Band Values

♪ West Island New Horizons Band encourages full collaboration and support among its members. Our Band strives to maintain a positive and constructive attitude at all times. A friendly, open and respectful rehearsal environment is essential to the smooth conduct of our activities.  
♪ If for any reason, a musician disagrees with a Band decision, it is the musician’s responsibility to communicate in private, via a meeting, telephone call or email, the nature of the disagreement and to discuss and express any pertinent points of view along with any prospective proposals. Our Band is always receptive to all members’ requests and willing to find solutions in order to continually improve our practices.  

Overall Functioning

To ensure the smooth conduct of rehearsals, it is important that everyone observe and actively engage in the following elements:  

♪ Contribute to the setup of the rehearsal room or concert hall and put everything back in place after the rehearsal; 
♪ As much as possible, adhere to rehearsal and practice schedules;
♪ Exercise particular caution around other Band members’ instruments and material, especially when moving around on stage (we suggest that you place your belongings under your chair and always go behind the chairs when moving); and
♪ Respect the premises–e.g., empty instrument valves on newspaper rather than directly on the floor, pick up waste, and ensure the premises are clean when leaving the room.

Rehearsals

♪ Always have your scores, method book, music stand, instrument and accessories (reeds, mute, slide lubricant, etc.) with you when rehearsing.
♪ Have a pencil at all times on the stand to take notes during rehearsals.  
♪ When someone is speaking, whether it is the conductor, the assistant-conductor, or a musician asking a question, it is especially important (not to mention polite) that the whole group be attentive to avoid wasting time.  
♪ Practice at home the elements suggested by the conductor to the best of your ability for the next rehearsal. This will ensure constant progression for the band.  

Musician Ethics

The following are standard conventions, common to any musical ensemble, whether amateur or professional, that help build professional conduct in our practice situations, which in turn transfer into concert situations:

♪ When the conductor signals a stop (visually or voiced), the whole orchestra must stop in a quick and reasonable fashion; 
♪ When the conductor addresses the ensemble, everyone should abstain from speaking (or playing) at the same time, otherwise members sitting in the back of the room cannot hear the comments;  
♪ When the musicians are playing, everyone should abstain from speaking to their neighbor (not even a whisper) because it can affect the other musicians’ concentration; and  
♪ When the conductor points out or gestures where to start playing, the musicians must be attentive and ready to play as quickly as possible, thus avoiding having to repeat the starting point several times.

Membership

♪ Each musician must pay the membership fee or charges, according to the deadlines.   
♪ Each musician must complete the registration form and comply with the terms of payment.  

Other Notes of Interest

♪ Show consideration for the material (scores, methods, or instruments) given or loaned to members.  
♪ It is the musician’s duty to print the sheet music sent by the conductor (via a link provided by email) or to make the necessary arrangement with a peer to get access to the music.
♪ If a musician has not received the music or realizes that some parts are missing online, it is the musician’s duty to send an email to the Band prior to the engagement (a few days prior, not on the day) indicating which partitions are missing, so as to address the requests in a timely fashion.  
♪ Comply with the dress code at official events.  
♪ Notify the Band in case of extended absence.