Odem Bands Schedule – Week of 3/3/2025
We begin this week by congratulating our solo and ensemble participants! Odem HS earned 12 Gold Soloist Medals, 2 Silver Soloist Medals, and 9 Ensemble Medals. 11 of those Soloists Advanced to State – this is more than double the number Odem HS has ever advanced as soloists! Additionally, our Trumpet Sextet and Euphonium Trio earned Ensemble Medals and advanced to State as well! Two other students earned Silver Soloist Medals, too!
Odem Junior High also had a great day, with three soloists earning medals and a woodwind trio also earning a superior rating!
Please see the section below for the names of our medalists and high school state qualifiers!
The rest of this email has a lot of information and so I have broken things down into sections. In addition to having information on our ‘Money Dolly’ Fundraiser below, there is information about our upcoming Windi and Jazzi Fundraiser as well.
Money Dolly Fundraiser
We begin our ‘Money Dolly’ fundraiser this week with the bands. This is accomplished by the students/parents utilizing the Money Dolly app, and sharing contacts, and messaging them to promote the fundraiser. Students and parents can sign up here: https://launch.moneydolly.com/fundraiser/197888
There are available products that will be shipped, but the true success of this fundraiser is in the donations that are solicited. Small-dollar to large dollars can come in, and as of this post, we’ve already raised over $1k with just a few participants! We’re asking students and parents to log in and set up the app and student profile picture, and parents can join as parents and share their contacts, as well as share their link on Social Media. Students have challenges that result in ‘coins,’ and they earn them from donations made on their behalf. There are gift cards that they can spend on as they earn them, and they will be shipped to the student.
Last year, this was a very successful fundraiser for us, and we hope it will be again! Please join, input your ‘circle’ of contacts, and help us support all that these amazing students do!
2025 UIL Region Solo and Ensemble Results
We congratulate all of our students for their performances this past week at UIL Region Solo and Ensemble. Here are the individual results:
Odem Junior High
Alysel Huerta – Trumpet Solo – Superior
Constancio Bello – Euphonium Solo – Superior
Vladimir Hunter – Tuba Solo – Superior
Woodwind Trio (Ava Cadena, Alexus Cadena, Hayden Langley) – Superior
Ysidro Roman – Trombone Solo – Excellent
Brass Trio (Ysidro Roman, Shane Gehris, Alysel Huerta) – Excellent
Odem High School
Macy Laird – Flute Solo – Gold Medal – Advanced to State
Angelica Soto – Flute Solo – Gold Medal – Advanced to State
Elena Molina – Alto Sax Solo – Gold Medal – Advanced to State
Benjamin Castaneda – Trumpet Solo – Gold Medal – Advanced to State
Adrienne Contreras – Trumpet Solo – Gold Medal – Advanced to State
Shawn Williams – Trumpet Solo – Gold Medal – Advanced to State
Vince Barrera – F Horn Solo – Gold Medal – Advanced to State
Charles Thomas – F Horn Solo – Gold Medal – Advanced to State
Eva Garcia – Trombone Solo – Gold Medal – Advanced to State
JJ Gomez – Tuba Solo – Gold Medal – Advanced to State
Julissa Huerta – Xylophone Solo – Gold Medal – Advanced to State
Alex Rodriguez – Trumpet Solo – Gold Medal
Austin Molina – Trumpet Solo – Silver Medal
Lilah Morin – Snare Drum Solo – Silver Medal
Trumpet Sextet (Vince Barrera, Von Barrera, Benjamin Castaneda, Adrienne Contreras, Alex Rodriguez, and Shawn Williams) – Gold Ensemble Medal – Advanced to State
Euphonium Trio (Adrian Aguirre, Vincent Elizondo, and Milton Garcia) – Gold Ensemble Medal – Advanced to State
The students who advanced to the UIL Texas State Solo and Ensemble Contest will travel to Austin May 25th-26th. Our contest is hosted at Hendrickson High School in Pflugerville. We will also be hosting a ‘State Send-Off Recital’ on May 19th at 6 pm for them.
