2013 Marching Band Thread

[marcyinPA]

We are in the same boat. My daughter's last state year will be her junior year, but we will probably do Grand Nats for her senior year so she will get some kind of finale.




Congrats on advancing to TSSEC. My daughter's ensemble will be there too. They are all freshmen so I don't know how well they will do, but it is awesome just to get to go. Our band is hosting so I will be there for the whole thing.


Our show music has been picked, but marching spots won't be determined until they start up in August. I just went back to watch the video of last year's show and can't wait to see what they will come up with for this year. It is hard to keep focused on next year because we are off to London to march in the New Year's Day parade in 2015. We will be selling everything but the kitchen sink between now and then. If anyone has a great fundraising idea let me know!

Congratulations on that great trip!!! Our band used to go to England every 4 years until there was some trouble with majorettes and locals.... Anyway, our band is patterned after the Coldstream Guard, which is why we had been invited- we have a close relationship with them.

As for fundraising- well- we go on big trips every other year- so we have done a ton of fundraising in the past. My DS14 is headed to the Rose Parade this year, but my DS18 went to Disney World and Hawaii with the band. We sell candy bars, flowers (spring, fall mums, and poinsettias and wreaths). Our band makes and sells hoagies once a month. They sell discount cards, fall and spring pies, pizzas, pierogies, Pampered Chef, candles, ....Um, probably more that I can't remember. We are always looking for new ideas too.

Will you be going to London too, or just your daughter?

 

[desertgirl]

Joining in to this thread. My daughter will be an incoming freshman and she plays the alto saxophone. They just held a clinic last week at the middle school to give the 8th graders a head start into the summer. She's looking so forward to it!

Question: her teacher who gives her lessons mentioned her moving to the baritone saxophone (not for marching, but for concert/jazz band). There are school baris, but she would like to have something she can play on over the summer so she can learn. Do music stores rent the non "typical" instruments? We bought her alto on ebay, but want to wait on the bari to see if she likes it before making that commitment.

Thanks!

 

[Priorityonecb]

Hi everyone! DD will be a junior this year, trumpet! We are in NC, and go to several out of state competitions per year but nothing big like WDW or Hawaii! Our school is only 3 years old, so we are still working on our reputation! We won every competition last year except Super Regionals, so I think we are on our way.

This year we will be traveling to Pennsylvania and Tennessee, as well as in state competitions.

This years theme is Cirque! The kids are really excited! They will get all their music and final schedule the first week in June. We have a few mini camps in June, then band camp begins the last week in July.

 

[Pembo]

Wow, such big trips!
We go to Disney every other year and just went in March. This year our big "trip" will be to Columbus, OH for state competition, (if) when we qualify.

Where is everyone from? NE Ohio for us

 

[beavismom]

Joining in to this thread. My daughter will be an incoming freshman and she plays the alto saxophone. They just held a clinic last week at the middle school to give the 8th graders a head start into the summer. She's looking so forward to it!

Question: her teacher who gives her lessons mentioned her moving to the baritone saxophone (not for marching, but for concert/jazz band). There are school baris, but she would like to have something she can play on over the summer so she can learn. Do music stores rent the non "typical" instruments? We bought her alto on ebay, but want to wait on the bari to see if she likes it before making that commitment.

Thanks!

Hi desertgirl! You should check with your high school band director. Many schools will check out instruments to students over the summer, especially if they are exploring a different instrument. If they don't do that, they will have the best suggestions for where to rent in your area. Give them a call or shoot them an email (usually the best way to contact them) and they should help you out.

 

[Belle0101]

First year band parent here (2013 - 2014 school year)

Our high school here is 9th - 12th grade but students can try-out in the Spring of their 7th grade year for early acceptance as an 8th grader. DS (7th grade) is in his 1st year playing the alto sax in middle school band class and really wanted to get early acceptance into the high school marching band.

He went through all the try-outs and while they didn't have room for an alto sax, he was asked to play the bari sax for marching band. He's really happy to get accepted.

Band camp is the last week of July and the first week of August, 2 weeks long. I'm sure he'll find out then about the show, uniforms and whatever else we need to know.

 

[beavismom]

Congratulations on that great trip!!! Our band used to go to England every 4 years until there was some trouble with majorettes and locals.... Anyway, our band is patterned after the Coldstream Guard, which is why we had been invited- we have a close relationship with them.

As for fundraising- well- we go on big trips every other year- so we have done a ton of fundraising in the past. My DS14 is headed to the Rose Parade this year, but my DS18 went to Disney World and Hawaii with the band. We sell candy bars, flowers (spring, fall mums, and poinsettias and wreaths). Our band makes and sells hoagies once a month. They sell discount cards, fall and spring pies, pizzas, pierogies, Pampered Chef, candles, ....Um, probably more that I can't remember. We are always looking for new ideas too.

Will you be going to London too, or just your daughter?

I plan to go assuming we can afford it. I wish our whole family could go, but I don't think that is gonna happen.

 

[piperdown]

It is hard to keep focused on next year because we are off to London to march in the New Year's Day parade in 2015. We will be selling everything but the kitchen sink between now and then. If anyone has a great fundraising idea let me know!

Wow!! London!! I'm jealous!!

