Welcome to UIL Concert and Sightreading Evaluation Week! This is going to be a busy week for all of our students in Grades 7-12, with UIL on Wednesday for JH students and Thursday for HS students. 

Below I will give full itineraries, but the performance times for the Odem JH Concert Band is 10:15 am, Odem JH Symphonic Winds is 3:40 pm, Odem HS Symphonic Band is 9:00 am, and Odem HS Wind Ensemble is tentatively 11:30 am pending a final schedule change we are expecting. Please see the information below for students’ arrival times and later return for Wednesday’s Symphonic Winds performance. Students should either arrive in their concert clothes if they have a morning performance or bring clothes to change into for afternoon performances. All students MUST wear their concert black clothes for this very important event! (Mandatory)

We strongly encourage parents and community members to come out and support students at this event! Admission is free, and you are welcome to follow us to the sight-reading room afterward. (Please note that no recording devices of photos, video, or audio are allowed in the sight-reading room!)

Students will be able to change out of their concert clothes when we return to the school.

We also still need basket items coming in for Windi and Jazzi. We ask each student to bring in one $10 item that fits the theme so we can assemble the baskets for the silent auction. Please look below for that information. Please bring those items this week!

UIL Concert and Sight-Reading Itineraries

Odem JH Concert Band: 

7:55 am: Report to Band Hall at first bell.
9:00 am: Depart Odem JH Band Hall
9:25 am: Arrive at Tuloso Midway HS
9:45 am: Warm-Up
10:15 am: Stage Performance
10:40 am: Sightreading
11:15 am: Depart to Return to Odem
Students return to 5^th Period after being allowed to change into school clothes

Odem JH Symphonic Winds:

1:40 pm: Students Report to Band Hall
2:00 pm: Depart Odem JH Band Hall
2:25 pm: Arrive at Tuloso Midway HS
3:10 pm: Warm-Up
3:40 pm: Stage Performance
4:05 pm: Sight-Reading Performance
5:00 pm: Depart to Return to Odem
5:30 pm: Home and ready for pickup. (Please pick up students in the Intermediate campus parking lot as construction is blocking the lane in front of the JH Band Hall. Students will wait under the old Cafeteria pavilion)

Odem HS Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble:

Due to the close times for performances, both groups will travel together. A tentative schedule is in place right now, but HS times may still change slightly—especially for the Wind Ensemble.

7:30 am: Odem Band Members at Band Hall for Breakfast/Load
7:50 am: Depart for Tuloso Midway HS
8:10 am: Arrive at Tuloso Midway HS
8:30 am: HS Symphonic Band Warm-Up
9:00 am: HS Symphonic Band Stage Performance
9:25 am: HS Symphonic Band Sight-Reading
10:30 am: Organize HS Wind Ensemble in Lot
11:00 am: HS Wind Ensemble Warm-Up
11:30 am: HS Wind Ensemble Stage Performance
11:55 am: HS Wind Ensemble Sight-Read
12:30 pm: Depart for HS
1:00 pm: Arrive at Odem HS and eat a late lunch. (Track Note: Track athletes will either be able to make the team bus, or we will send a second one following them up there. They’ll be able to make the 2^nd day Track Meet with no problems either way)

Concert Attire

All groups from 6^th-12^th have moved to the same concert attire requirements this year. Please see the information below:

Ladies: Black Blouse/Black Slacks/Dress Shoes (Blouses need to have some sort of sleeve that extends past the shoulder and should not be low cut)

Gentlemen: Black Long Sleeve Button-Down Shirt, Black Slacks, Black Dress Shoes (or HS Marching Band Shoes), Black Belt, and Black Socks.

Windi and Jazzi ‘Magical Adventures’

We are preparing for Windi and Jazzi, on May 3^rd. Tickets are now on sale here: https://odemhsband.ludus.com/. The ticket covers the entrance to the performance, Chicken Fried Chicken or Chicken Fried Steak, Sides, Drinks, 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 the theme to make silent auction baskets. Please help us ensure we have received these items by Tuesday, March 25^th. 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/Percussion: 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 7^th/8^th 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:	Band Hall Open Guard 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm
Tuesday:	Band Hall Open Leadership Training: 3:45-4:15 Drum Majors: 4:15-4:45
Wednesday:	UIL Concert and Sight-Reading Day 1 (See Above Schedule)
Thursday:	UIL Concert and Sight-Reading Day 2 (See Above Schedule) Guard Practice 4:30pm-5:30pm
Friday:	Band Hall Closed

Upcoming Events:

Day:	Event:	Time:
Wednesday-Thursday	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!