THE Houston Band

Hello, Houston Band family.

Congratulations on a fantastic season, everyone. I cannot overstate how proud I am of each and every one of you. Our marching show this year delicately explored the juxtaposition of our cosmic smallness with humanity’s togetherness. Your individual and communal work led to us reaching our ultimate goal: bringing something genuinely beautiful into the world.

In doing so, we received superior ratings at every contest we went to. And while “winning” doesn’t even scrape the top 10 list of things that matter in marching band, our final two contests resulted in a grand championship (NEMCC) and a division championship (UofM).

Now, our focus shifts to where our young artists truly shine: individual and ensemble musicianship. The band room is open for independent practice before and after school Monday-Thursday every week for all west, chair placement, and college audition preparations through the rest of the year.

With excitement and gratitude,

Mr. C

We are incredibly excited to support our Mustang football team on Friday in the first round of TSSAA playoffs. Show up and cheer them on, while listening to our award winning Houston Band! Call time is 5:50pm.

The marching season wrap party will take place this Thursday. Arrive between 5-5:30 to get your food and hang out with friends before the viewing party/ senior banquet!

5:00pm - Food Truck Opens

6:00pm - Banquet Begins

7:00pm - Wrap!

To ensure quick service and minimize food waste, we have asked our food truck vendor this year to take preorders. Pre-order food at this link and bring your payment in-person. https://forms.gle/TWMVCz2C5qNwfSZh7

Bring cash if you would like to purchase a Houston Band keyring! They are $4 each.

Bring camping chairs or a blanket. We are hoping to be on the field for this event (weather and sports allowing!)

Contact Sheila Jeevan if you have any specific questions! SheilaJeevan@yahoo.com Feel free to ask me questions as well.

We will be hosting open practice time after school Monday-Thursday AND every day before school starts. The road to All West participation starts now, with a little bit of growth every day! We hope to see as many students as possible fill the band room each morning and evening to improve their craft.

As we wrap up our highly-involved competitive marching band season, please encourage your young musicians to pick a day each week to come practice with myself, Mr. Sims, and others on our incredibly talented band staff. Thank you!

Students can request lesson time with Mr. Sims or Mr. Carpenter after school, as well! We are here to help you get better at your instrument!

The end of our competitive marching season means it's time to begin preparations for concert band auditions. Our concert season will be divided into three distinct cycles this year, with a different makeup of students for each cycle.

• November 11-December 5: Holiday Concert Cycle. Two roughly-equally sized concert bands.
• January 7-March 7: Concert Performance Assessment Cycle. Top "Wind Symphony" group with about three quarters of students and a "Developmental Ensemble" for others.
• March 10-May 6: Symphonic Cycle. Select students leave the "Wind Symphony" to prepare for a full orchestra collaboration with HHS Orchestras. All other students perform in the "Wind Symphony".

Auditions for the Holiday Concert Cycle will take place the WEDNESDAY-FRIDAY THIS WEEK.

Auditions will consist of the following:

Woodwinds and Brass 11th-12th graders: The "technical" etude for all west, a random selection from any of the 12 major scales, and a sight reading passage.

Woodwinds and Brass 9th-10th graders: The first etude of three for all west, a random selection from any of the 12 major scales, and a sight reading passage.

Percussion students: You grade level's all west snare excerpt, mallet sight reading, and a random selection from any of the 12 major scales.

Please read the following announcements from Mrs. Ortiz around fundraising:

1. BRING CASH TO THE WRAP PARTY THURSDAY FOR YOUR HOUSTON BAND KEYRINGS!

NOVEMBER 7TH is our wrap party for marching season. All families are encouraged to be there. Buy your Houston Band keyring for $4.00 each!

If you feel generous, bring $10, grab 2, and let us have the change in a donation! We have a goal to sell at least 1 to each family or student.

These keyrings are great for your spare house key, or car key. The bulk makes them stand out without being heavy, and the students love that they can wear 'em on their wrists.

2. BUY AND SELL BBQ COUPONS!

GET YOUR BBQ COUPONS NOW. NOV 1-12 we are selling BBQ Gift Certificates for Commissary BBQ. Mr C gave the kids the order form Friday. The goal is to sell at least 8 per student. I tend to buy 10 & use them all year long, gifting some when a friend has a need or a loss, or someone does me a good turn. I always want those meals ready to go!

Use your order form to keep track of the people that are buying BBQ gift certificates from you.

It is BEST and easiest for me if you simply take orders, write them on your form for your future self to remember, get cash from your family and friends, and write me ONE CHECK which you attach to the form. You get the form back with your coupons to distribute before Thanksgiving.

Be as clear about how many you need as possible. This is a fast turn around for me.

3. GET YOUR PERSONALIZED BAND ORNAMENTS ORDERED IN NOVEMBER TOO!

Band Ornaments will be on sale starting Nov 13th. Keep an eye on band news so you don’t miss out on purchasing one for your student. They are special. A simple sign up will

come out requesting specific details about your band student and their section and class/grade level in school. Look for the LINK in your band news from Mr. Carpenter soon

Thank you to everyone, for what you’ve given and how you’ve helped so far this season. We have earned over 6k so far. Keep the momentum up! Cookie dough orders look good. Cookie dough arrives before Thanksgiving - date will be announced soon! You want to get it the day it arrives - it’s really important b/c it is frozen and we don’t have a way to hold onto it for you.

