WINTER PARK BAND Weekly Newsletter
July 10, 2023
From Mr. Clemente
Dear Winter Park Band families,
A fine performance at our first regular season football game this past week! We again received lots of positive feedback from Friday's audience, and the students did a nice job performing the music of 2 out of the 3 parts of our show. The Drum Majors did have some feedback from the game that was passed along to the whole band when we got back to the Band room. As we are an aggregation of our past choices, we get the chance to make the best possible choices going forward for the community we want to become. Keep working hard!
Also a huge thank you again to both Jen Mullins and the awesome team of chaperones and Aaron Strickland and the awesome team of Ops volunteers for making this past week super smooth for a first football game!
The Extra Show Shirt sale is now closed and shirts are on order. Please look out for a message regarding them either being sent home or available for pickup. Looking forward to seeing you in your shirt at a future football game!
The Spirit Wear order from the beginning of the year is in production and should be delivered to school by 8/29. Once items are received and sorted, they will be given to students during class to take home.
We launch the Widdy-Up fundraiser this Tuesday, August 26. Please see the message below from Mrs. Fodor for complete details.
This week, we have our regular after school marching band rehearsal Tuesday, 8/26 from 3:15 - 6:30 PM.Because the varsity football team is out of state this week, our normal Game Day Rehearsal will take place on Thursday, 8/28 from 2:45 - 5:00 PM. We will be learning new drill this week and will try to get as much on as possible before our next football game on 9/12.
Next week, we will have the same marching band rehearsal schedule - regular Tuesday rehearsal on 9/2 along with a Thursday rehearsal on 9/4. The varsity football team is on their "bye" week and do not play a game on 9/5.
As always, please visit the Band Calendar early and often so your student's Band activities are factored into your family schedule. As stated in the Band Handbook, the directors must both be notified by parent/guardian email a minimum of 60 days in advance of an absence for the absence to be able to be considered excused. At this point in the year, any absence between this week and the week of November 8 should have already been discussed with Mr. Clemente and Ms. O'Rourke. Thank you so much for your continued attention to the calendar and communication!
Let's make it a great week!
Mr. Clemente
All-State Audition Update
Auditions for the 2025-2026 Florida All-State Ensembles are just around the corner!
Please fill out the form below completely to register for your 2025-2026 Florida All-State Ensemble Audition. If you wish to audition for both a concert band and a jazz ensemble, you will need to fill out this form twice. Additionally, if you wish to audition on multiple instruments for any ensemble, you will need to fill out this form for each audition you will perform.
All-State Audition Registration Form
- Register for your audition no later than Monday, 9.25.24
All-State Auditions - Saturday, September 20 at Ocoee HS
Concert Band (9th & 10th grade)
Symphonic Band (11th & 12th Grade)
Piano (9th through 12th Grade)
High School Jazz Band (9th - 12th grades)
Sight-Reading Guidelines and Past Sight-Reading Excerpts
Keep practicing!
From our Fundraising Chair
Get ready to WiddyUP!
WiddyUp email campaign fundraiser launches on Tuesday!
Hey Band!
It's time to raise money for our school in an awesome new way! Our band is teaming up with WiddyUP to raise $ 25,000 to fund our amazing band program, including equipment, instruments, expert clinicians, transportation, competition fees and so much more! **Last year we profited $22,144! Let's top it!**
Fundraiser dates: 08/26/2025 through 09/09/2025
WiddyUP is a fun, video fundraising platform where students make awesome videos to safely share with friends and family to raise money for their school. A portion of funds raised goes directly into participating student's band accounts.
Widdy Up does not share, sell or rent the studentsā contacts.
If the following links do not work on your phone, try on a computer, visitwww.widdyup.com or email me.
Click here to watch this important video before you get startedāit has everything you need to know. Check it out now!
Click here and SIGN UP for our fundraiser now. For returning students that have an account from last year: IF you no longer remember or have your password saved, you may use this password to sign in to your account with a capital W: Winterpark123!
To raise the money we need for our band program, you need to:
1. Upload 2 videosāa Pitch video explaining why weāre raising money, and a WiddyUP Thank You video showcasing something you love doing.
2. Add at least 15 donors (family and family friends) to your fundraising page.
Click here to see what fun Pitch and WiddyUP videos look like!
Important: We canāt kick off our fundraiser until everyone uploads their videos and enters donor's emails. NOTE! Mr. Clemente will upload the whole band pitch and whole band thank you videos to the student accounts on Monday. If a student does not wish to make their own personal videos, there will be no more videos to add. If a student wants to create their own pitch or thank you videos, they should do that before Tuesday and once signed in to their WiddyUP account, they can override the band video and upload their personal videos instead.
Heads up! If our group raises at least $1,000, the two students with the most donations and the two students with the most money raised at the end of the fundraiser will each get a $25 Amazon gift card (4 different students).
Letās goooo! š„³
Robyn Fodor
Band Fundraising
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.
āUnlike a full band rehearsal experience, studying with a private teacher focuses in on the studentās 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.
UPCOMING EVENTS
August 28: Thursday Marching Band Rehearsal, 2:45 - 5 PM
_____________________
September 1: No School/Labor Day Holiday
_____________________
September 4: Thursday Marching Band Rehearsal, 2:45 - 5 PM
_____________________
September 12: Gameday Rehearsal, 2:45 - 4 PM/Football Game, 5 - 10 PM
_____________________
September 19: Gameday Rehearsal, 2:45 - 4 PM/Football Game, 5 - 10 PM
_____________________
September 20: All-State Auditions, as scheduled, Ocoee HS
_____________________
September 26: Gameday Rehearsal, 2:45 - 4 PM/Middle School Night Football Game, 5 - 10 PM
_____________________
September 30: MB Rehearsal, 2:45 - 4 PM/Homecoming Parade, 5 - 7 PM
_____________________
October 3: Gameday Rehearsal, 2:45 - 4 PM/Homecoming Football Game, 5 - 10 PM
_____________________
October 10: Gameday Rehearsal, 2:45 - 4 PM/Football Game, 5 - 10 PM
_____________________
October 11: Jazz Ensemble I @ WP Autumn Art Festival, 9 - 11 AM
_____________________
October 13: No School/Teacher Workday
_____________________
October 17: Gameday Rehearsal, 2:45 - 4 PM/Football Game, 5 - 10 PM
_____________________
October 18: WEST SIDE SHOWCASE, Itinerary TBA, West Orange HS
_____________________
October 24: Gameday Rehearsal, 2:45 - 4 PM/Football Game, 5 - 10 PM
_____________________
October 30: Gameday Rehearsal, 2:45 - 4 PM/Senior Night Football Game, 5 - 10 PM
_____________________
November 1: MARCHING MPA, Itinerary TBA, Boone HS
_____________________
November 5 FALL FESTIVAL OF BANDS
_____________________
November 17: All-County Auditions, as scheduled
Band Calendar
Since the Cut Time software has been updated, the synced calendar link has changed. 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
- Thursday, July 31, 2025
- Fair Share Payment - $225 OR Fair Share Payment 1 - $100.00
- Marching Band Shoe (new students and if needed) - $45.00
- Extra Show Shirt (optional) - $15.00
- COLOR GUARD
- Thursday, July 31, 2025
- Fall Fair Share Payment - $325 OR Fair Share Payment 1 - $100
- Marching Band Shoe (if needed) - $45.00
- Extra Show Shirt (optional) - $15.00
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 @winterparkcolorguard @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