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Ryan ProtasiVisual Literacy NarrativeSeptember 17, 2009 The Road to ExcellenceMy visual literacy narrative project is based on the experience I havehad as a band member in both the Richard M. Teitelman middle schoolmarching band and the Lower Cape May Regional HS symphonic band. Itfocuses on the strict instruction of Ms. Nan LaCorte and the discipline all of the band students acquired over the two years under her direction. Afterthis “Road to Excellence”, all of the band members moved to Mr. JohnDrechen at the high school. This amazing undertaking has caused me tolove instrumental music as well as performing for people.In my first slide, the blue and white background, along with thelettering, represent the school colors of both the middle and high schools. The pictures of the schools give the viewer a visual of the schools that Iattended during the past 6 years of my educational career. The tiger is themascot of both schools as well as completes the color schemes of the schoolcolors. The paw prints tie into the school mascot theme and the slowmovement from the middle school to the high school pictures emphasize themeaning of the title “Road to Excellence”. The trumpet picture at the top of the second slide is the same modeland color of the trumpet that I played for the 6 years in this band program. The second picture shows the part of the trumpet line during one of our

major performances. On the left you see a picture of me scared out of mymind, trying to crack a smile for the camera, as my band teacher is yelling atme for not having the brim of my hat down low enough. The title of the next slide represents the band leader; bold and strong.Ms. LaCorte was one of the best teachers I have ever had because she careda lot and knew how to push us just right. This combination created an awardwinning band every year in addition to an amazing school band program. If you notice in each picture she has a whistle; this was used to get us in stepand to tell us to play in practices and performances. The background showsher love for music and teaching it.Everyday, weeks before a major marching performance, the entireband would march around the school parking lot playing a song over andover again. Now that I look back at those times, I realize all of that marchingwas instilling discipline in all of the band members. The day of eachperformance, we knew how to play the music, how to stay in formation, andhow to stay in step. The pictures in slide four show us marching down thestreet during practices; in the cold, rain or sun. The title of the slide is partof the speech we would get at the beginning of each year. We weren’tallowed to miss any after school practices. The asphalt backgroundrepresents the asphalt parking lot we walked around for hours on end.In slide five, the video on the left shows the entire middle school bandmarching down a street in New York City. This was one of the best

experiences of my life that I will remember forever. The video on the rightand the picture below it is the band marching onto the Battleship New Jersey. This was an honor for any band, to be invited to perform on a battle ship forVeterans Day. These videos represent the achievement we have reachedwith all of our hard work of the band and our amazing leader.“Achieving excellence” signifies the incredible amount of skill the bandhas achieved in such a short time. It also signifies the end of our time in themiddle school band. The three boxes on the left show some of theexperiences I have had during my two years in that band. The metal coloredbackground shows the discipline and skill we all obtained in this programthat will continue with us forever. The picture is the band posing in front of the Aircraft carrier Intrepid during one of our performances. The final slide represents the graduation from the middle school bandto the symphonic band in the high school. The blue color scheme of thebackground is a nice blend of our school colors. The bottom picture is theband at a “Battle of the Bands” competition which the high school band won2 years in a row. The top picture took place last year when the band had aconcert celebrating the retirement of Ms. Nan LaCorte. The major pieceperformed, called Capricioso, was composed by Mr. Stephen Bulla incelebration of her many years of service. The song playing in thebackground of the slide show is the Lower Cape May Regional High schoolplaying Capricioso live.