Thanksgiving 2011: Video memories

This past Thursday on a sparkling November morning, the Thanksgiving game was played victoriously by the BHS Red Devils.

Prior to the game the BHS Marching Band accompanied baritone Zaven Ovian by putting down their instruments and performing the American Sign Language (ASL) version of The Star Spangled Banner. The crowd rose to their feet and as the anthem began, you could hear a pin drop at Varsity Field. We wanted to share a clip of the ASL anthem, provided by alumni parent Shirley Fong:

During the half-time show the Marching Band played their hearts out and added a few exciting crowd-pleasing tricks. 

And finally, what better way to teach than to show...Mr. Lovell took to the stands with a trumpet and became one of the gang!

There have been many wonderful memories created this year with the BHS Marching Band. Here's to a great year and many, many more to come!

Laughing Allowed!: BHS Drama Club presents "Noises Off"

Cyber Monday shoppers, don't forget to buy your tickets to the show!

The Fogelberg Performing Arts Center at Burlington High School is poised for what The New York Post has described as the “funniest farce ever written,” with the performances of Michael Frayn’s Noises Off, on December 2 and 3. The fast-paced, door-slamming comedy will be presented by the Burlington High School Drama Club on December 2 and 3 at 7:30 pm.

Noises Off follows a traveling acting company’s struggles to prepare and perform a bedroom farce called Nothing On.  The romantic entanglements, general cluelessness, and bad habits of the cast and crew create a catastrophic production of the play-within-a-play, which in turn provides for a hilarious experience for the audience of Noises Off.

Noted for its strong ensemble of comedic players, the Burlington cast is directed by BHS English department faculty member Ann Ford. Cast members includes (in order of appearance):

Danielle Schissler as Dotty Otley (& Mrs Clacket in Nothing On)

Zaven Ovian as Lloyd Dallas (& director of Nothing On)

Anthony Cruz as Garry LeJeune (& Roger Tramplemain in Nothing On)

Katrina Gilstrap as Brooke Ashton (& Vicki in Nothing On)

Michelle Lee as Poppy Norton-Taylor (& stage manager of Nothing On)

Chris Coe as Frederick Fellowes (& Philip Brent in Nothing On)

Giovanna Fernandes as Belinda Blair (& Flavia Brent in Nothing On)

Jeff Manni as Tim Allgood (& company manager of Nothing On)

Walker Peterson as Selsdon Mowbray (& burglar in Nothing On)

Reserved seating tickets for Noises Off are available by visiting www.BurlingtonTickets.org, by phone at 781-A-FUN-TIC and at the door. Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. Fogelberg Performing Arts Center, located at 123 Cambridge Street, Burlington, Massachusetts, is handicapped accessible.

Cyber Monday shoppers, don't forget to buy your tickets to the show!

Thanksgiving: A Final Farewell to Senior Band Members

Seniors from the BHS Color Guard, Marching Band and Dance Squad

This is it...the final game for all seniors in the BHS Marching Band, Color Guard and Dance Squad.

The Burlington High School Red Devils will take on the Lexington Minutemen tomorrow at Varsity Field. Prior to the game the seniors and parents will be recognized for their contribution while members of the band. A bittersweet moment for the parents, the ceremonies will begin at approximately 9:50 with kick-off at 10:15.

If you haven't yet heard, the BHS Marching Band will not play the National Anthem at the game...they will perform the ASL National Anthem. Check out the previous blog entry to find out  more details.

GO BHS! 

BHS Marching Band to perform ASL National Anthem on Thanksgiving

This Thursday morning the Burlington High School Marching Band, our own dedicated group of student musicians, will astonish one and all during the opening ceremonies of the Thanksgiving Day game against Lexington at Burlington’s Varsity Field.

At any given home game, Burlington’s varsity football games open with the teams taking the field and baritone soloist Zaven Ovian performing the National Anthem accompanied by his fellow musicians in this dedicated marching organization.

This is not your typical opening and, by now, everyone knows that the BHS Marching Band is not your typical performing group.

