THE Houston Band

Hello, Houston Band family,

WOW! What a great summer of excellence and growth from THE Houston Band. On our #roadto200, we made significant headway, with the largest freshman class we've had in the band since well before Covid. This is a testament to the word-of-mouth power of the most important people in our organization: members and families! Thank you for helping us grow our band.

Students did an exceptional job with just one week of full camp, putting on 22 pages of drill and memorizing about half of the show's music. Families, if you haven't heard your student working since camp, please make sure to address that! Our band only gets better when everyone decides to improve a little bit themselves.

I am so excited for the season that awaits us. Enjoy your last couple days of break, and please carefully read the following announcements!

With excitement and gratitude,

Mr. C

As of writing this newsletter, 40 students have raised nearly $8,500 through our calendar-filling fundraiser! Five students have already filled their calendar completely! The next 5 to do so will win a prize, and everyone else to do so before the fundraiser closes will be entered to win a prize, as well!

Sadly, having 40 students participating already means there are 80+ students that have not raised anything as of now. The calendar fundraiser closes in TWO WEEKS, and it will make up a significant portion of the band's annual operating budget. We need to raise $40,000-$50,000 through this fundraiser to comfortably pay this years expenses, cover next year's camp, cover payments for the band's long-term commitments, and save for uniforms.

Check your emails for a message from me (kevin.carpenter@gmsdk12.org) on July 15th. If you didn't get a calendar link, reach out to me ASAP!

I want to be clear: If we don't fundraise more effectively this year than we did last year, we will be forced to consider a dues increase. You may recall that last school year, we reduced band dues from $725 to $500, with a bigger emphasis on fundraising. I love that we've made band more accessible to our families at HHS (especially families that have 2+ students participating), and I imagine our community appreciates it, too. Let's all do our part!

Marching uniform and concert wear fittings will happen at the following times this Saturday (8/9/25):

• 10am - Seniors
• 11am - Juniors
• 12pm - Sophomores
• 1pm - Freshmen

If your time doesn't work for you, please come at some point between 10am-2pm.

Seniors, portraits will be taken by Mrs. Hagan for banners between 10am-11am. Please be ready for a photograph in uniform with your instrument.

We will have a DCI Finals watch party from 4:30pm-10:00pm this Saturday. Location TBD (either HHS or HMS most likely). This is an exciting chance to hang out and watch some of the best marching groups in the entire world! If you've never watched a DCI show before, you're in for a treat! Details will be sent to students and on socials.

If you weren't able to help with camp because of weekday obligations, please check out the weekend volunteer opportunities below!

https://forms.gle/Wvyy41YRBpo8hAni9

Please do not just scroll past this form. Take a moment to find something you can help with this school year. As our band grows, so does our need for our exceptional community to rally around it.

Our syllabus is very simple, but if you need a copy you can find it below. Basically: attend everything, be positive, and work as hard as you can!!

It’s not too late to join the band as an alternate! If you have a friend that regrets not signing up (freshman through senior!), they can reach out to me and attend camp. They will probably be an “alternate” this marching season if they do that, so if their worry was marching, that’s not going to be as big a problem! They will still learn with us and attend all events, but they will not be performers in the field show. kevin.carpenter@gmsdk12.org

Our band dues will not be raised moving into this year. Last year, we reduced band dues by $225 to make band as accessible as possible to all students. It's important to participate in our year-round fundraisers to supplement that cost. If fundraising is NOT your thing, please consider just writing a check for $225 (or donating that amount online) to offset what students will typically fundraise over the year if they fully participate in everything. Please note that while there are no consequences to not participating in fundraising efforts, it hurts our band when lots of people don't.

Total mandatory dues: $500 (two payments of $250, one due on August 15th and the other due on September 15th)

Total booster requested donation: $225 (or full participation in fundraisers) by the end of the year

If you are unable to pay dues on time (or in full), please reach out to Mr. Carpenter immediately. We will do everything we can to fundraise, provide scholarships, etc. Band is an expensive activity, and these funds are necessary for travel, staffing, instruments, repair, show design, concert music, and much more. Our dues are lower than many other municipal band in the area, and we are incredibly proud of that.

