THE Houston Band

Hello Houston Band family,

We have an incredibly busy week! Please read announcements carefully!

Monday: Directors' Concert w/ Bluff City Wind Ensemble (optional!!)

Tuesday: Symphonic Band Dress Rehearsal & Wind Ensemble Holiday Tour

Wednesday: Wind Ensemble Dress Rehearsal

Thursday: Concert (concert starts at 6pm, 5:15 jazz call, 5:30 all others' call)

Friday: Holiday Parade Rehearsal

Saturday: Holiday Parade

Sunday: Holiday Parade (rain date)

With excitement and gratitude,

Mr. C

On February 24th, our bands will be visiting HMS for the second year in a row to support those young musicians and show off our pre-festival work. Details will come soon, but for now please add this evening to your calendar and let me know ASAP if there is a conflict that already exists that can't be avoided.

If you are a handy individual who wants to contribute to our band, we are working on two projects this Spring.

1) Overhauling the trailer over this off-season to better serve the needs of our program

2) Building about a dozen bench props for next year's show

If you'd like to help, please reach out to Mr. Sims and me. brian.sims@gmsdk12.org; kevin.carpenter@gmsdk12.org

What: Our annual holiday concert, featuring the Silver Note Collective, the Symphonic Band, and the Wind Ensemble

Where: Houston High School's Pickler Auditorium

When: Thursday, December 11, 6pm start, 5:45pm doors

Student arrival time: Jazz students on stage ready to go @ 5:15, all other students in auditorium seats @ 5:30

Attire: Students should wear their concert attire. Students should have brought their attire home over the weekend to try on. Some left their concert wear at the school and need to get it Monday. WIND ENSEMBLE students need to bring a "Santa hat" of some kind!

Other important information:

• Students ARE NOT permitted to leave before the END of the concert--supporting their peers is just as important as performing.
• Hot cocoa will be served in the lobby between the Silver Note Collective and the concert bands.
• If you have a very young child you're bringing to spectate the concert, please sit near an exit to allow yourself to leave in the event that noise is made. Our concerts are for everyone! That includes very young children, but not at the detriment to others' ability to support their young musicians.
• This is your chance to pick up ornaments ordered last week.
• A suggested donation is collected to attend all concerts. These donations support our band boosters, which make everything we do possible. Please pay the suggested donation (or offer more if you're in the holiday spirit!) if you can. If the suggested donation is too big a financial burden, please enjoy your student's performance which is--of course--available to you at no cost.
• If you arrive late, please wait until you hear applause to enter. Do not open the auditorium doors while students are performing; it's very distracting!
• No food in the auditorium, please.
• There will be a silent auction for the Audrey II costume created by alumnus Emma Tunnell! You can find information below in "repeat announcements." The student that wins the silent auction can march the costume in the parade (if desired)!

We are so happy to be at the FRONT of the annual Germantown Holiday Parade this year.

Call time: 12:00pm (unless weather makes a day-of rehearsal necessary)

Attire: UGLY (or otherwise festive!) Holiday Sweater, Jeans or Khakis (no black), a Santa hat, and comfortable tennis shoes (or otherwise athletic shoes). We are using sweaters this year instead of uniforms due to our uniforms getting drenched at Bandmasters, which necessitated moving our Q2 cleaning up. This has been communicated to students a few times, and I apologize if this is your first time hearing it. Several students are bringing multiples for those that don't have any--please reach out if you need that.

Parade start time: 2pm

End time: Likely 3pm back on buses, headed back to campus

Parade route: See attached

Encourage folks you know with younger children (PreK-5th grade) to attend the parade and cheer for the band! We will have some students passing out candy to spectators, as well!

We will be visiting GMSD elementary schools Tuesday of this week to spread some holiday cheer! Trip forms were sent home Friday. Please fill that form out and send it back Monday. If the form was lost or your student was absent yesterday, please find a blank one attached below.

