Odem Bands Schedule – Week of 4-8-2024
We would like to begin this week by extending our congratulations to the members of the Odem JH Symphonic Winds and the Odem HS Wind Ensemble for earning UIL Sweepstakes awards this week! Both groups received superior ratings from every judge at the contest! We are very proud of the students and their accomplishments!
We also were fortunate at the district level, to once again be awarded the NAMMFoundation’s National ‘Best Communities for Music Education’ award this week as well! This marks our 10th Consecutive year appearing on the list with about 115 other Texas School Districts. We are among the 30 longest appearing districts at this point in Texas!
Monday night we will be recognizing students who made the All-Region/All-Area Bands and earned Superior Medals at UIL Solo and Ensemble. If we can please have students there at the JH Library by 6:30pm.
Just because we’re finished with UIL, doesn’t mean we’re done for the year though! We have many upcoming events, including the South Coast Jazz Festival on April 26th, Windi and Jazzi on May 4th, American Classics Festival at Del Mar on May 10th, JH Symphonic Winds and HS Bands Spring Concert on May 13th, JH Beginning Band and Concert Band on May 14th, Graduation, State Solo and Ensemble, and our high school trip to Cleveland! It’s a short amount of time to the finish line of the year, but we’ll be very busy during it!
Tuesday we will have our monthly band booster meeting. This is our month for nominations of officers. We must have a new president for this coming year, and maybe a couple of other positions, I ask that anyone who has even maybe considered getting involved in the organization please come to the meeting. The Owl Band Boosters are a significant piece of our support through the year, we cannot operate without a full set of officers! Please consider running for an office!
Monday and Thursday after school this week from 4:30pm-5:30pm, anyone interested in Color Guard should please come attend practices. Leadership Training will be Tuesday and Thursday this week from 3:45pm-4:30pm, and Drum Majors will stay until 5pm. We will be having Drum Major and Guard Tryouts on May 3rd.
Windi and Jazzi is on May 4th, and we still need items for the silent auction baskets. We have assigned students theme items to bring by section. We ask that every member of the group please bring one item around $10 in value that fits in the theme to make silent auction baskets by Tuesday at the latest! Windi and Jazzi traditionally is a great fundraiser for us, and these baskets are a big part of that! Thank you to those of you who have already sent items in!
Flutes/Oboe: Baking Basket (Baking Sheets, Cake mixes, cookbooks, cookie cutters, etc.)
Clarinets/Bassoon: Spa Basket (Candles, Bath soaps, etc.)
Bass Cl/Saxes/F Horn: Outdoor BBQ (BBQ Cooking Utensils, Aprons, Sauces, Grill accessories, etc.)
Trumpets: Family Night (Games, Movies, etc)
Trombones/Euphoniums/Tubas: Coffee Lovers (Bags of Coffee, Coffee Cups, Flavorings, etc.)
Percussion: Cooking Basket (Spatulas, pans, recipes, spices, cooking gadgets, etc)
Junior High Students: Gardening Basket (Seeds, Gardening tools, Gloves, etc.)
Finally, for those students attending the Cleveland Trip, we should have trips paid in full by the end of this week please! My understanding is the automated payment date is the 15th. There is a little bit of a grace period, but the tour company is at the point they have to finish purchasing tickets and that is a hard deadline they give us.
This year’s HS Summer Band Schedule is now available here as well: http://www.odembands.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-2025-Odem-Bands-Calendar-Version-1-4-7-2024.pdf One item that I will be discussing with 7th-11th Grade flute players is that the National Flute Association will be holding their annual convention in San Antonio this summer, and hosting a student day on Saturday, August 3rd. I plan to take any flute players who are interested up to participate!
This Week’s Schedule:
| Day: | Event: |
| Monday: | Band Hall Open until 6 pm Guard Practice 4:30 pm-5:30 pm School Board Presentation 6:30 pm (All-Region/Area and Region S&E Medalists) |
| Tuesday: | Leadership Training 3:45 pm-4:30 pm Drum Major Training 4:30 pm-5:00 pm Owl Band Booster Meeting 7 pm (Cafetorium) |
| Wednesday: | Band Hall Closed |
| Thursday: | Leadership Training 3:45 pm-4:30 pmDrum Major Training 4:30 pm-5:00 pmGuard Practice 4:30pm-5:30 pmCleveland Trip Rehearsal 6:00 pm-8:00 pm |
| Friday: | No School |
Upcoming Events:
| Day: | Event: | Time: |
| April 26th | 11th Annual South Coast Jazz Festival | |
| May 4th | Windi and Jazzi Fundraiser | |
| May 10th | American Classics Festival: Odem HS Wind Ensemble and Odem JH Symphonic Winds at Del Mar College | 2pm/3pm |
| May 13th | Odem JH Symphonic Winds and HS Spring Concert | |
| May 14th | Odem JH Beginning Band and Concert Band Spring Concert | |
| May 24th | Graduation | |
| May 26th-27th | UIL State Solo and Ensemble | |
| June 3rd | Cleveland Send-Off Performance | |
| June 4th-8th | Cleveland Trip |
Thank you for your help and support of these amazing students! Please contact us if you have any questions!