Hudson Hawk Band Updates
December 2024
Celebrations!
All-District Band Members
Congrats to our 48 band students who earned a chair in one of the GISD All-District Bands! This was the most in the district!
Region Pass-off Party
We enjoyed bowling with students who passed off ALL of their scales and region music within the 1st 6 weeks of school!
All-Region Band Members
Congratulations to our 40 band students who earned a chair in one of the TMEA Region 3 All-Region Bands! This was almost the most in the region for the first time ever!
Thank You!
Thank you to everyone who donated to our Angel Tree donation fund. We were able to "adopt" 5 angels and shopped for them over Thanksgiving Break. Your generosity is so wonderful and we really enjoyed the feeling of knowing we were doing good for others. This is my favorite Hudson Band tradition and I can't wait for it every year!
December Info
VIP Concert Seating Fundraiser
We are holding a VIP Concert Seating fundraiser for our holiday concerts and the funds raised will be directly applied to our percussion ensemble's Music for All trip to Indianapolis. If you would like early access to the auditorium at 5:30pm to choose your seats before doors open to the general public at 5:50pm, fill out the form below. Tickets for VIP seating are $10 each, and are limited to the first 100 seats sold.
If you are one of the first 100 seats sold, you will have early entry through a separate door (communicated at a later date) and will be able to choose your seat early. You will only be allowed entry once your whole party has arrived. The form will be closed for seat reservations once we have sold 100 seats. Your Presto account will be charged for the number of seats you are reserving and the seats MUST be paid for before 12:00pm on the day of the concert.
BEGINNER BAND HOLIDAY CONCERT VIP SEAT REQUEST FORM
Holiday Concert Uniform Requirements
Beginner Band - gray Hudson Band t-shirt, jeans/dark pants (not sweats/joggers), tennis shoes (not Crocs or slides). Festive accessories are encouraged.
Advanced Bands - either long black dress (provided by the band) with flat-soled black dress shoes or black tux pants, red vest, red tie (all provided by the band) with SOLID white button-down collared shirt with SOLID white undershirt and SOLID black dress shoes with tall SOLID black socks. All students have been fitted for their school-issued concert uniform. They will be bringing them home the week of December 9. Please take time to iron as needed and try on in advance!
UNIFORM LAUNDERING INSTRUCTIONS - All concert uniforms are machine washable. They MUST be washed on COLD and HUNG TO DRY! DO NOT PUT ANY PIECE OF THE UNIFORM IN THE DRYER!!!
Wind Symphony Holiday Tour
The Holiday Tour itinerary can be found here with all the details.
Fall Practice Challenge Party
The Fall Practice Challenge is well underway and students should be practicing 5-6 times per week in order to complete the challenge. Find the challenge paper here. It is due on December 17th in order for students to be invited to the Elf Pajama Dodgeball Extravaganza to celebrate achieving this practice goal. Students who complete the challenge will be invited to the party on Thursday, December 19th from 4:15-6:45pm.
Fall Band Fee Payments Due
ALL fall band fees should be paid in full by this Friday, December 6th. Please check your student's Presto account to see outstanding band fee amounts, make online payments, etc. Don't forget about school-owned instrument usage fees if your student is using a school-owned instrument or using them daily as a percussionist. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter!
Jazz Band Rehearsal Schedule
December
6 - Rehearsal
11 - Rehearsal
16 - Rehearsal (During WIN)
17 - Winter Concert
Wind Symphony Percussion Sectionals
Wind Symphony percussionists will begin weekly sectionals with Mrs. Becker for the next 3 Wednesdays (12/4, 12/11, 12/18) from 4:15-5:30pm. We will begin working on Enough for our MFA performance.
Carols on the Square Invitation
Hudson Band students are invited to perform Carols on the Square with Rogers Baptist Church in Downtown Garland. This is completely optional. Details can be found here.
Upcoming Events
Advanced Bands Epic Waters Music Festival
Advanced Band students on this list will participate in the Epic Music Festival at Epic Waters.
Students will need to be at the band hall by 8:00am on this day and will return from the trip before the end of school.
The detailed itinerary for the day can be seen here.
The roster of students attending the trip is subject to change - ALL FALL BAND FEES AND TRIP FEES MUST BE PAID IN FULL BY THIS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6 TO ATTEND THE TRIP.
Tuesday, Dec 10, 2024, 08:00 AM
Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark, Epic Place, Grand Prairie, TX, USA
Beginner Band Rehearsal
ALL Beginner Band students are required to attend this rehearsal in preparation for our holiday concert. A major grade will be given for attendance/rehearsal etiquette. This rehearsal is required and students who do not attend may not be allowed to perform on the concert. Rehearsal will take place in the band hall and will conclude at 5:30pm. Students should be picked up from the back of the school (outside door #11) at 5:30pm on this day.