This Thursday during the opening ceremonies of the final game of the season and a farewell to all seniors, the Marching Band will take the field just prior to their performance of the National Anthem, led by senior drum major Andrew Frost and junior drum major Eddie Gelberg. They will take their positions . . . and then at approximately 10:15 am they will forego the instruments they have played all season.

The Burlington High School Marching Band will sign, not sing, the National Anthem!

Burlington High School Marching Band director Matt Lovell came up with the idea at the beginning of the school year and following a passing mention to the band was delighted to find that members went to the internet and self-taught the ASL anthem. The students took it to their fellow musicians who learned it in no time.

To the best of their knowledge, no other musical organization has done anything of this kind.

This Thursday morning as spectators in the stands are prepared to rise for the playing of The Star Spangled Banner, they will rise, hear a single voice, and view a sea of words as the members sign in complete reverence and pride the lyrics to the national anthem of the United States of America. 

Just another example of how the learning environment at BHS can have an affect on our students in more ways than we could ever have imagined!

ALL IN A DAY'S WORK: BHS Marching Band performs Veteran's Day and Friday-Night Lights

The Burlington High School Marching Band will take part in a day of remembrance and performance as it celebrates Veteran’s Day and the final Friday-Night-Lights game of the season at Varsity Field.

Helping to celebrate the 70^th anniversary of the beginning of the US involvement in World War II, the band will participate in the Veteran’s Day observance on the town common with the program beginning with the flag raising and "Call to Colors"  at 9:00 am. The BHS Marching Band will perform a number of patriotic selections. If there is inclement weather, the ceremony will take place in the Human Resources Building, 61 Center Street.

In the evening, Burlington hosts the Wilmington Wildcats in a game that will decide the second place spot in the league. The competition promises to be fierce as both teams come to the field with a 3-1 small school record in the Middlesex League.  The final game will take place at home on Thanksgiving Day at 10:15 am.

The BHS Marching Band will perform during the half-time show and continues to dazzle with its routines on the field. Don’t miss this final Friday Night Lights half-time show and match-up against the Wilmington Wildcats. Game time is 7:00 pm.

Annual Gala Benefit Concert hits the mark again for Music Boosters

Another successful Gala Benefit Concert and Silent Auction has now come and gone. It was a fantastic evening of music hosted by the BHS Music Boosters featuring the New England Tenors and showcasing BHS alumni who revived BHS musicals greatest moments.

The Music Boosters would like to thank the following businesses and individuals who contributed to the silent auction: 

B.GOOD

Burlington Expert Tailor

Burlington High School Music Department

Burlington House of Pizza

Burlington Jade

Burlington Players

Burlington Recreation Department

Burlington Studios

Burlington House of Pizza

Chipotle Mexican Grill

Crossroads Liquor

Eccoli Hair Design 

Echo Enrichment Center

Empire State Building Sky Ride

Flatbread Company

Fresh City and Green Tangerine Spa and Salon

Herb Chambers Lexus

Get In Shape for Women

James A Martin Company, Inc

LL Bean

Liquor Cabinet

Mahoney’s Rocky Ledge

Massage Envy

New England Aquarium

New York Sky Ride

Not Your Average Joe’s

Perfect Promos

Reagle Music Theatre of Boston 

Real School of Music

Romano’s Macaroni Grill

Sharper Image Hair Design

Showcase Cinemas Woburn

Spencer Cleaners

Tetra Tech (Wilmington)

Uno Chicago Grill

WEEI Sports Radio

Wilson Farms

Wyndham Hotel (Chelsea)

We would also like to acknowledge the following Music Booster families for their gift items for the Silent Auction: 

The Shafman Family

The Kikuchi Family

The Fleischmann Family

The Chiang Family 

The Parker Family  

Laura Stone

The festive dessert buffet is always a wonderful addition to our fundraising event. The Music Boosters would like to acknowledge the following businesses for their generous donations: 

Delicious Desserts 

La Cascia’s

Dunkin’ Donuts 

Stop N Shop Bedford

Stop N Shop Reading

Whole Foods

Burlington Marriott

Hilton Garden Inn

In addition to the business participation, the Music Boosters would like to thank the members of the organization who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make this event such a wonderful success. Parental involvement is so important to the success of not just this event but to all of our endeavors. We thank each and every parent who took part in the planning of the Gala Benefit Concert and Silent Auction.

