February 9, 2025 Band Notes

MEPA Mason: 10am-3:30pm; MMS Arena - VOLUNTEERS & DONATIONS STILL NEEDED
- Groups arrive starting 8:30am
- Mason tentative performance time: 2:27pm

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

Parent To Do Checklist For This Week

Attend the General Booster Meeting on Monday, February 10 at 7pm.
Sign up to volunteer at MEPA Mason, coming up this Sunday, February 16.
Complete the 2025 Marching Band Commitment & Financial Agreement Form by Sunday, February 23.
High School Color Guard families: Students interested in fall leadership must fill out the interest form by TONIGHT, Sunday, February 9.
Wind Symphony families: Pay Travel Payment #4 - $300 - due February 15.
Competitive Winter Guard families: Pay Fee 3 - $600.00 - due February 15.
Email secretary@masonbandboosters.com if interested in running for a board position in April elections.
Email president@masonbandboosters.com if willing to be concessions chair for the CRCBF coming up March 1.

NEW INFORMATION

2025 Marching Band Commitment Form - Due February 23rd

We are excited to officially launch the 2025 William Mason High School Marching Band season! Marching Band continues to be a place where students can push themselves to be the best they can be, not only from a performance standpoint, but from a character standpoint as well, all while spending time with their friends and creating lifelong friendships and memories. We look forward to building an amazing 2025 season!

Sign ups are beginning now, and below is the first form to complete!

2025 MARCHING BAND COMMITMENT & FINANCIAL AGREEMENT

Other Marching Band Documents:

New Member Meeting Slides 2025 - includes full season calendar draft
New Member Meeting Handout 2025
Marching Band Summer Dates 2025 - One Pager
Marching Band Summer Dates 2025 - Packet

CRCBF - MHS STUDENT ITINERARIES AND INFORMATION

Cincinnati Regional Concert Band Festival
Saturday, March 1st

CLICK HERE FOR STUDENT ITINERARIES AND INFO

This event is run in conjunction with Music For All as an affiliate regional festival, hosted at William Mason High School. Concert bands from all around the area will be performing. A clinic with one of the adjudicators from the stage will occur for each band following their performance. This is one of our biggest performances of the year, and is also a large event Mason hosts, including 35 band performances across 2 stages. Ensembles from MHS that will be performing this year include: Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, Concert Winds and Concert Band White.

OMEA Congratulations!!!

We have LOTS of congratulations going out following the 2025 OMEA Professional Development Conference in Cleveland!

Mason Middle School Symphonic Winds

The Mason Middle School Symphonic Winds were selected as one of 35 ensembles from throughout the state to perform at this year’s event. We are so proud of you representing our district so well!

OMEA All-State Students

Congratulations to all of our OMEA All State Band and Orchestra students from Mason Bands! These students were selected through a competitive audition process last spring involving hundreds of talented musicians from all around Ohio. The experience of meeting students from other schools, working with the guest conductors and performing for an audience of supportive musicians is an incredible experience!

Audition materials will be posted for OMEA All State 2026 ensembles in early March. So keep an eye out for those interested in auditioning for next year!

Mr. Jackson

Congratulations to Mr. Jackson on receiving the Miami University “Sam Reynolds Outstanding Alumni Award” in music education for 2025! Mr. Jackson received the award this weekend at OMEA Conference in Cleveland at the reception for Miami University faculty, students and alums this weekend. All of the other band directors and your students are proud of you!

Small Ensembles, Big Sound!

Our Concert Green and Concert Silver students had the opportunity this past week to perform as small ensembles. This relatively recent addition to the concert band schedule has become an annual favorite, giving our young musicians a great opportunity for a very different performance experience than a traditional full ensemble concert. Performing in small chamber ensembles is a lot of fun, and one of the best ways to improve your musical abilities. What a great learning experience, and an entertaining evening for all!

URGENT: Concert Band Festival Concessions Chair Needed

Mason is again hosting Music for All’s annual Cincinnati Regional Concert Band Festival (CRCBF). This year the festival is on Saturday, March 1. Several Mason concert bands will be performing again this year.

We are urgently in need of one or a few people willing chair or co-chair Concessions for this event.

Please email Andy Weiss at president@masonbandboosters.com ASAP if you are able to help.

REMINDERS

Booster Executive Committee Election

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 Laura Minniear 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 to see Executive Board positions and their descriptions along with details of the election process according to our current booster bylaws. This link contains our current Booster Executive Committee team structure for the current school year. This can be used as a reference to see what committees currently fall under each board position. Please note that the team structure is reviewed and adjusted each year by the Executive Committee to best suit the needs of the band program.

If you have any further questions about what any of the positions entail, please do not hesitate to contact any current board member. We would be happy to talk with you.

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.

MEPA Mason - February 16 - Volunteers Needed!

Mason will be hosting a Mid East Performance Association (MEPA) Competition at the Mason Middle School. MEPA is Ohio’s premier winter performance venue for winter guard, wind and indoor percussion ensembles throughout Ohio and surrounding areas. The event will take place on Sunday, February 16, 2025.

See MEPA’s event page for more information.

Time & Location

The event is scheduled to run from 10am to 3:30 pm. All performances will be in the arena at MMS.

Parking

Spectator parking will be at the back of MMS. Parking for volunteers will be at the front of MMS, with volunteer check-in outside the auditorium.

