High School Band High School Band

2023 Summer Band Information

BHS Band Parents and Students,

Happy SUMMER BREAK! I hope this letter finds you doing well and getting to relax a little I am so thankful that we were able to have such a successful year

Online, you will find a calendar that outlines our Summer Band schedule We will begin our summer band practices on Monday, JULY 24 at 8:00 AM with Freshmen, Squad-Leaders and Drum Majors (All other band members will meet at 10:00 am in the HS Band Hall). Please check the online calendar for all practices. They are mandatory. Due to the football schedule, we will be having evening rehearsals after the first week from 5:00-8:30 pm with Wednesdays and Fridays being 3:00-5:00 pm only I realize this conflicts with some other organizations; however, to beat the heat and have the field we must do it this way. If you do have a legitimate conflict, please let me know and we will work something out Communication is the key to making our schedules work! If you have a job, please show this schedule to your employer so they can schedule your work hours around our practices, also, be sure to dress appropriately for practices. It is best to wear an old pair of tennis shoes you can keep up here for marching throughout the fall Flip-flops or sandals are not permitted It is best to wear light colored clothes and shorts; dark colors and jeans are very hot! Please bring a water bottle, jugs of ice water will be provided UIL requires a physical to participate in band classes. Most of you did this at school in the spring or in your athletic classes Remember, you must get this done before the first day of our practices or you will not be allowed to participate in band. Please call if you have questions

Please remember, the online calendar is the one that all changes are made to It is our official calendar and the one you are responsible for checking Notice that the UIL Marching Contest is being held at SFA stadium on October 14, 2023 and NAMMB will be held at Baylor University on Tuesday October 24 or Wednesday October 25, 2023 Fall Break is the week of Marching Contests. We will attend the Mineola invitational contest on Monday of that week and UIL Saturday We will need to continue rehearsals during the week, please do not plan any vacations for Fall Break In the event that we ARE in the playoffs, those games will obviously be required performances for us Also, if you have a part time job, as with the AUGUST calendar, take the 2023-2024 calendar to your employer to make them aware of your responsibilities

UNIFORMS and INSTRUMENT CHECKOUT: Saturday, July 29, 2023:

Band registration and equipment check out is done in class order Please note that this usually takes at least an hour, so don’t arrive late We will take orders for band shoes, shirts and other equipment at registration

CHAIR TESTS

Chair tests will take place the SECOND WEEK of summer band It will be over the all-region scales and any of the contest music we choose, which you will receive on the first day of summer band You may come pickup your folder early if you like You can find most of the music on youtube if you want to listen to them for practice

Mr Handorf and Mrs Stuckey are available this summer for help on your marches and scales, region music (Year C), and all of our pop music Just give us a call at the band hall to schedule a time 903-852-3784

ALL REGION MUSIC/SCALES/MARCHES

If you would like to get a head start on your All-Region music give me a call and we can work out a practice schedule You can find all this music on the band page under summer audition scales and music

Band Summer/school communication/social media

The best places to find information are the band webpage or BISD Bands Facebook page Download parent square app to get the latest updates

We look forward to seeing you all at the end of July as we kick off another GREAT year of building the best program around Enjoy the rest of your summer break!

Sincerely,

Aaron Handorf, Jake Ham and Scott Smith