New Albany High School Band
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.
Our vision
Music is universal, cultural, and individual. It is with this understanding that the Music Department of New Albany High School believes that every student should have the opportunity to receive a high quality, comprehensive musical training in school, regardless of grade level, ability level, or background. The goal of this musical training is to help participants achieve a personal level of understanding, appreciation, and passion for music. It is undeniable that music has always been an integral part of human existence. Every culture throughout history carries its own musical traditions. In our culturally diverse society, music is one of the few common threads that links peoples and ideas together. Music education uses the artistic medium of musical sound to give insight into the universal human experience.
Our Philosophy
The primary goal of all band classes at New Albany High School is to heighten each student’s aesthetic awareness through the musical art. While there are many secondary objectives that are also set for the students, using sound as a means to communicate the feelings embodied in a musical work is always the ultimate focus.
Dedication and maturity are required to develop this uniquely human ability. Dedication because the skills needed to recreate music are both numerous and complex. Maturity because, once the technical skills are learned, a musician must be patient and open minded in order to understand and then communicate the essence of a composer’s work.
Many people go their entire lives without being aware of the power that art has to affect them. We believe it is critical that high school students are able to delve into the meaning of music as art. We also believe there is no better way to accomplish that then to develop the ability to perform and take the creation of an artist and bring it to life.
At all levels, we attempt to develop the musical skills necessary to recreate meaningful music and listen critically to both ourselves and others as they perform. We emphasize the inappropriateness of expressing a value judgment on a particular work or performance unless one can articulate the reasons for his or her opinion and demonstrate an alternative. Criticism that is unsupported and non-constructive will not and should not be taken seriously by others.
We therefore strive to start young people down a path that will eventually lead to aesthetic awareness. We firmly believe that a person who is aesthetically aware will be better able to reap all that life has to offer and to share with others the wealth of his or her talent.