WINTER PARK BAND Weekly Newsletter
July 10, 2023

November 1, 2026
📅 Events This Week 📅
Event Information
Last rehearsal before MPA! 3:15 PM Twos to D-Lot
6:00 PM Announcements and Dismissal
Event Information
1:00 PM Arrive / Band Room Opens / Spirit Box Sharing 1:30 PM Twos to D Lot 1:45 PM Rehearsal 3:00 PM Lunch / Load equipment into trailer 4:00 PM Chaperone meeting (Guitar Room) 4:10 PM Uniform inspections (Brass in Orchestra Room, Woodwind in Choir Room, and Percussion/Guard in Band Room) 4:20 PM Full Band in Auditorium 4:30 PM Depart for Boone HS 5:15 PM Arrive at Boone HS and Unload 5:50 PM Warmup 6:50 PM Performance 7:10 PM Load equipment trailer / Senior Speeches 8:10 PM Move back into stadium to watch performances by Ocoee HS, and West Orange HS (bring money to eat concessions between performances) 9:00 PM Load buses and depart for WPHS
From the Director
Dear Winter Park Band families,
It's here, the week all our students have been working towards since Mini Camp back in May - Marching MPA week! I'm so excited, and can't wait to see what our students do with the final two performances.
SOTW did a great job at the Senior Night game on Friday night and looked sharp in the debut of the new marching band uniforms. Congratulations and thank you to the class of 2027 for all your work so far this fall! We are in a very strong place going into our final performance of For All Mankind this week.
Thank you to the Uniform Crew for their work unboxing, organizing, and sizing the new jackets for our members in record time! It was a huge effort, and we had enough volunteers at school to fit 8-10 students at once.
Thank you to all the parents who decorated their cars, dressed up, and handed out candy at our Trunk 'r Treat on Tuesday! You made this another amazing event for all our members.
A huge thank you to the Senior Night Committee of parent volunteers who worked behind the scenes to coordinate the banners, sashes, flowers, buttons, and everything else to make Friday a night to remember!
Looking at the week ahead:
- BOSTON TOUR: Payment 3 - Due Tuesday, November 3. Tour details at https://www.winterparkhsband.com/boston-tour-2027.html.
- The marching band rehearsal scheduled on 11/6 has been removed from the calendar. We will rehearse this week on Tuesday, 11/3, and then again on Saturday, 11/7, before we perform at Marching Band MPA.
- Our journey with FOR ALL MANKIND concludes at Marching Band MPA on Saturday, November 7 at Boone HS. This performance culminates the students' hard work and journey creating this show from Band Camp until now. This is another one of my favorite days of the school year, and I can't wait to see where the show ends up for this performance! All students arrive in the Band room at 1:00 PM. Performance time is 6:50 PM and a complete itinerary is available on the Band website.
Looking farther ahead on the Band Calendar:
- We celebrate the entirety of our Winter Park Band community at the 12th annual Fall Festival of Bands on Tuesday, November 10 at 7 PM in the WPHS Auditorium. The evening includes performances by the Audubon Park School Symphonic Band, Glenridge Middle School Symphonic Band, the Maitland Middle School Wind Ensemble, the Winter Park Wind Symphony, combined students from APS, GMS, and MMS along with the Wind Symphony, the SOTW Color Guard, and the SOTW Marching Band to top it all off! It is a night celebrating the entirety of our community, the success of our 6 - 12th grade program, and the bright future of the Sound of the Wildcats. The concert is free and open to the public, as are all our home Band concerts. A complete itinerary is available on the Band website. SOTW will rehearse for this performance after school 11/10.
- PLAYOFF FOOTBALL NOTE: If the varsity team makes it into the FHSAA playoffs, the first game would be scheduled on Friday, November 13. Depending on the location of the game, the SOTW attends playoff games as a full band pep band in show shirts and jeans.
- Jazz Ensemble I will perform at the Winter Park Autumn Art Festival on Saturday, November 14 at 10:00 AM. Bring a lawn chair and enjoy a beautiful morning in Central Park!
- All-County Band & Jazz Auditions will take place on Monday, November 17 at Lake Buena Vista High School. The schedule of auditions will be released about a week before auditions. The earliest audition time slots begin at 4:00 PM, and the latest are around 9:00 PM.
