Congratulations to all of the Concert Bands on their UIL performances this week! Wind Ensemble brought home a sweepstakes award (Division one rating in Marching, Concert, and Sight Reading), and Symphonic Winds, and Symphonic Band brought home a division one rating in Sight Reading. Congrats Grizzlies!

Thank you to everyone who came out to support our students at UIL this week! It means so much to see the community there supporting our Grizzlies even for performances in the middle of the work week. Thank you for the sacrifices you make to support our amazing students!

This week we have our Booster membership meeting on April 15th (board elections), YAC (Rehearsals starting Monday) and Leadership auditions (ongoing). Please see the YAC Section below to verify your rehearsal and performance times. If the embedded google sheet does not appear on your device, please use the link in the section below.

We are also happy to release our marching calendar this week. We will share further details about the calendar at the "Excellence is our Standard Night". This is the kick off to our marching season and will provide everything you need to know for next year. We have combined this event with our show reveal and both events will occur on May 5th. This was done to allow families to attend Academic awards on April 30th.

Lastly we will have Letter Jacket applications available for students on Tuesday next week. Please see below for information regarding letter jackets.

Please also check Google Classroom Regularly for updates relevant to your students ensemble. Weekly goals and expectations will be posted there. If you need help accessing your google classroom, please reach out to Mr. Garrison.

Be sure to check the calendar for Gems and GIP rehearsals in the coming weeks.

This Week

To Do This Week

Marching Calendar

Letter Jacket Information

Summer Band Camp Opportunities

Leadership Information

Handbook Forms

Remind

Attendance

Qualification:

Students may pick up a letter jacket application on Tuesday April 15th to declare their eligibility for a letter jacket. Applications must be submitted by Friday, April 25th.

Packets Distribution and Collection:

April 29th (Tuesday): Letter Jacket Packets will be sent home with students who qualify. These packets should be reviewed by students and their parents.

Fitting Date and Time:

SSR will be coming to size and process orders on Monday, May 6th, at 3:15 PM. At this time, students will be fitted and will pay for their jackets on-site. Students will turn in their completed packets directly to the SSR team during the fitting. This process will help avoid issues with late packets or misplaced orders.

Below are some options for Summer Band Camps. Band Camps are a great way to stay active over the summer and meet other musicians from around the state. If you have questions about band camps, reach out to your lesson teacher or band director.

General Band Camps

For all instruments. Kids work in a full band setting to prepare music for a band concert for parents at the end of the week! There are elective classes to take, they experience life on a college campus, and learn from world class music educators.

Baylor University Band Camp

Texas Tech University Band Camp

Texas State University Band Camp

Instrument Specific Band Camps

These camps are instrument specific and local to the Austin area. They will play with ensembles, learn instrument specific techniques, and work with world class educators.

Flutes - Flootfire Camp

Clarinets - Central Texas Clarinet Camp

Oboes and Bassoons - Bocal Majority Camp

Trumpets - Austin Trumpet Camp

French Horns - Austin French Horn Camp

Trombones - Austin Trombone Camp

Euphonium and Tuba - Teupha Camp

Percussion - Texas Christian University Percussion Camp

Students will need to bring their $60 accompanist fee to their first rehearsal. This payment goes directly to the accompanist.

The LINK above contains rehearsal times on the first tab, and performance times on the second tab. Students, please check the confirmation box after verifying your times.

Solo preparation is an integral part of a musicians development and we are lucky to have some great accompanists to assist our students in this process. This form is now long over due. If you have not completed this form, it must be done by Monday. This allows our accompanists time to prepare the pieces you are playing before the concert.

As we approach the midpoint in the year, we wanted to release some information about the leadership process for the year. Our Drum Majors will host the usual DM Clinics for those interested in the position, and we will begin our leadership process just before UIL. We will continue to update information here as we get closer to UIL.

Attendance at rehearsals is vital to the ensembles success. We have created an absence form (located below) for parents to fill out when their student will miss rehearsal. All absences must be submitted a week in advance for approval. Absences for illness should include documentation from a medical professional to be approved.

Students who have one or more unexcused absence will be subject to one or more of the following consequences:

Loss of primary marching spot

Loss of marching privilege for one game

Loss of attendance privilege at one game or social event

Loss of concert band assignment

Removal from the band program