Date: 12/9/25

Time: During the school day (~8:10am-~2:20pm)

Location: GMSD Elementary Schools

Transportation: GMSD Provided

Itinerary (subject to change based on elementary schools' needs)

8:40:00 AM DEPART HHS

8:57:00 AM ARRIVE FOREST HILL

9:20:00 AM CONCERT 1 - FHES

9:45:00 AM CONCERT 2 - FHES

10:05:00 AM PACK UP

10:15:00 AM DEPART FOREST HILL

10:30:00 AM ARRIVE DOGWOOD

10:45:00 AM CONCERT 1 - DES

11:05:00 AM CONCERT 2 - DES

11:25:00 AM CONCERT 3 - DES

12:00:00 PM DEPART DOGWOOD

12:15:00 PM ARRIVE HHS, LUNCH

12:40:00 PM DEPART HHS

12:50:00 PM ARRIVE FARMINGTON

1:00:00 PM CONCERT 1 - FARMINGTON

1:25:00 PM CONCERT 2 - FARMINGTON

1:50:00 PM PACK UP

1:55:00 PM DEPART FARMINGTON

2:05:00 PM ARRIVE HHS

Mr. Carpenter (director), Mr. Sims (director), Mr. Coontz (staff), Mrs. Duke (camp staff), Mrs. Assad (Farmington music teacher), and the rest of the Bluff City Wind Ensemble would love to see you to our concert on Monday at 7pm! The concert is at the University of Memphis's SFPAC (between Poplar and Central on campus). Find information below!

https://vivenu.com/event/bluff-city-winds-k4ucwf

If a student wants to go but can't afford the ticket, please reach out to Mr. Carpenter or Mr. Sims, as we each get two comp tickets to give out if needed!

Another email went out to families who are missing payments of band dues. Please check your spam folder for an email from kevin.carpenter@gmsdk12.org if you're not positive you've paid in full yet. We are happy to work together to find a payment plan that works for every family.

Our school district provides a bit over $60,000 to run our program each year, and it costs significantly more than that to operate at the level we do. A large portion of those funds comes from band dues, our amazing boosters, and generous private donors.

As we approach school/elective choice season this winter, please know that word of mouth is our best recruiter for the amazing band programs here at Houston High School and within the GMSD Bands. I hope you have seen firsthand the transformative power of instrumental music education and band as an activity.

If you have a friend, neighbor, family member, or ANYONE else in your life in 4th or 5th grade within GMSD, let them know about the transformative experience band has been in your students' lives. If you know an 8th grader that wants to be in a great band but doesn't live in Germantown, let them know about our academies. We are so excited to continue building our program's numbers back to more sustainable levels, but that takes work from everyone. Thank you for helping with that work!

If anyone has ANY questions about band at any level, I'm more than happy to field those questions.

If you're unhappy with chair placements or all west results, please consider asking about private lessons. Mr. Sims and I are happy to give all students a few free one-on-one lessons each year before or after school. We are also happy to provide recommendations for great lessons teachers in the area for students that want to push themselves further as individual musicians. Our core goal as a band is ensemble musicianship, and lessons are a great way to supplement that instruction.

Private lessons make a great gift and can help students secure potential music scholarships and honors ensemble experiences! All five of our All-State students this year are enrolled in regular private lessons.

CONGRATULATIONS to the fifty students that made the All West list this year! That's almost half of our band!! We can't wait to go downtown and represent Houston High School at this annual event. For folks' who are going with us for the first time, we stay downtown overnight. Find a rough outline of what that event looks like below:

Thursday early morning: Jazz students arrive, drop off bags, blue band students audition for All-State, begin rehearsals. Jazz students should pack an easy lunch for this day

Thursday late morning: All other students arrive (eat before arriving!), drop off bags, start rehearsals

Thursday evening: Students check into their hotel rooms and are served dinner at the hotel

Thursday night: More rehearsals, followed by room check

Friday morning: Breakfast in your room (most people bring pastries/fruit/etc., but you can also buy breakfast in the hotel lobby), followed by rehearsals

Friday late morning/early afternoon: Students walk to Texas de Brazil together and eat lunch

Friday afternoon: More rehearsals

Friday evening: Students are served dinner at their hotel

Friday night: Orchestra and jazz concerts (all HHS students attend the concert)

Saturday morning: All other band concerts, students dismissed to parents after conclusion of concert

While all west audition fees are included in every student's band dues, all west clinic fees are not. We will have an exact amount to send out soon, but we anticipate this year's clinic/hotel/food for each student costing approximately $250-$300. Ideally, students will pay this before the clinic, but if people need a payment plan that goes through the second semester, that's fine. Just communicate ahead of time. We lean on the side of charging a little under the anticipated cost, with our amazing boosters covering anything that goes over.

