Students are currently preparing for Solo and Ensemble, HS Wind Ensemble’s upcoming TAMUCC performance, and UIL Concert and Sight-Reading Evaluation for our 7^th-12^thGrade students. This week Mr. Williams and I will both be out in the latter part of the week, so students should make sure to check on available times to take instruments home. Mr. Williams and I will discuss that with students through the first part of the week.   

Concert Opportunities:

First, this afternoon (Sunday) there is a performance from The Corpus Christi Wind Symphony at Flour Bluff HS at 4pm. This group of area professional band directors, musicians, and other community members make up one of the best community bands out there! The program for this group includes a number of really fantastic pieces, and it would be a fantastic opportunity for students to listen and learn more about performing as a band. Admission for this concert is Free with no tickets required.

On Monday, February 14th the Glen Miller Jazz Orchestra will be performing at TAMU-CC in concert. There is a charge for tickets for this performance, but it is truly a spectacular evening of a great jazz group. 

Finally on Tuesday, February 15th, there’s another free concert at TAMU-CC performed by the US Army Field Band’s Jazz Ambassadors. This concert is free of charge, and students will again get a completely amazing opportunity to hear this group while they are in the area. The group is made up of active duty members of the Army who perform across the country every year and are based in the Washington, DC area. You can find some more information about that performance here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1085906538877638/

Band Booster Meeting

Our monthly Owl Band Booster Meeting will be held next Tuesday (15^th) at 7pm in the HS Cafetorium. (Should it be unavailable we will meet in the Jazz Room) We are in particular need of some new parents to join as officers for this coming year. Several members of our officers are ‘graduating’ this year, and we need to ensure that we continue to support the students of our program. Officers can be JH or HS parents, so please consider joining us to support the Odem JH and HS Band students!

We will take trip payments and be discussing Windi and Jazzi, as well as our other upcoming events at that time as well.

Windi and Jazzi 2022

Tickets are now available for Windi and Jazzi that will be held on May 7^th here at this site: https://odemhsband.ludus.com/index.php  This has become an annual dinner/concert to benefit the bands that we look forward to presenting each year! This year’s theme is ‘Night On Broadway’ and will feature music from a number of hit musicals, as well as some other works performed by the HS Band Students. This event benefits the Band Boosters and helps us raise funds program wide by ticket sales and the silent auction we hold simultaneously. Please be on the lookout for information about this event coming soon, and we ask that if you have a business that you own or work for that might be able to contribute that you reach out to them. 

We will be asking each student in grades 6-12 to help with contributing one item to baskets that we will be auctioning off by theme. This event has done quite well for us in the past! Tickets will be $15-$25 per ticket depending on the seating type/location, and comes with a choice of Chicken Fried Steak or Chicken, Sides, a drink, and dessert along with the great entertainment! I will send out basket themes for students in the next week or so!

Odem HS Wind Ensemble Information

Last week we had our first evening rehearsal for Wind Ensemble and were able to make some progress on their music. We need every member of this group to attend these required rehearsals! We will rehearse from 6:30pm-8:30pm on February 17^th and March 3^rd.

We have also confirmed the opportunity that we will have to perform at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi with the group on Saturday, March 5th as part of their inaugural Invitational Band Festival. Getting an opportunity to perform in the hall at TAMUCC is an amazing experience as a musician! Their auditorium is in the top five concert halls in the State of Texas, and we look forward to performing there. Once the bands have all been finalized we will receive a schedule/itinerary. We get to rehearse/perform/receive a clinic for 75 minutes on that day. We will then return to watch the TAMUCC Symphonic Winds in concert that evening. 

Solo and Ensemble Recital and UIL Region S&E

Last week we worked to confirm the best date for our annual Solo and Ensemble Recital. This year it will take place on Monday, February 21^st beginning probably at 5pm. We’ll finalize that by the week before. Our HS Applied Music Students, Brass Choir, and Clarinet Choir will perform, as well as any volunteer students that are entered in JH or HS events. We strongly encourage all of our students participating in UIL Solo and Ensemble to perform this evening as it is a great way to get the nerves out of the way for the event that Thursday.

Solo and Ensemble will be on Thursday, February 24^th at Seale JH in Robstown. We will most likely not receive performance times until the week before. When we get them I will pass them onto students and our weekly email. This is a big event for us in the year, and we hope that we have many medalists among our JH and HS students, and high schoolers who qualify for the UIL State Solo and Ensemble Contest. 

2022 Orlando Trip

A fifth trip payment should be made this month. If you haven’t turned that in please do so! The link below will allow you to make payments directly to them.

https://www.toursandtravelpaytrip.com/Reservation/TripReservation/247

You may also pay the Owl Band Boosters via Check or Money Order turned into the Band Hall Office or brought to the Band Booster Meeting Tuesday night.

This past week I sent home statements with students, but due to absences may have missed a few. We will catch those students this week. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about those statements!

This Week’s Schedule:

Day:	Event:	Time:
Monday:	Band Hall Open After School for Practice	3:30pm-4:30pm
Tuesday:	Band Hall Closed After School
Wednesday:	Band Hall Closed After School
Thursday:	Band Hall Closed After School
Friday:	Band Hall Closed after School

 

Upcoming Events:

Day:	Event:	Time:
February 21st	4th Annual Odem Solo and Ensemble Recital	TBA
February 24th	UIL Region Solo and Ensemble Contest
March 3rd	MS All-Region Jazz Recordings Due
March 5th	Odem HS Wind Ensemble at TAMUCC
March 28th	Odem Bands Pre-UIL Contest Concert

Thank you for your help and support of these amazing students! Please contact us if you have any questions!