February 11, 2024 Band Notes

Jazz Band 2 Rehearsal 2:45pm-4:15pm; HS Band Room
Winter Percussion 5:30-8:30pm; HS Band Room
Photo and Memory Book Pickup 6:15-7:15pm; HS Staff Dining Room (sign up by 2/11)
Winter Guard 7 Rehearsal 6:15-7:15pm MECC Gym
Winter Guard Performance Ensemble Rehearsal 7:30-9:30pm; MECC Gym

Tuesday, February 13

Jazz Band 1 Rehearsal 2:45pm-4:15pm; HS Band Room
Competitive Winter Guard Rehearsal 6:15-9:15pm; MECC Gym

Wednesday, February 14

Symphonic Band Full Ensemble Rehearsal 2:45-4:45pm; HS Band Room
Winter Guard 5&6 Rehearsal 3:30-4:30pm; MI Cafeteria
Winter Guard Performance Ensemble Rehearsal 6:15-9:15pm; MECC Gym

Thursday, February 15

Jazz Band 1 Rehearsal 2:45pm-4:15pm; HS Band Room
Wind Symphony Full Ensemble Rehearsal 6-8pm; HS Band Room
Competitive Winter Guard Rehearsal 6:15-9:15pm; MECC Gym

Friday, February 16

No School
Competitive Winter Guard Rehearsal 1-9pm; MHS Gym
- Rehearsal 1-4pm
- Dinner Off Campus 4-6pm
- Rehearsal 6-9pm

Saturday, February 17

Competitive Winter Guard Rehearsal 1-9pm; MMS Arena

Rehearsal 1-4pm
Dinner Off Campus 4-6pm
Rehearsal 6-9pm

Future planned events can be found on the updated band calendar: Mason Band Calendar

Parent To Do Checklist For This Week

Sign up by tonight, 2/11/2024, to pick up your Rose Parade panos and memory books on Monday, February 12 (see below for details).
Please sign up to volunteer for the Concert Festival on March 1 and/or March 2nd. (details below)
Contact Carrie Upchurch if interested in being a team lead during the upcoming Concert Festival; March 1 and 2 (details below)
Consider running for a band booster Executive Committee position or becoming a committee chair. (details below)
Wind Symphony families:

Please read below for details on how to get suit jackets dry cleaned.
Purchase tickets for CCM joint concert before they are sold out!
Fill out permission forms for the CCM joint concert and return to Mr. Jackson during band class.

NEW INFORMATION

Marching Band 2024

Planning for the 2024 season is well underway with travel planning, financial planning, event planning, and competition show design all in progress. The first step toward the 2024 season will be officially signing up on the Commitment & Financial Agreement. This form, along with many updates for the 2024 season will be sent out this week, so be on the lookout for a marching band specific communication! We are excited to begin our journey for an amazing 2024 season!

Memory Book, Rose Parade Trip Pano, and Winterguard photo Pick Up

They are here! (Be sure to read to the end–there’s a catch.)

Memory books, Rose Parade trip panos, and other season photos will be available for pick up on Monday, February 12, from 6:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. in the MHS Staff Dining Room. Enter from the high school band entrance and go straight down the hallway. The staff dining room is on the right corner facing you in the second hallway intersection (just past the directors' offices).

Note: these photos do not include the Jostens photos taken in front of the Rose Bowl Stadium. That distribution plan is up to the directors.

Check your email that you used to place your orders for your pick up list. If you haven’t received it, and you remember you ordered either a Rose Parade Trip pano or a memory book, please email photo@masonbandboosters.com to confirm that you have an order to pick up.

You will need to present this email to pick up your products. If you send someone else to pick up your items, be sure to forward the pick up email to them.

If you are unable to come, there will be another opportunity to pick up at the Band Booster meeting on March 12.

IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ!

Please respond using this form to indicate whether or not you have someone available to pick up your products. It is also helpful to let me know that you aren’t coming, because I can pull your items out early and put them safely aside for the next pick up.

