This is my 12th year teaching band at Capitol Hill and my 24th year teaching in St. Paul. I have my bachelors degree in music education from the University of Minnesota and also a masters in music education from Boston University. In my free time I enjoy going to see live music, biking, hiking, and reading. My primary instrument is saxophone.

Band at Capitol Hill is open to all students in 4th-8th grade. Band is a great way to learn new skills, explore your creative side, and build lasting friendships. Evening concerts are a required part of the band program. Elementary students perform 1-2 evening concerts per year and middle school students will have 2-3 evening concerts in addition to daytime performances and field trips. Students are expected to rent or purchase an instrument to participate. We also have a number of school instruments available for student use.

Elementary Band:

Elementary band is open to all 4th-5th grade students. The list of band instruments for elementary school are: flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, French horn, trombone, baritone, and percussion (bells and snare). We have a beginning band for all new 4th and 5th graders and an advanced band for second year players. This year, students will receive 2 large group rehearsals per week. 1st year band students will also get 1 small group lesson in like-instrument groups. If time allows, I will schedule sectional lessons with 5th grade students.

The sign-up process will begin at the end of the first week of school. I will meet with 4th and 5th grade classes in the opening week to talk about how band works and give a short instrument demonstration. Students will receive an interest form to fill out and return so we can find the instrument that will best suit each student. Please be sure to read through the interest form and handbook students receive after the instrument has been selected. Lessons will begin at the beginning of October. Please check the school calendar for our elementary concert dates (December 13th for 2nd year students only, and May 11th for all elementary students).

Middle School Band:

There are 3 levels of band for middle school students: Beginning/Cougar Band, Intermediate/Varsity Band, and Advanced/Concert Band. This allows us to meet the needs of all levels of musicians. We also have an auditioned jazz band which meets 1 day per week after school. Instruments in middle school band are: piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone (alto, tenor, and baritone), trumpet, French horn, trombone, baritone, tuba, and percussion.

The middle school bands are elective classes that meet every day of the week. Much of our time in class is spent working on building the various instrumental skills and preparing music for our evening performances. Cougar band will play 2 evening concerts where Varsity and Concert band students perform 3. There are also additional daytime performance opportunities and field trips. I am hoping we can continue our tradition of taking a small group of select students to the University of Minnesota Duluth once again this year for their mid-level Honor band experience (typically in February).

I would also like to acknowledge our fantastic PTO who has generously funded many items for the band program over the years; including our chairs and stands, bass drum, xylophone, sound shells, and more!  The PTO also helped to fund our inclusion in a project to commission 10 pieces of music by 10 African-American composers as well as a composer visit last spring.

Please feel free to contact me at jeff.fulton@spps.org or 651-744-7253 with any questions you may have about the band program. I look forward to a wonderful year of music making!

Jeff Fulton

Capitol Hill Band Director