is a state of the art AI tool which uses the computer's microphone to listen to and analyze student performance providing instant feedback. We use MakeMusic as a tool to supplement student learning and is the "homework" component of our program with assignments due each week.



FULL ENSEMBLE CONCERT REHEARSALS





Concert rehearsals allow students to learn how to play and blend with other students in a team environment. By working together, students are able to perform advanced concert pieces showcased at our year-end concert.



Year End Concert





We will have a concert at the end of the year to show off everything that our students have achieved. Last year's concert at San Mateo Performing Arts Center featured over 400 performers and 700 audience members.



STAFF



Harrison Cheng

East Bay Summer Director


Harrison has been involved in music education for over 20 years in Fremont. Currently, he is the founder of the Tri-City Band Corps (TBC), and a board member with the Parents of Universal Performers, IHS Vikings Band Boosters, and an instructor at Mission San Jose High School. Harrison has previously been the band director at Gomes, Chadbourne, Mission Valley, and Mission San Jose Elementary.



Alejandro Gallo

South Bay Instructor


Alejandro Gallo is a current student of San Jose State University majoring in Music Education (instrumental emphasis) and now entering his fourth year. His journey started in highschool where he first picked up the Tuba and fell in love with music. He has since had the great opportunity to explore his comfortability with other instruments and perform with groups such as S.F Nova Allianca (2016-2021) a local Portuguese band, and the Santa Clara Vanguard cadets (19' 20' 22') where he was taught to value self discipline and hard work. He has also had the opportunity to tutor high school students and works very well with taking a relatable and understanding approach.



Trenton Kozel

South Bay Summer Director


Trenton has been in marching bands and played the trumpet for over 10 years. Originally, Trenton is from Santa Maria, California where he was a part of the Orcutt Academy Spartan Marching Band, being appointed as drum major in his senior year. Currently, he studies music education at San Jose State, marches with the San Jose State Spartan Marching Band, and coaches band and gives private lessons throughout the South Bay area.



Samyuktha Gopinath Lakshmi

Director of Elementary Programs



Samyuktha Gopinath Lakshmi is a sophomore at Irvington High School. This is her second year in TBC and she plays percussion. Disneyland is her favorite place to visit because she is a huge fan of Disney and loves to go on rides. If she were a time of day she would be late night. This is the best time of day because she enjoys sleeping and relaxing in her comfy bed. If Samyuktha could be any animal, it would be a wolf. Wolves are playful, caring, and very energetic.



Advai Srinivasan

Deputy Director of Elementary Programs
(East Bay Beginning)



Advai Srinivasan is a junior at Mission San Jose High School. This is his second year in TBC and he plays tenor and bass Trombone. his favorite place to visit is Zion National Park because he plans to major in geology and the park shows very interesting geologic features and sequence of strata. He is best represented at the time 2-6 am. This is the time to view and observe stars in the night sky which he enjoys. If he could be any animal, he would be a snapping turtle because he's usually quiet but he can be very loud and jarring sometimes.



Arjun Murugappan

Deputy Director of Elementary Programs
(East Bay Int/Adv)



Arjun Murugappan is a sophomore at Irvington High School. This is his second year in TBC and he plays the tuba and sousaphone. His favorite place is not one, but many of the hiking trails in the Santa Cruz Mountains, because he loves hiking. He usually visits these trails when he is either backpacking with his Boy Scout troop or hiking with this family on the weekends. If he was a time of the day, then he would be early morning(5-7 am). it's the best part of the day because he is very calm during this time and isn't bothered by anyone. At this time, he usually goes out for a jog or catches up on schoolwork. If he could be any animal, he would be a cheetah. Cheetahs are the fastest land animals on Earth, and he wishes that he could be as fast as them



Oscar Wang

Deputy Director of Elementary Programs
(South Bay)



Oscar Wang is a senior at Monta Vista High School. This is his first year in TBC and he plays the alto and baritone Saxophone. His favorite place to visit's Yosemite because it's a great hiking spot both in the summer and winter. If I were a time of day I would be the afternoon. The afternoon is when school is almost over and he will be home soon. If he could be an animal, he would be a bird. He loves traveling and being a bird would make such travel much easier.



Sandra Hsieh

Deputy Director of Elementary Programs
(Virtual)



Sandra Hsieh is a senior at Misson San Jose High School. This is her second year in TBC and she plays the trumpet. Her favorite place is Taiwan, because all of her relatives live there and she goes every summer. In the summer, she loves sitting indoors with the aircon on full blast, going to the markets with her mom, and eating all of the good street food. She particularly likes riding the train to Taipei and shopping at the large malls they have in the city. If she were a time of day she would be dawn. It's the time of day when she can sit in silence to mentally prepare herself for the day's activities while watching the sunrise and the sky change colors. It's also the time when she feels most refreshed, like the crisp air at dawn. If she could be any animal, she would be a capybara. She would love to sit all day in a hot spring and be able to balance oranges on top of her head. Capybaras are also good swimmers and are brave, which Sandra admires. She hopes she can be able to interact with them more in the future.