You must respond by 11:59 p.m., Sunday, February 11, that you are coming to have your products available at this early pickup! Because the books and framed photos are heavy, bulky, and fragile, we want to transport them only once to minimize the possibility of damage, since there is no room to store them at the school. To avoid a wasted trip to the school, make sure you fill out the form!

https://forms.gle/tenjVUZ9HCQ9ufxB6

Mason Wind Symphony And CCM Wind Symphony Joint Concert-Itinerary

On Friday February 23, 2024 at 7:30pm, our Mason Wind Symphony will be performing a joint concert with the CCM Wind Symphony. Tickets can be purchased HERE. It is recommended that family and friends purchase tickets ASAP. It is anticipated that this concert will sell out. Patricia Corbett Theater is a smaller venue.

STUDENT ITINERARY

PERMISSION FORM (To be filled out for all students attending this trip) Please return the hard copy to Mr. Jackson during band class.

TRAVEL WAIVER (Only to be filled out by those taking alternative transportation)

Concert Band Festival March 2nd

Please save the date for our The Cincinnati Regional Concert Band Festival on March 2nd. The Cincinnati Regional Concert Band Festival is a non-competitive concert performance and clinic-based event that fosters excellence and growth in concert band education and performance.

Tickets

Tickets are available for purchase at the door.
Price: $12.00, children under 12-free (includes access to digital program)
Tickets cover viewing all the bands performing on either stage during the event.

Event Schedule

Additional information can be found on the Mason Band website HERE. The complete event schedule will be posted on the previous link once finalized.
Please join us for two very special guest performances.
- The Springboro Wind Symphony-12:00pm, High School Auditorium
  - To read more about The Springboro Wind Symphony visit their website.
- The University of Kentucky Wind Symphony -4:40 pm, High School Auditorium
  - More information can be found on their website HERE

Tentative Schedule of Mason Band Performances

Featured Stage
- 7:45am-Concert Winds
- 1:00pm-Mason Middle School Symphonic Winds
- 2:10pm-Mason Symphonic Band
- 9:10pm-Mason HS Wind Symphony
Invited Stage
- 8:00am-Mason Middle School Concert Band
- 12:00pm-Mason High School Concert White

Please read all communication from the directors for more information on your student’s report time and detailed schedule.

Volunteer Needs

As hosts of the festival, we ask all Mason Band families to volunteer in some capacity during the day. We will need adult volunteers for ticket sales, ushers, concessions, hospitality, band check-in and bus parking as well as donations for hospitality and bake sales. We would also appreciate student volunteers to assist as band guides and various stage help. Mr. Jackson will be collecting the names of students for these jobs. Tickets to attend the festival concerts are $12, however, each adult who volunteers will get in FREE! Please contact Carrie Upchurch at musicfestival@masonbandboosters.com with any questions.

Please sign up to volunteer or to make donations for our bake sale and hospitality room by clicking the links below.

Friday Volunteers

Saturday Volunteers

Bake Sale Donations - Baked goods can be delivered on Friday from 3-7pm at the band entrance of the school or Saturday morning by 9am.

Hospitality Donations - Please Note: All hospitality items can be dropped off at the music entrance of MHS. Please look carefully at your sign up slot to see what time we would like the item you are bringing to be dropped off at the school. This will ensure we have the appropriate food available for each meal.

Items designated as a Friday, March 1st drop off and do not need to be refrigerated can be dropped off from 3-7pm.

Items designated for a Saturday, March 2nd drop off should be delivered at 11am. If it is an item that does not need to be kept warm or cold, it can be dropped off as early as 7am.

Monetary Donations

Congrats To Our Competitive Winter Guard Team!

Congratulations to the Mason Competitive Winter Guard on earning first place in Open Class at both the Northmont and Bellbrook MEPA Competitions. You are amazing!

We Are Proud Of Our OMEA Band And Orchestra Participants!

Congratulations to the OMEA - Ohio All-State Band and Orchestra students from Mason Bands! They put on fantastic concerts this past weekend at the 2024 OMEA Professional Development Conference with the top musicians from all of the schools in Ohio!

Recent Photo Galleries

Our amazing Photo Crew captured some great photos recently! These photos are available for you to view/download for free from our SmugMug Site. Check out these recent galleries:

Check back often. The photo crew typically tries to get photos uploaded within a week of the event, but with multiple photographers the photos trickle in over that time period.