- The Winter Park Parade and Baldwin Park Parade performances will both take place on Saturday, December 5. An itinerary will be available on the Band website in the coming weeks.
- The Winter Band Concert on Thursday, December 10 will take place in the Auditorium.
Let's make it a great week!
Mr. Clemente
From our Band Booster President
Band Families,
We had a great time celebrating our seniors on Friday! On behalf of the whole band booster organization we want to thank our seniors for everything they have put into the Sound of the Wildcats, and we can't wait to see your next steps.
Coming up:
11/2 7pm Q&A Zoom (link will be sent via cut time)
11/3 Marching rehearsal
11/7 MPA!
11/10 Fall Festival of Bands
Parents, please check in with your student about the MPA Spirit Boxes they will exchange on Saturday. We will discuss them at the zoom in case you have any questions.
Thank you class of 2027!
Laura Cambridge
From our Fundraising Chairs
A HUGE thank you to everyone who participated in our Lucky Goat Coffee fundraiser! ☕🧡
We are so grateful for your support, generosity, and enthusiasmin helping make this fundraiser such a success!
Thanks to all of you, we raised $3,660 in purchases and $7,120 in donations, for an incredible GRAND TOTAL OF $10,780!! 🎉🐐
We couldn’t have done it without you, and we truly appreciate everyone who contributed and helped spread the word! ❤️
Please email the Band Booster treasurers to apply any fundraising credits to your Boston trip payment or fair share payment!
wphsbandtreasurer@gmail.com
*Be on the lookout for our next spirit night which will be at Gator’s Dockside (Baldwin Park) in November! 🐊*
Robyn Fodor & Deanna Glidden
Fundraising Coordinators
WP Band Booster Board
From our Volunteer Coordinator
SOTW VOLUNTEERS - WHAT A NIGHT, WHAT A SEASON! WOW! WHAT A SENIOR NIGHT!
A HUGE THANK YOU to our incredible volunteers who helped make Senior Night so special! From Beth Lybarger and Jamie Santiago for hanging up the Senior banners at Showalter Field; to our amazing Uniform Crew who spent countless hours preparing our BRAND-NEW marching uniforms for their big debut, to every volunteer who helped behind the scenes on Friday night, YOU MADE IT HAPPEN!
AN EXTRA-SPECIAL THANK YOU to our Senior Families! From creating pins and sashes to putting together all those meaningful finishing touches, your time, creativity and love helped make this milestone unforgettable for our Seniors. These memories will last long after the final notes have been played.
THANK YOU will never be enough for everything you do for our students!
So because marching season apparently doesn't believe in slowing down... WE HAVE ONE MORE BIG PERFORMANCE!
MARCHING BAND MPA - SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7!
ONE LAST SHOW.
Our Sound of the Wildcats are preparing for their FINAL performance of FOR ALL MANKIND! We need our volunteer heroes ONE MORE TIME to help our students finish the marching season STRONG! Let's make this final performance one to remember!
▪️Marching Band MPA SignUpGenius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A49A8AE22A02-67204834-marching#/
DOOR-TO-DOOR 2027 - ALL HANDS ON DECK!
Our biggest volunteer event of the year is coming Saturday, January 23, 2027, and sign-ups are OPEN! New families, come experience a favorite Wildcat tradition! Returning volunteers, we need our D2D veterans! Senior Families, this is our LAST ONE - let's make it unforgettable!
▪️Door-to-Door SignUpGenius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080A49A8AE22A02-66378842-2027#/
READY TO VOLUNTEER? Make sure you're ADDitions APPROVED for the 2026-2027 school year!
▪️ADDitions: https://ocps.samaritan.com/custom/503/opp_details/119839
Our students may be the Sound of the Wildcats but our volunteers are the HEART behind it!
