THE Houston Band

Hello, Houston Band family!

I hope you all enjoyed a relaxing and rejuvenating fall break. Please carefully read the following announcements about our recording session, football games, final competition, and season wrap party. It's critical that all students are prepared for all events through the remainder of our competitive marching season.

Please make sure students are taking care of themselves musically, academically, mentally, and physically these last two weeks of the season. I can't wait to see what the end product will be like at the Liberty Bowl next Saturday! I can't wait to see (AND HEAR) you and your families there!! Encourage everyone to make it out and cheer for our band, along with all the other hard working bands that will be there! It's an incredibly talented slate of bands this year!

With excitement and gratitude,

Mr. C

From our wonderful fundraising chair Mrs. Ortiz:

The fundraising team thanks our band families for attending spirit nights, sharing our crowdfunding campaign, selling cookie dough, and ordering merch this season!

No, we round the corner on our LAST sales of fall. Let’s wrap up our season in style!

1. Purchase a Houston Band keychain for your student or yourselves at our band’s wrap party on November 7th Cost is $4 cash. We will have a table out there.

2. Purchase some Commissary BBQ coupons for yourself and ask friends to buy as well. Keep track of of your sales on the form we send home. We sure appreciate having one check for the total number of coupons you have sold. Send it to the Woody no later than November 12. BBQ Sales run from November 1-12th and delivery is meant to be a fast turn around. Perfect stocking stuffers of the holidays and gifts for friends and employees!!

Find the full Bandmasters itinerary with parking information attached below. Spectators will park off of Southern Ave in the silver, pink, and tan lots. Please make sure to arrive early. I strongly recommend sitting about half to two thirds of the way up the stands as close to the 50 yard line as possible. Try to find other HHS band parents and sit with them!

Please cheer for all bands and do not enter/leave during any performances. Small children should only attend if they are capable of staying quiet through performances. Please APPLAUDE LOUDLY after large ensemble moments, solos, and features. Please CHEER VERY LOUDLY when we are told to "take the field in competition" and after we finish our performance.

HOW MANY HOUSTON BAND FANS can we bring? Can you bring 5? 10? 15 friends and family? Let's support our fantastic young musicians at their FINAL performance of this field show for the year. Go mustangs!!

I am so excited to have our band's recording session this Saturday. Students have been hard at work knocking off the "fall break rust" and preparing themselves for this event. Please note that this recording session will be public, but we ask that it is silent throughout the session. I would very strongly encourage everyone to instead attend the Bandmasters Championship, which will be a true performance. This recording session will start and stop frequently to ensure we get great angles and maximize the end product.

5pm - students arrive (uniforms, hats, set up pit, etc.)

6pm - dress rehearsal

6:45pm - recording begins

7:45pm - ideal ending of recording time

8:00pm - hard stop of recording time

TONIGHT, THURSDAY October 24th: Call time is 5:30pm. Students should wear costumes to this game. If students do not have a costume, they may wear their member shirt and khaki shorts or pants. REGARDLESS of costume, students MUST wear athletic or marching shoes. Do not wear sandals, crocs, flip flops, boots, etc. Kickoff @ 7.

FRIDAY November 1st: Call time is 5:30pm. We will be in uniform. Kickoff @ 7.

PLEASE also bring in candy to celebrate after our final rehearsal of the year (10/31)!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080C4CACAB2BA13-last#/

PLEASE bring in water bottles, as well! If it's on sale, buy a few cases and bring them in! Thank you!!

Dues are PAST DUE. We will be reaching out to delinquent dues payers starting later this week. If you forgot to turn in your dues on time, make sure to send a check this Friday morning.

I will be calling home starting this week and next week. Please make sure to send a check in ASAP for these dues.

Upcoming Sectional Schedule

- October 28: ALL STUDENTS

- NOVEMBER 4: NEW MEMBERS (FRESHMEN OR OTHERWISE) & SECTION LEADERS

We will also be hosting weekly open practice times each Wednesdays and Mondays. The road to All West participation starts now! We hope to see as many students as possible fill the band room each Wednesday 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!

Please make sure that you find some time to help with uniforms, run tables at events, help fundraise, or anything else you can contribute to our amazing program that supports our young musicians. Some parents will be reaching out over the phone to ask folks to get involved. Please say YES!

Thank you!

We will celebrate our FANTASTIC marching season the Thursday after Bandmasters.

5pm - Start arriving, food truck opens

6pm - Videos & Senior celebrations

7pm - Wrap

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.

To allow for more ample water breaks to keep our students safe and healthy, we may be going slightly over some rehearsals. This was the case yesterday. This will not be a huge time difference, but please know we may be letting students out as late as 5pm through the rest of the season. We will start our end-of-rehearsal run-through by 4:45pm, and each run will take about 8-10 minutes depending on staff comment length.

It is always my goal to dismiss no later than 4:45pm, but feel free to wait to pick your student up at 5pm if if you don't ever want to wait on us for the slightly overheld rehearsals.

The start 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 5-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 Tuesday and Wednesday following the conclusion of marching season.

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.

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

• 10/24/24 - Football v. White Station. GO MUSTANGS!! (NOT on the 25th. This is a Thursday game.)
• 10/26/24 - Recording Session
• 11/1/24 - Football v. Collierville. GO MUSTANGS!!
• 11/2/24 - Bandmasters Championship
• 11/5/24 - POSTSEASON MARCHING REHEARSAL
• 11/7/24 - POSTSEASON MARCHING REHEARSAL
• 11/23/24 - WTSBOA Orchestra Auditions
• 11/5/24 - 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