If you need the password, send an email to smugmug@masonbandboosters.com with your student’s name, student ID and section.

Chronicle Story Highlights Our Marching Band Seniors

Check out the recent article in the Mason Chronicle highlighting our Seniors! “From Covid To Cali: Seniors Reflect On Time In Marching Band” Please click HERE for the full story.

REMINDERS

Concert Band Festival Team Leads Needed!

Mason Bands is proud to host the Cincinnati Regional Concert Band Festival in partnership with Music For All on March 2, 2024. We are looking for volunteers to manage specific areas of the event. At this time, we are looking for team leads in the following areas:

Band Set-up
Concessions
Ticket Sales
Ushers

The time commitment would be co-planning with the Music Festival coordinator, Carrie Upchurch; setting up your area on Friday, March 1, 2024; and managing your area for the duration of the festival on Saturday, March 2, 2024. Please email Carrie Upchurch at musicfestival@masonbandboosters.com to volunteer.

Wind Symphony Dry Cleaning

Wind Symphony students, who wish to wear a suit jacket, will be fitted soon. After their fitting, students will need to have their jackets dry cleaned. Students can have the jackets dry cleaned on their own, or if you would like to have the Concert Uniforms committee take care of the dry cleaning fill out the Jotform below. The fee is $10. If you have questions or concerns, please email Carrie Upchurch at vp-marketing@masonbandboosters.com.

Wind Symphony Dry Cleaning Fee Form: https://form.jotform.com/Masonbands/2024-wind-symphony-dry-cleaning-fee

Booster Executive Committee Election Update

We will be voting to elect the next Booster Executive Committee in April. If you are interested in running for a position on the Executive Committee, please reach out to Kim Bishop by March 1st at secretary@masonbandboosters.com. We will be announcing the candidates shortly after the deadline. Anyone is welcome to run for any Executive Committee position. Please click here for more details on each position. This link contains our current Booster Executive Committee team structure for the current school year.

Executive Committee position currently without a candidate: VP of Fundraising

Would you like to help the band program in a very meaningful and important way? The band would not be able to provide all of the wonderful opportunities and experiences to our students without the funding to support them. We are looking for a self motivated leader to be our next VP of Fundraising. Please contact Rebecca Synan, our current VP of Fundraising, if you would like more specific information on this particular role and what all it entails at fundraising@masonbandboosters.com.

Thank you in advance for your consideration in serving in a leadership position of the band booster organization. It is a fun and rewarding way to support our incredible band program and more importantly the students.

Seeking Committee Chairs

In order to run an organization as large as the Mason Band program, we need many individuals willing to donate their time and talents. We are continually grateful for those who step up and do their small part to make our band program one of the best in the country. As seniors graduate, roles that were once filled by their parents become available. For this upcoming school year, our booster organization is seeking committee chairs for the areas found below. Please Note: These roles are not board positions and therefore will not be part of our election process in April. More information on each position can be found HERE. Please contact Kim Bishop at secretary@masonbandboosters.com if you are interested or have any questions.

Sponsorship
Dine and Donate
Flower Sale
Spirit Committee Shadow/Co-Chair
Alumni
Seniors
New Members
Marching Band Awards Night
Concert Band Music Festival
Competitions Shadow/Co-Chair

2024-2025: Scheduling Tips And Info For Band Students

As students begin scheduling this week, the band directors provide information we have gathered from our students over the years about what a “typical” schedule looks like for band students. If you have questions beyond the info we shared below, please reach out to a band director! There is almost ALWAYS a way to include band in your schedule for next year, and we can help brainstorm some ideas that have worked really well for other students… while still meeting all of their academic needs too.

CLICK HERE: Scheduling Tips for Band Students

Chick-Fil-A Dine And Donate; February 21

Please join our mobile app fundraiser at Chick-Fil-A Deerfield Crossing! This fundraiser is available on the Chick-Fil-A Mobile App only. Choose mobile drive-thru, mobile carry-out, or mobile dine-in. Please be sure to enter the code! More details can be found HERE.