Griffin History Made!

Congratulations to the 2025-26 Griffin Wind Symphony for the continued successes of our spring recordings. The submitted recordings have now won our Region 24 level Honor Band hearing (first time Griffin has placed 1st at Region), placed 2nd at the Area level (first time an ensemble from Griffin has placed this high at area and advanced to state!), and will go on to be heard in the TMEA State Semi-final Honor Band contest in San Antonio this Wednesday. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for announcements after semis later on Wednesday.

If you were a member of the WS last year - I continue to recieve so many compliments on how amazingly well you played that program. I'm so proud of you!

SUMMER!!!

In early June had a fun week at the FISD MS Summer Band Camp, and several of our GatorBand members were spotted at the Baylor Band Camp as well!

Reminders from the last issue: The information in this newsletter is mainly broken up into two sections - Beginning Band News is intended for students who are new to band in school. These are often students with little to no musical experience. That's okay! We will teach you everything you need to know next year. Please read the section below related to Beginning Band. Performing Band News at this time is intended for students who have completed at least one year of band in school, or students with extensive musical background on their instrument already. Please read the corresponding section below.

If you have any questions over the summer, please feel free to email Mrs. Cansler or Mr. Wolfe. If you have a percussion-specific question, please contact Mr. Teed. Please know that we do not monitor our email as regularly during the summer, so you may not get an immediate reply. Thank you for your patience.

Please don't wait! Please get supplies ordered!

If you have already screened for your instrument, please consider getting your supplies ordered ASAP if you haven't already done so! The easiest route is to click these links (CLARINET / All other instruments) for our recommended vendors, including all of the supplies used in class. We are careful not to include supplies on our list if they are not items we utilize regularly! Also, please make sure you are searching correctly from Griffin Middle School in FRISCO ISD. (Many don't realize there is another Griffin Middle School nearby!)

What do we do over the summer????

Students should have instruments home for the summer - FISD Instruments have now been checked out to all returning students - and should practice at least a few times a week. The VERY best plan is to take private lessons over the summer. Our lesson teachers' contact information can be found below. Many of them are teaching at Griffin on Tuesdays this summer! If lessons aren't possible, we suggest finding something they like to play - use YouTube, order a book of movie themes or Disney music - anything that the student is interested in and will find fun to play! Get together with friends and play through your book lines or your favorite songs from this year, or hunt up new things to play online. Just - PLAY!

SummerBand 2026 * August 3-5, 5-7 pm @ Griffin

First up for the 2026-27 school year will be our annual SummerBand event! This event is for students who have completed at least one year of band in school. These three evenings are fun and a very important start to our school year. If you are not out of town, please plan for your student to attend. If you are out of town for all/some of the evenings, please notify Mrs. Cansler prior to the event.

At SummerBand students will get to work in their sections, allowing them time to meet the other students who play their same instrument. Most will also be working with our private lesson teacher for their instrument or other band staff. Students will be working on our fall Pep Tunes that will be performed at our Registration Rally, Pep Rallies, and several other events. Music will be available to be printed ahead of the event (link to be sent soon). We will also have copies available at Griffin.

Do we need any additional equipment for 7/8th grade band?

Next year all 7th and 8th grade Performing Band students will need a copy of the book Foundations for Superior Performance by Jeff King (8th graders should already have this book). The book is instrument specific, so please make sure you get the right one for your instrument! HERE is an example of the book, but again, please make sure you purchase the correct one for your instrument.

In the fall students will also need a flip folder and lyre, depending on your instrument. You do not have to order from Amazon - these are just examples. Brook Mays or any local music store will also be able to help. (Percussion students will receive information later pertaining to 7/8th grade equipment lists.

FLUTE LYRE / FLIP FOLDER
TRUMPET / TROMBONE LYRE/Flip folder
All other students will need a FLIP FOLDER like this - EVERYONE except flute, trumpet and trombone!
CLARINET LYRE
ALL SAXOPHONE/Bass Clarinet LYRE
FRENCH HORN LYRE
EUPHONIUM LYRE
TUBA LYRE
Oboe, bassoon, and percussion students ONLY need to purchase a flip folder.