Windi and Jazzi ‘Magical Adventures’
We are preparing for Windi and Jazzi, on May 3rd. Tickets are now on sale here: https://odemhsband.ludus.com/. The ticket covers entrance to the performance, Chicken Fried Chicken or Chicken Fried Steak, Sides, Drink, and Dessert for $15-$25 depending on the seat in the Cafetorium.
We have assigned students theme items to bring by section. We ask that every member of the group please bring one item of around $10 in value that fits in the theme to make silent auction baskets. Please help us make sure we have received these items by Tuesday, March 25th. Windi and Jazzi traditionally is a great fundraiser for us, and these baskets are a big part of that!
Flutes/Clarinets: Baking Basket (Baking Sheets, Cake mixes, cookbooks, cookie cutters, etc.)
Saxes/F Horn/Bass Clarinet: Spa Basket (Candles, Bath soaps, etc.)
Trumpets: Movie Night (Movies on BluRay or DVD, Snacks, Popcorn tubs, etc.)
Trombones/Euphoniums/Tubas: Outdoor BBQ (BBQ Cooking Utensils, Aprons, Sauces, Grill accessories, etc.)
Junior High Students: Gardening Basket (Seeds, Gardening tools, Gloves, etc.)
Additionally we are looking for businesses to donate items, tickets, gift cards, etc. If you would please ask anyone you know who might be in a position to donate those we would appreciate it!
Spring Band Fees
Spring Band Fees are now past due at both the High School for all band students and at the JH for 7th/8th grade band Students. This fee helps offset expenses in the spring for the program and is $25/student. Checks/Money Orders should be made payable to OEISD – no cash, please!
2026 Florida Trip
For all trip participants for 2026, please ensure you have registered on the Bob Rogers Travel site. Current 8th-11th 11th-grade band students are eligible to travel on this. I show that we are currently just two travelers short of making the next price breakpoint that will drop the trip cost by about $200. If you have considered signing up but haven’t, please do so now! In two weeks, we will make a payment from the boosters to lower the trip cost for every registered/deposited student from the boosters.
If you missed the meeting, you may find a copy of the packet here: https://tinyurl.com/msrnkua6 . Registration is still open on their site: https://bobrogerstravel.grcoll.co/v2/go/odem26
Payment options and forms are handled through their website there. I encourage students to attend this trip; it will be an amazing experience for them, and it is only really possible for most of them as a group like this!
This Week’s Schedule
| Day: | Event: |
| Monday: | No School |
| Tuesday: | Band Hall Open Odem HS Open House 6:15 pm – 7:15 pm Monthly Owl Band Booster Meeting 7:15 pm (HS Band Hall) |
| Wednesday: | Band Hall Open until 4:00 pm |
| Thursday: | Band Hall Open until 4:00 pm |
| Friday: | Band Hall Closed |
Upcoming Events:
| Day: | Event: | Time: |
| March 24th: | Odem HS Pre-UIL Concert | 6:30 pm |
| March 25th: | Odem JH Pre-UIL Concert | 6:30 pm |
| April 2nd – 3rd : | UIL Concert and Sight-Reading Evaluation at Tuloso-Midway HS | |
| May 2nd: | South Coast Jazz Festival | |
| May 3rd: | Windi and Jazzi “Magical Adventures” | 5:30 pm |
| May 12th: | HS Bands and Odem JH Symphonic Winds Spring Concert | 6:30 pm |
| May 13th: | Odem JH Beginning Band and Concert Band Spring Concert | 6:30 pm |
| May 19th: | Odem HS State Solo and Ensemble Send-Off Recital | 6:00 pm |
| May 25th-26th | UIL Texas State Solo and Ensemble Contest (Pflugerville – Hendrickson HS) |
Thank you for your help and support of these amazing students! Please contact us if you have any questions!