We'd never be able to pull that off. Most of our kids just could not afford if, even with massive fundraising. It was a feat for them to manage WDW in 2012. We have out of state trips every other year, which will be next spring. They haven't decided on the destination (at least they haven't told the kids and parents). Rumors are west coast or DC.

 

[beavismom]

Our trip is optional due to the cost, but honestly, if our kids fundraise they can cover the whole cost. We hope to secure sponsorship from some local businesses, so hopefully that will come to pass.

 

[marcyinPA]

Our trip is optional due to the cost, but honestly, if our kids fundraise they can cover the whole cost. We hope to secure sponsorship from some local businesses, so hopefully that will come to pass.

Just an idea- our band got sponsorships from local companies to foot the bill for our equipment and uniforms (and luggage) to be shipped using their FED EX accounts when we went to Hawaii. It would have cost a small fortune to ship everything through the airlines (we have like 20 sousaphones, plus all the other stuff- and the band was 260 at the time) but with the corporate accounts, and their financial backing, it was much cheaper (yeah, like $30,000! LOL) If it cost that much to ship to Hawaii, I can only imagine how much it would cost to ship to London. Something for your band parent board to think about...

 

[Pembo]

Band mom brag - Tonight was our dd's 5th grade band concert. The high school jazz band was asked to perform too so her older brothers played as well. Quite fun to have all 3 kids in one concert, plus my oldest had an awesome solo.

 

[beavismom]

Just an idea- our band got sponsorships from local companies to foot the bill for our equipment and uniforms (and luggage) to be shipped using their FED EX accounts when we went to Hawaii. It would have cost a small fortune to ship everything through the airlines (we have like 20 sousaphones, plus all the other stuff- and the band was 260 at the time) but with the corporate accounts, and their financial backing, it was much cheaper (yeah, like $30,000! LOL) If it cost that much to ship to Hawaii, I can only imagine how much it would cost to ship to London. Something for your band parent board to think about...

That is a great idea. We will have to look into that.

 

[Katy Belle]

Our band went to Ireland this Spring Break, and marched in Dublin in the Saint Patrick's Day parade! So awesome. We had fundraising, but my boys didn't raise many funds. They did work for Grandpa, and that $ went to the trip, but we paid the rest. It was $2500 per kid, plus spending $ and some meals. They go on an overseas trip every 4 years. It was Freshman year for one of mine and Senior year for the other. Rumors are flying that the next trip will be Italy or Paris. I'd take either! DS13 will be in the HS band by then!

This coming school year they will go to St. Louis in October, for the big contest, and Chicago in March. The next year will be Orlando! Then probably somewhere close again. I love that they travel. Ireland was a huge bonding experience for the Tuba Section!

 

[ejcraft]

mom of a junior guard member and she will be co captain , this yr, we do a 2 wk intensive band camp in august, which we were going somewhere like Disney.

 

[lovegrumpy]

The band teacher my son has now doesn't do just marching band trips. It's the whole band are nothing. I don't like that but that's they way it is. So glad at are last high school we did Disney that year.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Senior marching french horn and 8th grade trombone player. Our school is small enough that middle schoolers are allowed in to the high school marching band.

This is their second year with the new band director. He's decided to change how they march.

The show this year will be based on Phantom of the Opera.

 

[desertgirl]

Hi desertgirl! You should check with your high school band director. Many schools will check out instruments to students over the summer, especially if they are exploring a different instrument. If they don't do that, they will have the best suggestions for where to rent in your area. Give them a call or shoot them an email (usually the best way to contact them) and they should help you out.

Thanks so much, beavismom! My daughter talked to her band director today (all three directors follow the kids from elementary through high school...really cool!) and he told her to call him later this summer after the instruments have been serviced. He'll hook her up.

 

[jen0610]

Hooray! I can join this group! I have an 8th grader who wants to join the marching band next year. I know nothing about marching band!! Well, I do know that practices start mid-June and to expect our fall weekends to be filled with competitions.

He plays the alto sax.

If he wants to march, get with the high school he will be going to now. 8th graders are allowed to march with the high schools. It does depend on the high school's program, though. Class A bands like Avon, Carmel, and Homestead, don't need 8th graders, they have more than enough high schools. We didn't know when DS was an 8th grader and he really whished he had.

 

[marcyinPA]

The band teacher my son has now doesn't do just marching band trips. It's the whole band are nothing. I don't like that but that's they way it is. So glad at are last high school we did Disney that year.

I guess our kids are lucky in that if they are in marching band, they are also in concert band. They morph into each other. The only group that doesn't go on the band trips is the orchestra, but then they go on their own trip on the years that band doesn't go anywhere. Many kids are in both band (marching/concert) and orchestra here. We also have a select band, but they do everything the band does, but go above and beyond on performances.

 

[Southernmiss]

Do you pay band fees? If so, how much and what does it cover?

We do. It helps offset the costs that the district doesn't fund. The family's costs are $217 per student. This covers the basics of show writing, bus fees for football games and contests, color guard costumes ( the band costumes are now ten years old) maintenance on school owned instruments, props, etc. Our band really has some significant needs now (number of students has outgrown the bandhall which is showing it's age and needs uniform and instrument replacement) and these fees could go higher in the future.

Our band is 190 strong and has had straight superiors since the 1980s. If we had more $$ (isn't that the way it is about everything), they could do so much more.

Just wondering what others do and what kind of support the district and outside sources help...