All students will get a new band binder in the fall as well as a new Band shirt! :)

If you have an FISD instrument at home over the summer and encounter any issues with it, please email Mr. Wolfe AND Mrs. Cansler ASAP. Our preferred repair location will be the new Brook Mays store at the corner of 423 and Eldorado Pkwy, but please contact a director before taking any instrument in for repair. We will not be monitoring our email every day, so we appreciate your patience in awaiting a response.

What Band am I in next year?

We will have 4 bands at Griffin for the 26-27 school year - Beginning Band for students with zero or very limited experience on their instrument, and 3 bands for the experienced 7th and 8th graders: Concert Band, Symphonic Band, and Wind Symphony. We are finalizing schedules with the counselors soon. Students are placed into the band in which fits them best - our goal is for each student to grow as a musician. We're looking for the best balance of not being bored by the music being too easy, but also not being overwhelming. There may be a few sections in which we're looking to move a few students up after the summer or at the semester break, depending on student improvement. BUT - our goal is for all 3 groups to perform, to improve, and to have fun doing it!

Griffin Band private lesson staff

Flute: Dr. Lisa Phillips - (607) 731-3879; lisaphillipsflute@gmail.com

Oboe: Gina Moore - (804) 892-1308; moore.ginam@gmail.com

Bassoon: Alex Meaux - bassbassoon2009@gmail.com

Clarinet: Deanna Dailey - (417) 569-8156; deannaldailey@gmail.com

Saxophone: Tyler Richey - (325) 518-5821; tlrsax54@gmail.com

Trumpet: Jacob Lira - liraj2021@gmail.com

French Horn: Zach McKinnon - zacharymckinon0125@gmail.com

Trombone: Dr. Jason Oliver - 321-279-2383; jasonoliver8844@gmail.com

Euphonium: William Lum - wlum432@gmail.com

Tuba: Dr. Kenneth Drobnak -(361) 219-4567; ken.drobnak@gmail.com

Percussion: William Wright - wilwright251@gmail.com

August 3-5 - Griffin SummerBand

For all incoming 7th and 8th graders for the 2026-27 school year (this does NOT include Beginning Band students)
5-7 each evening
Students will be working in sectionals on our pep tunes.
If you are in town these dates, PLEASE make plans for students to attend. This should be considered mandatory unless your family is out of town. Please let Mrs. Cansler know if you're out of town for all/some of these dates.

Friday, August 7th - Gator Camp

Required for Wind Symphony - SB/CB students are invited to participate
Time TBD
Please notify Mrs. Cansler if you're out of town

Wednesday, August 26 - Registration Rally

6 pm Griffin Cafetorium
Performance for all 7/8th graders
Parent meeting for 6-8 band families - at least one parent should plan to attend

The "Key" to understanding our Calendar: What events apply to you?

Performing Bands = CB/SB/WS = Students with at least one full year of band experience

Wind Symphony (WS) = "Band A" - our Varsity band comprised of 7th and 8th graders

Symphonic Band (SB) = "Band B" - our Non-Varsity band comprised of 7th and 8th graders

Concert Band (CB) = "Band C" - our SubNV Band comprised of 7th and 8th graders

Beginning Band (BB) = ALL "Instrument name" classes - comprised of 6th and 7th graders who have very little or no prior experience with their instrument

Director Contact Information

Email is the best means of communication with the directors. During the summer months we will be checking our email intermittently but not regularly, so please allow time for a response. Thank you!

Mrs Cansler (Wind Symphony, Concert Band, Beginning woodwind classes): canslerca@friscoisd.org

Mr. Wolfe (Symphonic Band, Beginning brass classes): mailto:wolfec@friscoisd.org
Mr. Teed (Beginning Percussion): mailto:teedb@friscoisd.org

Website: https://www.GriffinGatorBand.com
Facebook: facebook.com/GriffinGatorBand