BRAVO to the Marching Band for last weekend’s performance! It was a great day of watching some other bands, having a clinic with the K-State Marching Band staff, hanging out with friends, and putting on a great performance! For all their effort this season the students again shone brightly and earned Superior (I) ratings in almost every category – Music, Percussion, Auxillary, and Marching. We missed a Superior rating by one point in General Effect.
We were extremely proud of their accomplishments. K-State and the Central States Marching Band provided this video of the performance – https://youtu.be/Oe0800bCDkE
And remember – all of the Band Videos captured by BandAides Parents are achieved on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcsArWsw2szwza1pvhxOsYw
Photographs of the marching band are always archived and available for your download at our SmugMug Site: https://bandaideswest.smugmug.com/
Band Parents
Parents – thanks to so many of you for your efforts to assist the Marching Band throughout the season! It takes all of us working together to put on these productions. Here are many of the places your help was needed and appreciated! Chaperones – Roadies – Tailgating – Prop building – Uniforms – Encouraging home practice – Getting students to early morning practices and Tuesday nights – Helping secure corporate donations – Photography and videography – Pre-season planning and organizing – Helping in a pinch in the football concessions – Serving breakfast at pictures – Hollywood planning – Car Wash assistance – Securing scaffold planks… There are probably more areas that parents helped that I never saw because you are all so gracious. You see a need and you just step in. I can tell you from our principal Steve Loe and athletic director Todd McAtee, they regard the Band~Aides parents as the most organized, supportive, and giving parent groups in our school. So from them and certainly Mr. Hupe, Kyle, Brianna, and myself THANK YOU all for being so incredibly caring and giving! By your example, you are raising students that will follow in your footsteps and someday will give back to the same extent you have.
Next Up for the Band
We are now transitioning into concert season with the Marching Band – while still preparing for the Hollywood Christmas Parade. Students will need their concert instruments for rehearsals. However, because of the Hollywood parade, we will still play some marching music – even at our December concert. The group going to Hollywood will spend some time outside learning to parade march. They should bring jackets and coats to be prepared for those days. We will not go outside in extreme temperatures so it will be flexible.
December Concert
The December concert will feature the Marching Band, Concert Band, Jazz Lab Band, Overland Express, and possibly our Percussion Ensemble on Tuesday, December, 13 at 7:00p.m. in the auditorium. All members of the concert bands will need ALL BLACK dress attire. That includes dresses, skirts, shirts, slacks, and shoes. All of these items should be of a dressy nature – no jeans, no tennis shoes, no T-shirts or polo shirts. These are to be dressy clothes. Please make plans now to obtain that attire.
Pep Band
Pep Band rehearsals have started. Each Monday and Wednesday morning from 7:00-7:30 we will practice music that will be performed during basketball season for the girls and boys HOME games in our gym. I am working on the schedule for those groups. There are typically 9-12 home varsity game nights. We have enough students that we will divide the students into two bands so that each band is only responsible for half of those nights (5-6 nights between December and March). This is not a huge time commitment, BUT we must have students attend their assigned nights OR find a replacement from the other band to take their place so we have quality groups at each game. More to come.
District Honor Band
District Honor Band auditions on Saturday, November 5 at Gardner-Edgerton HS. It is up to each family to provide transportation for their student to this audition. The day normally begins at 8:00a. The student is finished whenever their audition is complete. They will not know their audition time until that morning at the room meeting (clarinets, trombones, flutes, etc.) They will find out if they make the band early in the next week. Keep practicing! If you would like to play for Dr. Thomas or Mr. Hupe, PLEASE ASK! We want to hear you and help you – even if you are taking private lessons! It is helpful for you to get nervous playing for one of us as a stepping stone to help you be ready to play in front of your judges.
Emails will now slow to every couple of weeks since we are not as inundated with performances. If you have any questions, please feel free to continue to email Mr. Hupe or Dr. Thomas. We’re always here to help.
It’s a great day to be a Viking!