Jennifer Mullins
WPHS Band and Colorguard Volunteer Coordinator
📆 Band Calendar 📆
Copy the link below to subscribe to the Band public events calendar in Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook, or other calendar app:
FINANCES AND CUT TIME
PAST DUE BAND PAYMENTS
- WOODWINDS, BRASS, PERCUSSION
- August 7, 2026
- Fair Share Payment - $225 OR Fair Share Payment 1 - $100.00
- Marching Band Shoe (new students and if needed) - $50.00
- Extra Show Shirt (optional) - $15.00
- September 2
- Fair Share Payment 2 - $50.00
- October 7
- Jazz Fair Share Payment (jazz students only) - $25.00
- School Equipment Semester 1 Maintenance (if applies) - $75.00
- COLOR GUARD
- Friday, August 7, 2026
- Fall Fair Share Payment - $325 OR Fair Share Payment 1 - $100
- Marching Band Shoe (if needed) - $50.00
- Extra Show Shirt (optional) - $15.00
- September 2
- Fair Share Payment 2 - $50.00
- October 7
- Jazz Fair Share Payment (jazz students only) - $25.00
- School Equipment Semester 1 Maintenance (if applies) - $75.00
NOTE: On SchoolCashOnline.com, the Fair Share item will show on the main page with a "no cost" indication because it is an item with an open payment amount. When going to make a Fair Share payment, you will need to enter in the amount you are paying. This is to allow our Band families flexibility between the optional payment plans for Fair Share.
Private Lessons - Invest in Your Future!
Whether a student is learning a musical instrument to pursue a career in music, or simply for personal musical fulfillment and recreation, private lessons are one of the best investments that a parent can provide for their musical child. When working with a private teacher, students receive one-on-one instruction from a professional musician who specializes on that instrument.
Unlike a full band rehearsal experience, studying with a private teacher focuses in on the student’s individual needs. Students who study privately once a week from a professional musician are usually those who excel and find Band more enjoyable. These students frequently earn positions in honor groups like All-State and All-County, and make entry into our more advanced bands like Wind Symphony and Jazz Ensemble I. Some even go on to earn college scholarships, even if they are not majoring in music!
Below is a link to a list of local private teachers. This list is not exhaustive, and there may be other individuals who are not on the list. If you are a private teacher who would like to be added to our list (or deleted), or know a private teacher who should be added, please contact Mr. Clemente at michael.clemente@ocps.net.
"Step Up" Your Sound with Intermediate/Professional Instruments
This time of year, many families consider purchasing a higher quality instrument for their student. While the rental instruments or student instruments many students had during middle school served them well during that time, high school music and musicians need instruments with higher quality make and materials to continue to improve. Please especially do not buy an instrument for your student from discount websites like Amazon. We music teachers refer to instruments sold on those websites as ISOs - Instrument Shaped Objects.
If you are able and considering a "step-up" instrument for your student (sometimes referred to as "intermediate" or "professional" instruments by manufacturers), please feel free to reach out for guidance. We will be happy to point you in the right direction and give options for quality instruments at fair prices.
Local music stores:
Underwood Music - 4949 N Pine Ave, Winter Park, FL 32792
Music Shack - 702 S US Hwy 17 92, Longwood, FL 32750
Allegro Music - 851 E State Rd 434, Longwood, FL 32750
Music & Arts - 4676 Millenia Plaza Way, Orlando, FL 32839
A few websites to peruse:
UPCOMING EVENTS
November 7: MARCHING BAND MPA, 9 AM - 9 PM
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November 10: FALL FESTIVAL OF BANDS
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November 14: Jazz Ensemble I @ WPAAF, Downtown Winter Park
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November 16: All-County Auditions
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December 5: Winter Park & Baldwin Park Holiday Parades
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December 10: Band Winter Concert
WPHS Band Social Media
We've been posting lots of photos our social media platforms, and we will continue to post updates, photos, video, and other media to those pages throughout the year. Follow the Band!
- Facebook: @winterparkhsband
- Instagram: @winterparkhsband @wphs_flutes @wphsclarinets @wpsaxes @wphs_trumpets @wphs.trombones @wphstubas @winterparkhspercussion @winterparkhscolorguard @wphs.drumajors
- YouTube: @winterparkhsband
- Twitter: @wphs_bands
- Tik Tok: @winterparkhsband
Winter Park High School Band
Email: michael.clemente@ocps.net
Website: www.winterparkhsband.com
Location: 2100 Summerfield Road, Winter Park, FL, USA
Phone: 4076223200
Facebook: www.facebook.com/winterparkhsband