Congratulations to the Traughber Symphonic Band on your
invitation to participate at the
2009 Midwest International  Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago!

The Midwest Clinic is the most prestigious Instrumental Music Event in the
world for all levels of bands and orchestra.  Please follow the link to learn
more about the Midwest Clinic and our trip!

Links to Summer Music Camps

Important Dates
Thursday, June 4, 2009, 8th Grade Awards Night, Symphonic Band
Friday, June 5, 2009, Turn in Summer Band Registration Forms!
If your child is enrolled in 7th or 8th Grade Band for the 2009-2010 school year please
try to participate in the Traughber Summer Band!
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"You are what
you repeatedly
do. Excellence
then, is not an
act but a habit."
~Aristotle
570 colchester drive
oswego, il, 60543
630.636.2721
rmaxwell0515@oswego308.org
Current Events and Band News
Our Music Department Mission

Music is universal, cultural, and individual. It is with this understanding that the Music Department of
Traughber Junior High School believes that every student should have the opportunity to receive a high-
quality 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.

Departmental Goals:
•        Develop strong musicianship and cultivate aesthetic awareness in the classroom through the
preparation and performance of quality musical literature.
•        Provide curricular and extra-curricular opportunities for all music students that enhance their musical
experience.
•        Facilitate opportunities for students seeking musical self-enrichment.
•        Empower students to create their own music through composition, arranging, and improvisation
•        Create community on all levels: within our classrooms, our department, our school buildings, and our
local population; as well as within the national and global community.
•        Enrich students' appreciation of the musical arts by attending fine cultural events.
•        Create the best possible learning environment for students to pursue an education in the musical arts.
•        Inspire students to become life-long learners and intelligent consumers of music.
•        Address the needs of students seeking a future career in the field of music.

Traughber Band Vision Statement

The primary goal of all band classes at Oswego Junior High Schools 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
that junior high students are not too young to begin delving 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 to take the creation
of an artist and bring it to life.

At the middle level 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.

It would be naïve to suggest that such a lofty goal can be fully realized at the junior high level.  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.  
Please see the Band Handbook for additional information.
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Please see the Concert Band Page for required
supplies, uniforms & equipment.

Check this site or contact Mrs. Maxwell prior to
making an instrument or equipment purchase.