BHS ALUMNI JOIN NEW ENGLAND TENORS GALA BENEFIT CONCERT AND SILENT AUCTION

In one week the Burlington High School Music Boosters will host their annual Gala Benefit Concert and Silent Auction in the Fogelberg Performing Arts Center of the high school. The event will take place on Saturday, November 5, at 7:30 pm. Doors will open at 6:30 pm for bidding on our exciting silent auction items.

Silent auction items include tickets to the Boston Red Sox, orchestra seats for La Cage Aux Folles, season tickets to all BHS theatrical productions, gift baskets and gift cards for services and eateries in the Burlington area. All proceeds from the concert will go directly to the programs of the Music Boosters which include scholarships, transportation, award banquets and other items requested by music staff that support successful educational experiences and musical performances.

The performers are busily preparing for what promises to be an exeptional night of music and memories. Not only will the New England Tenors be returning after an overwhelmingly popular performance last year but we will also bring back stars of BHS musicals past in revivals of their showstopping songs.

The NEW ENGLAND TENORS will be guest artists for the event following their highly acclaimed concert performance last year. The tenors, JOHN MIDDLETON-COX (Burlington Public School’s own Coordinator of Music), DAMIEN CORCORAN and RAY BAUWENS, will perform musical selections that cross generations and styles, from opera to musical theatre to Irish rock!

Alumni who will return to perform at the Gala Benefit Concert are:

ANGELA RICHARDSON (2004), who is remembered for her larger than life portrayal of Auntie Mame at BHS. A graduate from Eastern Nazarene College in music performance, she is employed by the Reagle Music Theatre of Boston. Angela has performed with a number of local theatre companies including Nunsense with the Burlington Players and most recently as Jo in the Wellesley Players sold out run of Little Women.

AMANDA POTTS (2004), a graduate of the University of Connecticut and a MMuEd student at Gordon College. She is remembered at BHS for her roles in Guys and Dolls and Mame.  Amanda has recently starred in The Center for the Performing Arts (Natick) production of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change and ACT Andover’s production of Beauty and the Beast. Amanda is the instrumental music teacher at Francis Wyman Elementary School.

ANDREA GIANGRECO (2009) who recently graduate of Salem State College. She is remembered for her lead roles in the BHS productions of Anything Goes and Les Miserables, and comes back to BHS following a run in the Turtle Lane Players production of The Rocky Horror Show. Andrea has also played several lead roles with the Pentucket Players of Haverhill.

EVA RAE COSTANZA (2010), who is currently studying musical theatre at Boston Conservatory. Eva, a former youth performer with North Shore Music Theatre, performed lead roles at BHS in Les Mis, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Annie and The Wizard of Oz, as well as the Burlington Educational Summer Theatre production of Annie! She is a costuming assistant with The Costume Room and has worked with Backyard Broadway and Burlington Educational Summer Theatre.

JAMIE COOK (2010), currently a student at Hofstra University in New York. Jamie is best remembered for her roles in Thorough Modern Millie and The Wizard of Oz, and has been seen in the Burlington Educational Summer Theatre production of Annie.  She returns to Burlington following a lead role in Hofstra’s production of The New Brain. 

There will also be a special performance of a selection from Fiddler on the Roof by TAHLEEN (2005), NISHAN (2008) and ZAVEN OVIAN (2012) with their mother and outgoing Music Boosters member, VANESSA OVIAN. The Ovians have collectively appeared in every musical that has appeared on the BHS stage for the past ten years. They have played lead roles in Mame, Jekyll & Hyde, Les Mis, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Titanic and Beauty and the Beast, and the Burlington Eduational Summer Theatre productions of Annie and Little Shop of Horrors. They have all participated in both the BHS band and chorus programs.Vanessa has an MA in Vocal Performance. 

Please make plans to join us on Saturday evening, November 5 at 7:30 with family and friends!

A festive dessert buffet will be served during our silent auction intermission!

Tickets are available online at www.burlingtontickets.org or at the music office. Info: 781-A-FUN-TIC.