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 Presents for band directors
Author: Vick 
Date:   2003-04-01 04:24

yes, i know this is very off topic from the clarinet world, but i need some help! i am the band president of my high school band and every year the band give each of our band directors a major present. i need to come up with the presents, but seem to be in a little bind. does anyone know of a web site, or just some advice on what to give them? thanks in advance! any help is truely appreciated.

Vicky

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 Re: Presents for band directors
Author: diz 
Date:   2003-04-01 05:41

Ear-muffs?

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 Re: Presents for band directors
Author: bob49t 
Date:   2003-04-01 05:48

Considering the today is April Fool's Day - what about a baton with automatic metronome, or an exploding baton. Collapsing rostrum etc

More thoughtful and humourous April 1st's please !!???

BobT

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 Re: Presents for band directors
Author: Brenda 
Date:   2003-04-01 11:27

Chocolate always seems to be appreciated. How about a chocolate piano, or a box of the world's best truffles?

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 Re: Presents for band directors
Author: Laurie 
Date:   2003-04-01 11:44

My senior class was very close with our band director, and as our senior gift, we got him a new palm pilot that he's wanted for soo long. He absolutly loved it. That was my whole ensemble tho - For a personal gift, i got each of my directors a mug from my college and wrote them a thank you note.

Laurie

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 Re: Presents for band directors
Author: Hank Lehrer 
Date:   2003-04-01 13:00

Hi Vicky,

Some of the most memorable things that I have gotten from my band students have been.

1. A school jacket
2. A new blue blazer
3. A portable radio (long before boom boxes)
4. A warmup suit
5. Tickets for summer music concerts
6. A new racquet for racquetball
7. A new golf pull cart
8. A new putter (one that I really wanted)
9. Certificates for rounds of golf
10. CDs of really great band music
11. Lots of new batons
12 A blender (during my single days)

I was expecting nothing but the students always really surprised me.

Hope this helps.

HRL



Post Edited (2003-04-01 19:02)

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 Re: Presents for band directors
Author: Lori 
Date:   2003-04-01 13:05

Hi Vick-

As a band director I'm protesting the chocolate and mug ideas.  :) I seem to have swarms of them coming in at every holiday. I certainly appreciate the thought and kindness on the part of my students and parents, though.

I really liked the palm pilot idea above. You said something about a "major" gift. How about a gift certificate to a nice restaurant? Or a gift certificate for a plane ticket, or something like that? About the same $$ as a palm. And not all teachers get paid over the summer. I certainly don't get to enjoy luxuries like that when the paycheck isn't coming in.

Of course, this all depends on your definition of "major"...

:) Have a great end of the school year!

-Lori

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 Re: Presents for band directors
Author: Don Berger 
Date:   2003-04-01 13:36

The "waterfront" seems to be well covered above. Our pit orchs for musicals have given our conductors, inter alia, a lighted baton etc. I bought a Spy print in England on back, of a "stylized" GB symphony conductor and the others paid for its being framed, he loved/s it in their home! Once when we played "Paint Your Wagon" in Durango, CO, looking in the trinket shops, I found a small, unpainted wagon, bought several small bottles of paint that fit in it!! That was the most appropriate gift I believe we ever concoted.. I'd suggest considering a Jewish gift for Fiddler, a long baton for Music Man. dice for Guys & Dolls [or booze if appropriate, Scotch for Brigadoon!], a toy gun for Annie GYG, chopsticks for Mikado etcX2. An endless list, but reminding of the performance/show/celebration as best you can!! Luck, Don

Thanx, Mark, Don

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 Re: Presents for band directors
Author: jenna 
Date:   2003-04-01 13:49

I got my band director a big wooden vulture that holds his business cards. ;)

jenna

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 Re: Presents for band directors
Author: Ken Shaw 2017
Date:   2003-04-01 13:59

The vulture sounds right. How about an exploding penguin with a baton stuck through its head.

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 Re: Presents for band directors
Author: William 
Date:   2003-04-01 14:48

My 1975 Eighth Grade Band gave me a gift became one of my most treasured memories as a music teacher--a simple engraved plaque that was made in the school tech shoppe proclaiming me the "Best Band and Orchestra Director in the World." There have been other, more expensive birthday, Christmas and years end gifts, but that one somehow--in spite of the "overstatement"--was most touching.

Also, you should check with your principal as some school districts--including my old one--limit the $ amount of a gift that teachers, and other staff, can accept from students or parents.

Never received a set of earmuffs, however. Too bad, though, as I now suffer from constant tinitus and have significant upper frequency hearing loss--probably as a result of listening for all of those "inappropriate note choices" over my 34 yr teaching career.

IMHO, a gift that simply says something like 'thank you--you made music fun' would be most appropriate and meaningul.

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 Re: Presents for band directors
Author: Domingo 
Date:   2003-04-01 16:19

We gave our band director a marching shoe sprayed painted gold. There was a story behind it.. Try giving something like that of the sort.

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 Re: Presents for band directors
Author: Meri 
Date:   2003-04-01 20:16

When one of my former high school music teachers retired, the current students and some of the music alumni (there was about 150 combined that contributed some money) got him one of those heavy gold-plated decorative music stands.

Another nice idea, if your school doesn't have one and you have a lot of money to spend, is a complete musical encyclopedia, such as Groves.

Meri

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 Re: Presents for band directors
Author: Melissa 
Date:   2003-04-01 22:05

Our music executive plans to buy our band director a Trophy that will say "best musician" or something like that. We are also buying her a new chair, and "sticky thing" (I cannot remember what it is called but you conduct with it, lol)
Melissa

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 Re: Presents for band directors
Author: Laurie 
Date:   2003-04-01 23:13

For pit orchestra, it was a tradition for the pit to get together and make a huge basket of random things for our conductor. Last year, we did "Fiddler on the roof" and in our basket, we had a Mini fiddle, a cd of the music, a bottle of wine ( Bottle dance ) a ghost stuffed animal ( The dream ) a box of matches ( 'Match'maker ) and some other personal ranom inside joke gifts. hmmm... we also always took and signed photograph of the entire pit. - It's always something fun to do at the end of our show.

Laurie.

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 Re: Presents for band directors
Author: Heidi 
Date:   2003-04-01 23:21

We got our band director a nice chair...one that could be raised, so he could sit on it during rehearsals. He really liked it. He still uses it and it's been years.

We also took a group photo of the seniors to give to my asst. band director and the director.

A scrap book may be touching too!

Heidi

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 Re: Presents for band directors
Author: Pam H. 
Date:   2003-04-02 00:46

Hank has a good list of ideas there. I like the idea of tickets to summer concerts. I live in Ohio, and I know that for the Cleveland Orchestra's summer home - Blossom Music Center you can buy a ticket package that lets you pick the concerts and seats at a later date (early May). Maybe other orchestras have similar packages or options.

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 Re: Presents for band directors
Author: Hank Lehrer 
Date:   2003-04-02 02:37

Hi Pam,

I was a band director in Northern Ohio for 16 years and the tickets the band gave me were for Blossom (about 90 miles from where I lived). It was a book that just had value and I could pick what ever concerts I wanted to hear.

It was a great gift.

HRL

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