As we entered the second half of the semester, the service kept rolling in! We started in early April by offering service to those sisters who went to help PR and the Band of the Hour recruit at indoor drumline and color guard competitions. Also, we continued to usher for the Symphonic Winds, Wind Ensemble and University Band. Furthermore, we had wonderful Women In Music speakers, Dr. Donaghue, Dean Moses, and Dr. Rand to end the semester with. Reviews of these events can be read on our website, www.tbs-ge.org.
The next weekend, we had both Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts. On Saturday, April 9, we had 55 Girl Scouts and 27 parents come to the University to earn their music merit badge. The girls ranged from first to fourth graders and learned a variety of skills and information. They learned how to do the Cotton Eye Joe dance, how to sing in rounds, many different action songs, including one about penguins, as well as music from around the world. At the end of the day, we brought all of the girls together and they performed the Electric Slide and Cotton Eye Joe for some of the sisters (who didn’t want to dance) and they parents. All around, everyone had a great time and we are proud to say that this was our biggest Girl Scout showing yet!
On Sunday, April 10, we had the Boy Scout music merit badge clinic. They boys learned about the different groups of instruments, how to sing with phrasing, how to each how to sing, and different things about the bugle, a recent change to their requirements. There was a brief lunch break before we put on a small performance for the boys that day. Once the sisters were done performing, many of the young men stepped up to play piano, guitar, harmonica, and the violin to show their fellow scouts their musical talent. At the end, everyone came together and sang Amazing Grace. It was a beautiful end to an overall great day.
One of the biggest successes of the semester was being able to serve at a soup kitchen on Easter. We teamed up with the Volunteer Link, a volunteer organization on campus to get as many people out to serve and perform as possible. On Easter Sunday, fifteen sisters and four Volunteer Link members went to the Chapman Center in Downtown Miami to help prepare and serve dinner, as well as provide musical entertainment. The afternoon started at 3 PM for four sisters who went early to help the kitchen staff to prepare the dinnertime meal. They had a great time racing to chop up vegetables as well as make and wrap sandwiches. At 4:45 PM, the remainder of the Sisters and Volunteer Link members came to get ready to serve and perform. Twelve sisters and the four Volunteer Link members stayed inside and served the people coming in for Easter dinner while seven sisters entered into the courtyard to provide some musical entertainment. We performed a large array of music, from jazz, to popular, to Irish, to classical, both instrumental and vocal. The audience was very grateful and happy to have us there. Many of the children there were absolutely ecstatic to see instruments and ask us questions about them. It was an excellent experience to not only help but to spread the love of music to people who don’t get to experience it every day as well. The entire chapter is really looking forward to going back in the Fall.
Our musical service adventures continued on Wednesday, April 27 when seven sisters went to our Alumna and Life Member Raquel Shifrin’s elementary school, Dr. E.L. Whigham, for First Notes with the entire first grade! The kids got to see a range of saxophones and flutes, a few brass instruments, a tin whistle, and violin. Jordan Balke did an excellent job explaining how pitches are made higher or lower as well as each family of instruments. The group of Sisters played a few tunes for them including an excerpt from Cannon in D with Ray and Brooke and an excerpt of Under the Sea from the Little Mermaid, arranged by our own Andy Zweibel, for saxophones. The kids really enjoyed the session and brief performance and had a lot of questions for us. We’re really excited to have brought back First Notes this semester and we look forward to having a relationship with Dr. E.L. Whigham Elementary to do this again next year!
Wednesday the 27th was a day packed full of service. The chapter also did the annual Fillmore cleaning that night. Of course we did the usual cleaning, but we also took it a step further and organized the equipment crew boxes and started organizing old Orange Bowl equipment. Some sisters also took time to organize the Basketball Band flip folders and the Marching Band Folders in anticipation for the Fall. The instrument room, equipment room, and uniform room are virtually sparkling with their newly cleaned interiors and better-organized items.
Our last project of the semester is our participation in the March for Babies walk. We have a NIB, Giggi Pacheco performing with the March for Babies Band with many brothers of KKPsi from FIU. Sisters are walking in support of the cause as well as for our Sister, Brothers, and the band that we unfortunately were unable to participate in.
Although service is done for the semester, we’re still in go mode. On Monday, May 2, the Service Committee held their planning/brainstorming meeting. At this meeting, Sister decided what the goals for next semester should be and defined what service is for our chapter. Throughout the summer, we all intend to brainstorm and plan the best we can for the coming semester. Please send any and all ideas to Samantha Castagna at
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because we would love to hear from you!