ABOUT US





TBC is excited to announce its Elementary Band tailored for elementary school students. The program's structure is to ensure maximum participation for beginners.

  • Once a week, students will attend sectionals, allowing them to interact with other kids and ask questions.
  • We provide all students with SmartMusic access, video lessons, music theory quizzes, and playing tests.
  • As a chance for students to get the opportunity to play with larger groups of kids, we will be working towards incorporating in-person full band rehearsals in the foreseeable future, while strictly following COVID health guidelines.

This program is completely FREE for all, but donations are highly encouraged in order to help us keep this program available to students. We hope to see you attend, either as a participant or as a volunteer!​



Advantages of Band



Brain Development



  • Music is an extremely important subject for all students to learn and can lead to better brain development, increases in human connection, and even relief from stress.
  • Learning to play a musical instrument in childhood stimulates cognitive development and leads to enhanced skills in a wide variety of areas and boosts creativity
  • Musically trained students excel in cognitive and executive function skills, like holding multiple ideas in mind at the same time compared to students who are disengaged from bands
  • Music also improves listening skills and children are better at detecting speech sounds so that they can communicate more effectively


Career Development



  • Band training is a great example of how a complex skill is developed through effortful, mindful and informed practice. It helps students adopt a growth mindset and build grit, determination and self-confidence
  • Benefiting from band and taking music lessons, shown to correlate with better overall academic performance and higher IQ scores and improves performance across the board like working memory, vocabulary and acquiring a second language
  • Students have noticed measurable brain benefits from a band program, benefits that extend beyond social and emotional factors


Multi-Tasking



  • Students are generally not very good at multitasking. Our brains aren’t well equipped to focus on many things at once, though our education and success demands it
  • Musicians tend to show better working memory and better performance on tasks of executive function that require rapid shifts of attention
  • Making music is an all-encompassing experience that requires doing many complex tasks at once: listening, imagining, creating, executing complex movements, coordinating many different body parts, and adapting to changing circumstances


Sense of Community



  • Flexibility of group size,, the thrill of performance, the feeling of joint accomplishment, and the acquisition of a skill can be shared with others throughout life
  • Performances provide a space for neighbors to gather and interact, which is becoming increasingly rare
  • Children who participate in music programs have been shown to talk and collaborate more, fostering a sense of community
  • Music programs have an incredibly positive effect on their surrounding communities.


Call to Action



  • Music training enhances brain development and improves everything from language and literacy to reasoning and creativity
  • Music-making increases connectivity in the brain, giving kids an edge when it comes to integrating information and coordinating thinking and behavior
  • Children with music training also gain a boost in working memory and executive function — both of which are necessary for critical thinking, decision-making, and other tasks that require focus


Research Studies



  • In a U.S. study, students who participated in group music were less likely to engage in risky behaviors, particularly related to alcohol use, compared with their un-trained peers. These same students were also more likely to report liking high school, had a higher GPA, and were more likely to be attending college full-time at the right age.
  • In another study, primary school children were exposed to either music training or enhanced natural science lessons. After 18 months, the music students outperformed their science-trained counterparts on measures of working memory. This result included the core cognitive function affecting performance in a number of different domains, from creative writing to math.


Our Mission



Supporting Music Programs



Since 2000, local schools have lost more than 50% of elementary band sections which is now resulting in decreasing enrollment in music programs at the junior high and high schools. A big part of our mission is to build a pipeline for developing musical talent for local schools. We encourage all of our students to take band at their local school through a series of counseling workshops each year. We do our best to maintain the quality and standards our students have come to expect. Additionally, we are providing community service hours for high school students who need these hours to graduate.



Supporting Local Music Stores



Since the beginning TBC has partnered with local music stores to provide instruments to students. We send out flyers on their behalf and encourage all of our students to rent their first instrument, until they decide that they are ready to buy a quality instrument. At the moment, we only provide bagpipe chanters as these are not carried by local music shops. In the future we hope to be able to provide a limited number of free instrument rentals to students from low-income families to allow more students to participate.



Supporting Local Music Teachers



We are growing the number of kids involved in music throughout our community, which has in turn led to a larger number of students seeking professional music instruction. As our teaching program lasts approximately 2 years, we only provide the initial music instruction to get students started on their instrument. We encourage all of our students to seek professional music instruction once they are interested in continuing their instrument. We provide a free listing of local music teachers and send out messages on their behalf to our students. Additionally, we hire local music teachers when possible to provide instruction to our beginning students.





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