You can pay via check any Friday of the school year or via card on SchoolCashOnline as soon as that system is set up for the school year, likely by the end of this week.

If you or someone you know would like to sponsor our band next year, we have a few different tiers of booster sponsorships we're excited to introduce! Please reach out to me for more info if you're interested in these tax-deductible sponsorships. Anonymous sponsorships are also available if desired!

$10,000 - Platinum - Season Sponsor (1 spot) - As a token of appreciation: Name or company name on all concert programs, read as the primary sponsor at all football games while introducing the band, posted on website, and given a certificate of appreciation at our Band Banquet (plus 8 seats at the banquet if desired).

$5,000 - Gold - Season Sponsor (3 spots) - As a token of appreciation: Name or company name on all concert programs, read at all football games while introducing the band, posted on website, and given a certificate of appreciation at our Band Banquet (plus 4 seats at the banquet if desired).

$3,000 - Silver - Cycle Sponsor (3 spots) - By supporting the costs roughly associated with one of our three cycles of concert band, you can be a Cycle Sponsor. As a token of appreciation: At the culminating concert of that cycle, name or company on concert programs and verbally announced as that concert's sponsor. Included on website.

$1,000 - Bronze - Friend of the Band (unlimited spots) - As a token of appreciation: Name or company name included in all digital concert programs on a list of "friends of the band."

$500 - "Give the Gift of Band" - The equivalent of one student's band dues. Doing this can offset the costs of a student whose family may not be able to afford their band dues. Name or company name included in all digital concert programs.

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!

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 (2025) June 14, July 12, September 6, October 18, (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.

If you are interested in private lessons, please reach out! We are happy to recommend teachers for students of all levels at any budget. The time to start preparing for regional honors ensembles (All West/ All State/ Memphis/ etc.) is NOW, not just the two weeks leading up to those events.

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.

Our 2026 Spring Trip will be to UNIVERSAL STUDIOS! This trip is optional and not included in band dues. Due to a very busy Q4 this year, we will be traveling to sunny Orlando at the END OF JANUARY, which is a beautiful time of year in central Florida. Typically, band trips costs about $1,000. Charter buses, hotels, and theme parks are all getting more and more expensive. Most students save up money (from birthdays, holidays, mowing lawns, working jobs, etc.) to go (or at least offset parent costs!), and the time to start doing that is now!

We will be hosting open practice time after school Monday-Thursday AND every school day 7:00am-7:45am. The road to All West participation starts now, with a little bit of growth every day! We hope to see as many students as possible fill the band room each morning and evening to improve their craft.

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!

Students can request lesson time with Mr. Sims or Mr. Carpenter after school! We are here to help you get better at your instrument!

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 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.

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

• 8/7/25 - Rehearsals begin (sectionals Mon 3-4:30, full rehearsals Tues/Thurs 3-4:45)
• 8/29/25 - Football v. Whitehaven
• 9/13/25 - Marching Band Mini Camp (all day)
• 9/27/25 - Contest #1 (TBD - Olive Branch or Bartlett most likely)
• 10/4/25 - Contest #2 (Champions @ Collierville)
• 10/10/25 - Football v. Arlington
• 10/25/25 - Recording Session (@ HHS)
• 10/30/25 - Football v. Collierville
• 11/1/25 - Contest #3 (Bandmasters @ Liberty Bowl)
• 11/7/25 (and following Fridays through November) - Potential Playoff Football
• 11/8/25 - Recording Session Rain Date (@ HHS)
• 11/11/25 - Holiday concert rehearsals begin (Tuesdays Concert Band, Thursdays Wind Ensemble)
• 11/22/25 - WTSBOA All West Auditions
• 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)
• 3/12/26 OR 3/13/26 - WTSBOA Concert Performance Assessment
• 4/9/26-4/12/25 - TnMEA All State Clinic and Conference
• 5/5/26 - Tentative Band Concert (dependent on GPAC)
• 5/8/26 - Graduation

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