Odem Bands Schedule – Week of 9/18/2023:
Welcome to what is going to be a very important and busy week for us with the Odem Bands! First, we would like to congratulate Benjamin Castaneda for earning a spot in the trumpet section in the All-Region Jazz Bands this past weekend! He will perform with the group in February during our Annual All-Region Jazz Clinic/Concert!
This weekend we will host the 2nd Annual Owl Marching Invitational!!!! We have a Sign-Up Genius link here: https://tinyurl.com/5n7w2bn5. Last year this was the most successful single fundraiser we ran for the band program, and we hope to do as well or better this year. For that to succeed (and this to become a long-term reliable fundraiser) every student must be present at the event. We are also still short a number of parent/adult volunteer slots at the link above. We know our students will do a great job at helping us run the contest, but there are times when we do need adults for the positions in the sign-up genius. This is especially important as we go to the exhibition performances the students will give at the end of Prelims and Finals. Please help us fill the remaining slots by Wednesday!
For the contest we will begin setup at 8am, and then continue through the morning. There will be a volunteer meeting at 10:30am. (This has moved from an earlier posting due to some notes from last year) Early in the day we need to setup canopies, signs, water stations, etc. Bands are not supposed to arrive until 1pm, but last year we had some early arrivals we’ll need to prepare for. The better the experience we give the participating bands, the more likely this becomes something that Odem is well known for! Overall we are expecting 16 participant bands plus our own, and something around 1270 participating students! Tickets are available for spectators in advance for $7 online at http://odemhsband.ludus.com , or for sale on Saturday at the gate for $10. Tickets provide admittance to both Prelims and Finals as long as the wristband is undamaged.
This week really marks the true beginning to our competitive season, and it is imperative every student is at every rehearsal, game, competition, performance, etc. for us to prepare them. Next week will be our competition we’ll attend in Victoria hosted by USBands. We perform at 1:30pm that day, with awards at 2:30pm. We are planning to return after awards. The following week on October 7th we have a legendary clinician coming in to work with the band from 3pm-6pm. That is mandatory for all students and is a test grade like each of our performances. October 14th is UIL Region Marching Contest (Beeville), October 21stwe host the 2A UIL Area E Marching Contest (Exhibition Performance), and October 28th is our Area Marching Contest in Beeville where students (if we advance from Region) will compete at the 3A UIL Area Contest in Beeville for a chance at the UIL State Marching Contest. In the band world the phrase ‘Bandtober’ has become our normal term for the month, and I’m sure you can see why!
Owl Marching Invitational:
This important day coming up on Saturday! Last year we began hosting this VERY successful fundraising opportunity for us, and we hope it continues to grow through the years.
You can see our host schedule for the contest here:
This Week’s Schedule:
| Day: | Event: |
| Monday: | 6:30pm-8:30pm – Marching Rehearsal |
| Tuesday: | Host ATSSB All-Area Jazz Recordings (Band Hall/Jazz Room Closed at 4:10pm) |
| Wednesday: | 4:15pm-5:30pm – Rehearsal |
| Thursday: | 6:30pm-8:30pm Rehearsal |
| Friday: | Odem vs. Taft 5pm at Band Hall 5:45pm Depart 7:30pm – Game Begins ~10pm – Game Ends – Return to Band Hall about 10:30pm? |
| Saturday: | 2nd Annual Owl Marching Invitational 8am: Leadership Students/Available Volunteers at School for Setup 10:30am: Adult and Student Volunteer Meeting (Credentials, jobs, and radios distributed) 10:00am: Lunch for Volunteers 12:00pm: Schools begin arriving 1:15pm: First Band Begins Warm-Up/Gates Open 1:45pm: First Band Performs 6:15pm: Odem Exhibition Performnace 6:30pm: Prelim Awards/Finalist Announcements 7:15pm: Gates Open for Finals ~11pm: Finals Band Retreat on Field ~12am: Complete Cleanup of Event. |
Upcoming Events:
| Day: | Event: | Time: |
| Friday | Odem vs. Taft (Taft) | |
| Saturday | 2nd Annual Owl Marching Invitational | |
| September 29th | Odem vs. Santa Rosa (Home) | |
| September 30th | US Bands Victoria Marching Contest | 1:30pm Performance |
| October 6th | Odem vs. Monte Alto (Monte Alto) | |
| October 7th | Annual Marching Clinic (Mandatory!) | 3pm-6pm |
| October 13th | Odem vs Hebbronville (Home) | |
| October 14th | UIL Region Marching Contest (Beeville) | |
| October 20th | Odem vs. Banquete (Banquete) | |
| October 21st | Host UIL 2A Area Marching Contest (Perform during tabulation) | |
| October 27th | Odem vs. George West (Home) Senior Band Parents Night | |
| October 28th | UIL Area Marching Contest (Beeville) |
Thank you for your help and support of these amazing students! Please contact us if you have any questions!