North Bergen High School Band
The NBHS Concert Band, Marching Band, Jazz Band and Wind Ensemble
Mr. Connor and Mr. Bonacci, Directors
The NBHS Concert Band, under the Direction of Mr. Connor and Mr. Bonacci has been very active and successful in the past few years. We have performed at Lincoln Center, Lake George, Six Flags Great Adventure, and most recently as the guest ensemble at NJCU's Symphony of Winds and Percussion Concert.
We took the highest honors of a Superior Rating at Six Flags and Lake George as well.
The NBHS Wind Ensemble, which is by audition and directed by Mr. Connor has been Top Honors winners at Hudson County Teen
Arts for the past 2 years and top three for the past 8. Other Honors include - 1 Silver and 2 Bronze Awards at the NJMEA Band Festival, 1st Place in the Memorial High School Concert Band Festival, 2nd at the Elizabeth HS Concert Band Festival, 1st Place (Superior Rating) - Large Ensemble PAC Spirit of America Invitational Festival.
The NBHS Marching Band has enjoyed much success in the past Decade:
2011 - 2012 - 2 time NYC Metro Champions TOB Group 3A, a Top 5 - 2011-2019 - Top 5 finish Group 3A - Tournament of Bands - Atlantic Coast Championships - Our responsibilities include Competitions, parades and Varsity Football Games from September - December. Local Parades, including WinterFest, North Hudson Santa Parade, NB Baseball, The Jersey City St. Patrick's Day Parade, NB Softball, NB Soccer, Memorial Day and Flag Day.
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VIRTUAL BAND IS HERE!
The Benefits of Band during Virtual Learning in North Bergen:
During this very challenging period of Distance Learning, Music students have been practicing more than ever. They are engaged in multiple projects at all times. Virtual Band, Online (Small Group and Large Group) Lessons, and digital projects ranging from audio editing and composition to full performances performed from the comfort of home.
Students look forward to seeing their friends during our Virtual Band Classes exciting new weekly projects, new practice strategies, and a dose of normalcy. Creating Music is therapeutic for students, a release from the daily reminders that they are unable to play sports or participate in many other extra curricular activities.
With the current online tools, our Music staff has been and will continue to be able to provide our students and community with great performances and music to help the journey back to our new normal. We have also been able to continue our tradition of excellence by submitting many Virtual Performances to our County Teen Arts Online Festival as well as guiding some of our talented students to successful Music School auditions to begin their journey into careers in music.
Music and Art inspire, when kids have a creative outlet to help motivate and cope, they WILL bring that energy to all things they do. During this Pandemic, our music students are getting in-depth, first hand experience in 21st Century Music Creation.
The NBHS Music Department has been successful in continuing excellence in Music Education, inspiring our kids to continue to create, and helping our students cope in these hard times.
Please stay tuned for MANY upcoming performances from our Marching Band, Concert, and Wind Ensemble in the VERY near future.
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VIRTUAL PERFORMANCES GALLERY
Check here often for NEW and Exciting New Virtual Performances and Past Performances
The 2021 NBHS High School Concert is in the books, but you can re-live all the fun right here:
The Full 2021 Winter Concert:
Here is Each individual piece presented during the concert - These are Higher Quality recordings:
In 2020, the NBHS Marching Band Performed in 5 Virtual Festivals. Here are or Final 2 Performances from October 28th and November 6th, 2020.
The 2020 NBHS Marching Band Presents ESTANCIA:
The 2020 NBHS Wind Ensemble Festival Set:
These 2 pieces were to be our Festival/Competition Pieces for 2020 - The Audio is all from our Final Rehearsal on March 12, 2020
Past Performances:
These 2 Videos are from our 2019 Top Honors Winning Hudson County Teen Arts Performance:
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What can band do for you?
- Colleges like to see BAND on resumes.
- Being in band shows that your child:
– Is involved
– Has discipline and time management skills
– Has had leadership training
– Can balance many diverse activities
The Facts:
- The arts are one of the six subject areas in which the College Board recognizes as essential in order to thrive in college.
- Students taking courses in music performance and music appreciation scored higher in the SAT than students with no arts participation. Music performance students scored
53 points higher on the verbal and 39 points higher on the math. (College Bound Seniors National Report)
- According to the National Education Longitudinal Study, music students received more academic honors
and awards than non-music students. A higher percentage of music participants received As, As/Bs,
and Bs than non-music participants.
- A 2000 Georgia Tech study indicates that a student who participates in a least one elective music course is 4.5 times more likely to stay in college than the general
student population. (Dr. Denise C. Gardner, Effects of Music Courses on Retention, Georgia Tech)
- A ten-year study indicates that students who study music achieve higher test scores, regardless of socioeconomic background. (Dr. James Catterall, UCLA.)
- In a Columbia University study, students in the arts are found to be more cooperative with teachers and peers, more self-confident, and better able to express their ideas. These benefits exist across
socioeconomic levels. (The Arts Education Partnership)
- College admissions officers continue to cite participation in music as an important factor in making admissions decisions. They claim that music participation demonstrates time management, creativity,
expression, and open-mindedness. (Carl Hartman, The Associated Press)