Tickets

Ticket pricing, as set by MEPA:

ADULTS - $15
SENIORS - $10
STUDENTS - $10
CHILDREN - FREE
VOLUNTEERS - FREE

Volunteer Needs

As with our marching band competitions, it takes a lot of volunteers to make a great event.

As hosts of the festival, we ask all Mason Band families to volunteer in some capacity. We will need some volunteers for setup on Saturday, February 15, and then many volunteers on Sunday for all the various areas. Note that this is an important fundraiser that benefits the entire Mason Band program.

Please sign up for a shift or to donate (or BOTH!) below. We also have student volunteer opportunities, so check out those areas that say 15+ to sign up student volunteers!

As with our fall competitions, volunteers get free admission to the event. There are some percussion and winds (includes brass) groups performing as well as guard, so there is something for everyone!

Volunteer Positions

Most volunteer needs for the MEPA event are available in Sign-Up Genius here, due to many volunteers not being in BoosterHub. (Parking and Band Aid needs are in BoosterHub.)

Volunteers needed include:

Bake sale
Hospitality
Group check-in
Performance flow and timing
Spirit
Concessions
Ticketing
Volunteer check-in
Gym entry (usher)
Tear-down
Parking (sign up in BoosterHub)

Bake Sale and Hospitality Donations

Donation sign-ups are also in Sign-Up Genius here.

Please contact Julie Chaney and Whitley Winstanley at competitions@masonbandboosters.com with any questions.

General Booster Meeting - Tomorrow!

Our next general booster meeting will be on Monday, February 10, at 7pm in the MHS Large Commons.

This will be a very important meeting - please try to have at least one family member present if possible.

Topics will include:

MEPA Mason on Sunday, February 16
Music for All Cincinnati Regional Concert Band Festival (CRCBF) on Saturday, March 1
Upcoming Marching Band Season, including the 2025 Commitment Form
Voting on proposed changes to our Booster Bylaws

Competitive Winter Guard (CWG)

Fall Color Guard Leadership Interest: If you are interested in leadership for the upcoming fall competition season, please fill out the Mason CG Leadership Interest Form by next Sunday, February 9th.
Flint Trip Itinerary
- WGI Flint Regional Trip Itinerary
- Note: As with all itineraries for the season, this schedule is subject to change until the week of the event when the schedule is finalized. We look forward to a great regional weekend with the team!
Snack Donations: We will be providing snacks on competition days. If you would like to donate snacks, please sign up here!
Fee Schedule:
- Due February 15:
  - Fee 3: $600.00 | via PaySchools or check to Mason City Schools
- Past Due:
  - Fee 1: $400.00 | via PaySchools or check to Mason City Schools
  - Fee 2: $600.00 | via PaySchools or check to Mason City Schools
- Note: For all payments made by check - please include the student’s name, student ID, and purpose (e.g., CWG Fee 3) on the memo line
Parent Remind: Text @cwgpa to 81010
CWG Season Resources:

Winter Guard Performance Ensemble (WGPE)

Practice Flags: All members were sent home with a school-owned practice flag this week! Be sure to take care of the flag you were assigned. If it is returned damaged at the end of the season, you will be charged to replace all parts, so please keep inside and away from water or other elements.
Season Fee: See here for the Financial Info Document. The WGPE Fee of $250 is Past Due. You may turn in a check made out to Mason City Schools at rehearsal or pay electronically on PaySchools Central.

If paying by check, please include your student’s name and student ID on the memo line of the check.

WGPE Member Remind: Students! Please join the Group Remind to receive important rehearsal updates if you have not already.

Text @wgpe25 to 81010.

Mason Color Guard Spirit Wear: Available for purchase at Friday Threads
Fall Color Guard Leadership Interest: If you are interested in leadership for the upcoming fall competition season, please fill out the Mason CG Leadership Interest Form by next Sunday, February 9th.
WGPE Season Calendar

Tape Donations for Guard

Our Winter Guard groups are in need of white and black electrical tape for the season! If you are able, donations would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to stop by a hardware store or order some on Amazon, then drop off at any rehearsal. We will need this to tape on our show equipment arriving soon. Thank you in advance!

Fundraising with Freddy’s in February

Our next Dine and Donate is on Wednesday, February 19th, at Freddy's at 7615 Trailside Drive, West Chester, Ohio 45069 from 11:00 - 10:00 PM.

For in-person orders, just present this flyer or say "I'm here for the fundraiser" for us to get our 15% donation.

For online and mobile orders, use the code GIVEBACK for all online or mobile orders.

MHS Winter Percussion Information

See the attached schedule from Mr. Scharf for more information: 2025 WINTER PERCUSSION SCHEDULE. These dates are also now on the Band Website calendar. Email Mr. Scharf with any questions: scharfj@masonohioschools.com

Jazz Band Information

CLICK HERE

The link above has all the information about Jazz Band for this year! Jazz band begins in January after break. Jazz I and Jazz II are both underway. See above for schedules and more!

Members of Our Band Family Need Us

Thank you to those that donated so far. Fuz and the Burton family have greatly appreciated your support. February meal dates have now been opened up on Meal Train if you would like to sign up or send a DoorDash gift card. You are appreciated!

You can also still donate to the GoFundMe.