The spring trip will be April 2-5. We are going to Dallas to listen to some phenomenal band and orchestra music, and we can't wait for as many students as possible to join us! Find attached the flier with details about this trip!

https://tourbot.etadventures.com/customerweb/signin

Trip Code: houstonband25

Password: dfwtrip25

NOTE: There is an option for a 1, 2, or 3 person room on the website. DO NOT select that option, as ALL students will be put into rooms of as many students as possible. Select the 4-person room.

This is a lot of info, and things have changed since last season. Please make sure you carefully read this section.

We have begun collecting band dues. Dues are MANDATORY and will be collected via SchoolCashOnline OR check. Checks will ONLY be collected Friday mornings before school. You can pay through SchoolCashOnline at any time. No cash will be accepted by Mr. Sims or myself. Dues checks should be made out to "Houston High School" with the memo being "Band Dues - <student legal name>".

• The first payment is due on September 1st ($250), final check collection August 30th.
• The second payment is due on October 1st ($250), final check collection September 27th.
• Our boosters also highly encourage a $225 donation that enables them to pay our world-class adjunct staff and take care of equipment emergencies that naturally come up when we regularly bring a half million dollars of equipment into the elements. While it would be great to send that money ASAP, it would be helpful to make that $225 donation no later than November 1st. This can be sent via the linked website OR via check made out to "HHS Band Boosters" placed in the dropbox in Mr. C's office W-F.
• We encourage those who are able to just pay everything ASAP, as this is the most expensive portion of our year. If you need extensions, please reach out sooner rather than later.

If you are experiencing financial hardship, please reach out to me ASAP. If you or a relative are in the privileged position of paying for another student's full or partial dues, please reach out to me about how to "Give the Gift of Band."

We have a new way of tracking band conflicts internally. Please note, students that miss rehearsals and performances without prior approval will be penalized with grade deductions.

All you have to do is give us as MUCH heads up as possible, emailing me the reason for missing and (when relevant) a doctor's note. Please note that the closer we get to a date, the less likely exemption will be granted. Give us time to plan for other students' success when sending us your reasonable conflicts due to health, religion, family emergencies, etc.

Thank you for your understanding and commitment to our band's success!

There are several changes this year that I want to make you aware of right now, rather than surprising you once school gets rolling!

- Holiday concert is at HHS this year. We have to be able to ticket and collect donations at that concert, and GPAC is not allowing us to do that in their space.

- Holiday parade is happening this year. The holiday parade rain date is on the calendar, so make plans to attend both possible dates (Dec 14 & Dec 15). If you have a conflict with the Sunday rain date, tell me ASAP (just like you would for any other conflict). Do not email me the moment there is a weather event and the rain date is activated; it will be unexempt just like any other missed performance.

- Festival Mini Camp on Feb 22 is a Saturday event for students in the top concert ensemble.

- All State is changing from being a Wed-Sat event to a Thurs-Sun event. This is beyond our control; please plan accordingly if you generally make All State or get close. This year's All State is April 10-13.

Find upcoming dates for performances, events, and one-off rehearsals below. Note that regular rehearsals are Tuesdays and Thursdays, with sectionals on Mondays.

You can always find our full calendar (including Google and iCal integration links) here: https://www.thehoustonband.com/calendar

• 11/23/24 - WTSBOA Orchestra Auditions
• 12/5/24 - Winter Concert
• 12/12/24 - Holiday Parade practice
• 12/13/24 - Holiday Parade practice
• 12/14/24 - Germantown Holiday Parade
• 12/15/24 - Germantown Holiday Parade Rain Date (treat it like any other performance date! KEEP OPEN!)
• 1/11/25 - All West Band Auditions (required for all students unless they've made an orchestra)
• 2/13/25 - All West TN Band and Orchestra Clinic Begins
• 2/15/25 - All West TN Band and Orchestra Clinic Concerts Conclude
• 2/22/25 - Festival Mini Camp - Required for all students in the top concert ensemble
• 3/5/25 - Wednesday after school rehearsal for Festival
• 3/6/25 & 3/7/25 - Possible Concert Festival dates (TBA)
• 4/2-5/25 - Dallas Trip
• 4/5/25 - Solo & Ensemble
• 4/10/25 - TN All State Conference Begins
• 4/13/25 - TN All State Concert Concludes
• 4/22/25 - HHS Symphony Orchestra rehearsals begin (Tuesdays/Thursdays)
• 4/28/25 - Boston Brass Residency Begins
• 5/6/25 - HHS Instrumental Concert
• 5/7/25 - Graduation Orchestra Rehearsal
• 5/8/25 - Graduation Orchestra Rehearsal
  
• 5/9/25 - Graduation!
• May 12-13 25-26 Leadership Camp (after school)

Instagram | Facebook | Website | Google Calendar