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About Kilmer Band

 

 

The Kilmer Bands enjoy a rich tradition of excellence, providing students from the greater Vienna area with a first class musical experience that is unique to the talents and resources of the DC Metro area. The bands consistently receive highest marks at festivals and contests, garner praise from adjudicators and concert-goers, and provide the entire Kilmer community with a program in which to take great pride.
 
Kilmer Band students not only become accomplished musicians, but learn essential life skills from the diligence, work ethic, camaraderie, self-pride, and team success that are requisites and results of participation in a successful band program. Our alumni include professional musicians in orchestras and military bands, college music professors, and successful individuals in virtually all career fields.
 
Students at Kilmer are offered instruction in four levels of band and a percussion techniques course.
 
Symphonic Band
The Symphonic Band is the premiere performance ensemble in the band program. Comprised of the strongest 8th graders and exceptionally talented 7th grade musicians, the Symphonic Band performs high school level band literature in four to five concerts or music festivals per year. At spring music competitions at Busch Gardens and Hershey Park, the Symphonic Band regularly receives the distinction of highest scoring middle school band. In 2006, the Kilmer Symphonic Band was featured at the Virginia Music Educators Association Conference.
 
Concert and Cadet Band
The Concert and Cadet Bands are comprised of intermediate level band students at Kilmer. They perform intermediate and advanced middle school level band literature in three to four performances each year. Both ensembles place a heavy emphasis on developing instrument techniques, so students are prepared the following year for successful participation in Symphonic Band or High School Band.  Each band regularly wins their performance category in music competitions at Busch Gardens and Hershey Park.
 
Beginning Band
Students with no or little prior experience on a band instrument are offered instruction in the Beginning Band at Kilmer. This course focuses on fundamental instrument pedagogy, preparing students for participation in intermediate level band the following year. Students who show dedicated enthusiasm and improve quickly are moved into the Cadet or Concert Band during the year, some even developing enough skill to participate in Symphonic Band the following year. Students who make adequate progress throughout the year are given the opportunity to perform with the Cadet Band on spring trips to Busch Gardens and Hershey Park.
 
Percussion Techniques
The Percussion Techniques course focuses on the vast array of skill sets and knowledge of instruments that is necessary to successfully play percussion in band. The course is divided into four segments, focusing on snare drum, mallet percussion, timpani, and accessories. Members of the course are selected to perform with the Concert and Cadet Band in concerts during the year. At the end of the year, six to nine percussionists are selected to enroll in Symphonic Band the following year. The Percussion Techniques class is supplemented with weekly coaching sessions from Doug Wallace (www.dougwallacepercussion.com).

 

 

 

 

Brett Dodson, Director of Bands

703.846.8967        Brett.Dodson@fcps.edu

Brett Dodson is the Director of Bands at Kilmer Middle School, where he instructs three concert bands, percussion techniques, and beginning band. He received his Bachelors Degree in Music Education from James Madison University and Masters Degree in Trumpet Performance from Bowling Green State University, where he served as a graduate assistant with the university band program.

 
Ensembles under Mr. Dodson’s direction have received Superior Ratings at State Concert, Sight Reading and Marching Festivals. His students have also received highest marks at local and state level Solo and Ensemble contests. Prior to coming to Kilmer, he taught as the Assistant Band Director at Seguin High School in San Antonio, TX, where he also instructed the beginning trumpet classes for all students in the district. Mr. Dodson’s professional affiliations include membership in VMEA, CBDNA and Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Fraternity.
 
An accomplished trumpeter, Mr. Dodson served as principal player and section leader in the JMU Wind Symphony, Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, Brass Band, and Marching Royal Dukes. While studying at Bowling Green, he served in the same capacity for the BGSU Wind Symphony and Philharmonia. In addition to his collegiate playing, Mr. Dodson has been employed as a trumpeter with The Disneyland Resort All-American College Band, the Busch Gardens Starlight Jazz Orchestra, the Heritage Repertory Theater, and the Adrian Symphony Orchestra. In the Metro DC area, he performs with the Fairfax Wind Symphony and Capital Winds. Mr. Dodson has a special interest in performing on the cornet in British-style brass bands and plays regularly with the Massanutten Brass Band in Harrisonburg, VA.
 
Emily Morgan, Assistant Director

Emily.Morgan@fcps.edu

Emily Morgan graduated from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with a Master’s in clarinet performance in 2008.  There, she was a graduate assistant in the studio of world-renowned teacher Howard Klug.  Mrs. Morgan participated in university orchestras, wind ensemble, and clarinet choir, in addition to comprehensive studies in the solo and chamber repertoire of the clarinet.   She also worked as an autobiography assistant to the esteemed tubist Harvey Phillips.

Mrs. Morgan attended Furman University for her undergraduate degree in music education, where she played principal clarinet in the wind ensemble and symphony orchestra.  A student of Robert Chesebro, she was recognized on Honors Recital and participated in the MTNA competition.  She was president of CMENC and held leadership roles in Sigma Alpha Iota, women’s music fraternity.  Mrs. Morgan was also a Teaching Fellow and graduated with honors.

Additionally, Mrs. Morgan studied wind conducting with Dr. Scott Weiss and Dr. Patrick Casey at Indiana University; and with Dr. Les Hicken and Maestro Edvard Tchivzhel at Furman University.
An active clarinet teacher and player in the area, Mrs. Morgan began teaching elementary band with Fairfax County in 2008 and joined the Kilmer band staff in 2009 as the assistant director of bands and woodwind specialist.

Mrs. Morgan is married to a clarinetist in the President’s Own Marine Band.  They have one cat and many, many clarinets.

 
Kilmer Sectional Coaches
Alexandra Baldwin – Flute
Jim Moseley – Oboe
Lynn Gaubatz - Bassoon
Ken Lee – Clarinet
Ed Fraedrich – Saxophone
Larry Oates – Trumpet
Jeff Bianchi – Horn
Bruce Docherty – Trombone
Mark Thiele – Euphonium and Tuba
Doug Wallace – Percussion (visit www.dougwallacepercussion.com)

 

 

 

Kilmer Middle School, located near Tysons Corner just off Gallows Road in Vienna, VA, is nestled in a diverse, committed, and involved community. Approximately 1,000 seventh and eighth grade students attend Kilmer and most go on to attend Marshall, Madison, or Langley High School or the Thomas Jefferson Center. Kilmer Middle School provides a model of excellence for middle school students transitioning between the self-contained elementary school model and the comprehensive high school model. Its vision is to provide a safe environment that dares each individual to embrace new challenges in a resourceful and collaborative learning community.

Kilmer is a recognized Blue Ribbon School for Music by the Virginia Music Educators Association. Over half the student population participates in band, choir, or orchestra, whose top performing groups consistently receive highest marks at state and local performance festivals. The inclusion of music study in the diverse education that Kilmer students receive prepares them with the tools, life skills, and work ethic necessary for success in today’s competitive educational environment.