Odem Bands Schedule – Week of 12/2/2019
We hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving, and is well rested to return for the last three weeks of the semester! I want to begin this week by again letting parents know that we have adjusted the OJH Winter Concert date to December 12th to work around a schedule conflict. Their concert will start at 6:30pm in the Odem HS Cafetorium. Please see the information on concerts below for more information on call times and performance attire. Please note Odem HS will still have their concert on Monday, December 16th at 7:30pm in the Odem HS Cafetorium.
This week the Odem Bands will be focused primarily on All-Region Auditions for the OJH and OHS Students trying out on Saturday. Please note the information below for arrival/departure times. We are still seeking a parent who can help with getting the JH students back when they complete the auditions! Please contact Mr. Williams as soon as possible if you are available!
All-Region Auditions – Saturday:
The students from OJH and OHS who are auditioning for the All-Region Bands will need to be at their Band Halls by 6am on Saturday. OHS students will be leaving from the OHS Band Hall, and all OJH Students will be leaving from the OJH Band Hall.
We will depart and have our junior high students begin signing in at the high school by 7:15am. Our directors will have a meeting and begin auditions as soon as we can after that. Traditionally the JH auditions finish up between 1:30-2:30pm. When all JH auditions have concluded we will send the bus back to the JH Band Hall for those students to be picked up. As I said above we need a parent who can travel with the students to ride back/follow the bus with the OJH Students to get them back at that time. Otherwise we will need them to stay with us until the high school concludes around 4:30pm-6pm. Please contact Mr. Williams if you are able to help out with this!
For both JH and HS students, once they have completed their auditions they may be picked up from West Oso, just be sure they sign out with our designated sponsor. HS Band students otherwise will return on the last bus between 4:30pm and 6pm. The contest has about 1250 entries between JH and HS, so it is tough to pin down an exact time the contest will finish.
All students who are entered in the contest must attend. We have paid an entry fee for each student and they are expected to be there. At both the JH and HS we will have some extended hours of practice most days this week for students to receive help.
Students who earn a spot in the All-Region Bands must then participate in the All-Region Band Clinic/Concert next weekend on Friday, December 13th and Saturday, December 14th. The concert will begin at 3:30pm on that Saturday.
OJH Winter Concert, December 12th:
The OJH Beginning Band, Concert Band, and Symphonic Winds will perform their Winter Concert Beginning at 6:30pm on December 12th. OJH Beginning Band must be on OHS Stage by 5:45am, OJH Concert Band in Band Hall by 6pm, and OJH Symphonic Winds waiting on Patio to come in (providing weather is decent, inside band hall if not) at 6:20pm.
Please note that the OJH Beginning Band also has a rehearsal on December 11th after school until 5pm at the OHS Cafetorium. This will be the only time they are able to rehearse with all of the classes together and is a mandatory graded event. Please make arrangements for rides so that students can attend.
(NOTE: THIS DATE WAS CHANGED TO ACCOMODATE A SCHEDULE CONFLICT, INFORMATION WAS SENT HOME BEFORE THE BREAK!)
OJH Student Concert Attire:
Gentlemen: White Button Down Shirt, Black Slacks, Black Belt, Black Dress Shoes, Black Socks, and tie (Preferably solid Navy Blue)
Ladies: Black Blouse, Black Slacks, Black shoes.
OHS Winter Concert, December 16th:
The Odem HS Winter Concert will still be held on Monday, December 16th. Students will need to be in the Band Hall ready to warmup at 7pm. Their concert will begin in the Cafetorium at 7:30pm.
Concert Attire OHS Students:
Gentlemen: Black Long Sleeve Button Down Shirt (with top button unbuttoned), Black Slacks, Long Black Socks, Black Dress Shoes.
Ladies: Black Blouse, Black Slacks, Black shoes. (All Black, no colors)
Screeching Owl Jazz Band 11th Annual Winter Evening of Jazz – December 17th
The Screeching Owl Jazz Band will conclude the Odem Bands Concert Season on Tuesday, December 17th at 7pm in the OHS Cafetorium. As always it’s a fantastic evening of holiday favorites, jazz standards, and desserts! We hope you’ll keep this date on your calendar!
Odem HS Band Trip to Dallas
Due to the low numbers for the trip to California we are postponing a large trip until June of 2021 in the hopes of gaining additional participants. We will plan that trip by February so we can give parents time to make payments.
We are planning at this time though to travel to Dallas this spring to perform at The University of North Texas’ Murchison Performance Hall, May 15th-17th. Students will leave Friday from school May 15th after their 1st Period Final Exam. (The other final is their 6th Period Final which is band) They will travel via charter bus and arrive in Dallas for Dinner and to see the Dallas Symphony concert that evening. (Dallas is among the Top 10 Symphonies in the US) Saturday morning they will perform and then travel to Six Flags to spend the day riding rides and attend an awards ceremony for the festival. We plan to travel home the next day and be home by 6pm.
We will be working on bringing the cost down more, but as of right now wee are pricing this at $350 per student. This includes the charter bus, Concert and Park Tickets, Dinner Friday, Festival Fee, Meal Pass for Six-Flags, 2 Nights Hotel, and Breakfast at Hotel for two mornings. All payments made towards the California trip may be transferred and we will issue refunds above that amount. Forms for the trip, and transfer/refund requests will be sent home later this week.
Our goal is for every student in the HS program to participate in this trip! We will have fundraisers this spring towards this goal.
This Week’s Odem Band Hall Schedule:
Monday: Band Hall Open Until 4:30pm for Region Practice
Tuesday: Band Hall Open Until 5:30pm for Region Practice
Wednesday: Band Hall Open Until 5:30pm
Thursday: Band Hall Open Until 5:30pm for Region Practice
Friday: Band Hall Closed at 4:00pm
Saturday: All-Region Auditions
. 6am – Students at Band Halls for Departure to West Oso HS
. 7:15am – Check-In Begins for JH Students
. ~2:30pm – JH Auditions Conclude (If we have a parent we’ll send OJH students home at this point)
. ~5pm – HS Auditions Conclude
Upcoming Events:
Saturday: All-Region Auditions (MS and HS – West Oso)
Thursday, December 12th: 6:30pm OJH Winter Concert (OHS Cafetorium)
Friday/Saturday, December 13th-14th: All-Region Clinic/Concert (TAMUK)
Monday, December 16th: 7:30pm OHS Winter Band Concert (OHS Cafetorium)
Tuesday, December 17th: 7:00pm Screeching Owl Jazz Band Winter Evening of Jazz
Saturday, January 11th: Area Auditions (Orange Grove)
You can find the 2019-2020 Odem Bands Calendar here. (http://www.odembands.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/2019-2020-Odem-Bands-Calendar-Version-1.1.pdf)
As always please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. We appreciate your support of these hard working students!