If you want to keep the spirit of Audrey II alive, consider contributing in our silent auction for this amazing costume created by band alumnus Emma Tunnell! The student who purchases the costume is allowed to wear it in the Germantown Holiday Parade this year if desired!

It is extremely important to plan ahead for ACT dates when you are in band, as we often have Saturday events outside of our scheduling control. The ACT dates with no conflicts are (2026:) April 11 for most students, June 13, and July 11.

That is more than enough dates to take the ACT an adequate number of times. Missing a band event for the ACT is NOT excused. We understand the inconvenience of not having these dates available, but all of these Saturdays are outside of our scheduling control. Our ACT date conflicts this year are: December 13 (Holiday Parade), February 14 (All West), and April 11 (for All State Students only). Please plan accordingly.

The road to all west starts today! The band room will be open to practice in the mornings from 7:00-7:45 and after school M/W until 4:10pm. If you want specific one-on-one help, ask Mr. Sims or Mr. C in advance for a free 20-30 minute lesson!

If you work at or own a business (big or small!), please consider sponsoring the band. Our booster president Mrs. Gilbert has created the following sponsorship document that is printable to present to interested parties. We are grateful to all businesses that support arts education in Germantown.

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.

Please look ahead in our calendar when scheduling routine doctor or dental care. Your appointment may have been scheduled for six months, but our calendar has been set for 18 months. If you have an immovable appointment, let me know ASAP, not the day before. The former will be exempt, and the latter will not.

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

Mr. Sims has created a list of some practice resources for students. If you have any additional resources that have been helpful for you, please feel free to share them!

• The Woodwind Fingering Guide
• "Fingering Chart by Tremolo" on iOS
• PlayScore 2
• Sight Reading Factory (see Mr. C for activation instructions at the start of band camp)
• MusicRacer.com (note that there are strobing lights in this game)

Additionally, students have reported having improved outcomes utilizing the Tonic App. I've heard comparisons to the popular running app Strava, but for music. Parents, please feel free to explore this option for your young musician but be advised that there is a social media element to this app.

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

Upcoming Dates

• 12/9/25 - GMSD holiday band tour
• 12/11/25 - Holiday Concert (@ HHS, 6pm)
• 1/8/26 - After school rehearsals begin for CPA cycle (Tuesdays or Thursdays, depending on ensemble)
• 1/28/26 to 2/1/26- Spring Trip - Universal Studios!!
• 2/12/26-2/14/26 - WTSBOA All West Clinic
• 2/21/26 - CPA/Festival Mini Camp (@ HHS, all day)
• 2/24/26 - Festival Preview Performance (@HMS)
• 3/12/26 OR 3/13/26 - WTSBOA Concert Performance Assessment
• 4/9/26-4/12/25 - TnMEA All State Clinic and Conference
• Possible Spring Concert Dates: April 30, May 1, May 5 (awaiting venue confirmation)
• 5/8/26 - Graduation

• July 13-18, 2026: Color guard and percussion camp

• July 20-25, 2026: Full camp

• July 28, 2026: Summer rehearsal 1

• July 30, 2026: Summer rehearsal 2

• August 6, 2026: Begin after school rehearsals (every Tuesday/Thursday)

• September 12, 2026: Mini camp

• September 19, 2026: Possible contest "0" (unlikely but possible depending on rest of season's schedule--leave open!)

• September 26, 2026: Contest 1

• October 3, 2026: Contest 2

• October 24, 2026: Contest 3 or Film Session (do not schedule an ACT test)

• October 31, 2026: Contest 3 or Film Session

• November 7, 2026: Possible contest 4 (depending on Bandmasters scheduling, TBD by UofM football schedule)

• December 10, 2026: Holiday Concert

• December 12, 2026: Holiday Parade

• December 13, 2026: Holiday Parade makeup date

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