Thursday, Dec 12, 2024, 04:15 PM
B. G. Hudson Middle School, Hudson Drive, Sachse, TX, USA
GISD All-District Band Clinic/Concert
Students who earned a spot in the All-District Bands after the auditions in November will rehearse together on December 13 & 14, then put on a concert at 4:00pm on Saturday, December 14th. There is no transportation provided for these rehearsals. The detailed information sheet, including uniform requirements, can be found here.
Friday, Dec 13, 2024, 06:30 PM
Lakeview Centennial High School, Hayman Drive, Garland, TX, USA
Beginner Band Holiday Concert
Beginner Band students will stay after school on Monday, December 16th. We will walk as a group over to Sachse HS, rehearse on the stage before the concert, eat a small snack, and perform our concert for friends and families beginning at 6:00pm. Uniform is the gray Hudson Band t-shirt, jeans, and festive accessories. Doors for the concert will open at 5:50pm for friends and families to sit.
This performance is REQUIRED for all Beginner Band students. They will receive 2 major grades for this performance - one for their performance etiquette, and one for their audience etiquette. The Beginner Band will be split in half (to make sure we can fit on the stage at SHS) and will perform the same concert back-to-back. When students are not performing, they are REQUIRED to sit in the audience and watch the other group. The entire concert will conclude by 6:45pm and students will go home with parents from Sachse HS.
Monday, Dec 16, 2024, 06:00 PM
Sachse High School, Miles Road, Sachse, TX, USA
Advanced Band Holiday Concert
All Advanced Band students are required to perform in the holiday concert. Students will need to arrive at Sachse HS at 5:15pm, wearing their concert uniform. The doors will open for family and friend seating at the concert at 5:50pm. Students are required to sit in the audience at watch the other bands when they are not performing. They will receive 2 major grades for the grade - one for their performance etiquette and one for their audience etiquette. The whole concert should conclude by 7:15pm.
Tuesday, Dec 17, 2024, 06:00 PM
Sachse High School, Miles Road, Sachse, TX, USA
Looking Ahead
Planning Ahead for Upcoming Events
Spring Events
January 25 - All-Region clinic/concert for those students who earned a chair after the November auditions
March 1 - Advanced Bands solo & ensemble contest
March 8 - GISD Jazz Festival
March 11 - Advanced Bands Pre-UIL
March 12-15 - Wind Symphony Percussion Music for All trip to Indianapolis
March 29 - Beginner Band solo contest
April 1 & 2 - Advanced Bands UIL evaluation
April 12 - Beginner Band All-Star Auditions
April 29 - Beginner Band after school rehearsal
May 1 - Beginner Band after school rehearsal
May 2 - Advanced Bands Peak Festival & spring trip
May 3 - Beginner Band All-Star clinic/concert for those students who earn a chair after April auditions
May 6 - Beginner Band spring trip to Epic Waters
May 12 - ALL Bands Spring Concert
May 19 - Jazz Band concert
May 20 - Percussion Ensemble concert
Texas Honor Band Contest
This spring, the Wind Symphony will be recording for the Texas Honor Band contest. This is a competition that decides the best band in the state of Texas. We will compete against other CCC middle schools in the region, area, and state. We will be working on very difficult music, will record those pieces multiple times at different performances, and will submit the best recording to the contest. The winning band puts on a concert at the Texas Music Educators Association convention in San Antonio in February of 2026. It can be an intense process, but we believe working through the process will take our students to an even higher level of musicianship.
Fundraising Info
Band Sponsorship Opportunities
It’s not too early to get a jump-start on reaching out to corporate band sponsors! This year we have multiple levels of band sponsorships so potential donors can decide how they would like to support our band. Corporate sponsors in any of the four sponsorship levels will have their business logo included on our band website and in concert programs the entire school year. Feel free to print this flyer about the Hudson Band and the sponsorship levels and reach out to businesses in your community. Have your student ask a band director for copies of the flier too! Feel free to contact me at fundraising@hudsonband.org if you have any questions because I’m excited about fundraising and the opportunities we have this year!
Important Reminders for the Year
Band Events = Clear Bag Policy
GISD VIP Pass for Seniors
Volunteer Application REQUIRED
Music for All National Festival Invitation
After a rigorous judging process, our Wind Symphony Percussion Ensemble has been accepted to perform at the Music for All National Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana in March of 2025. We are thrilled to get to showcase these students on a national stage and can't wait to get started preparing for our performance. You can help by sharing info about our sponsorship levels, participating in fundraisers, and joining us for spirit nights at local restaurants this year. This is a huge honor for our program and excites us for other possible opportunities like this in the future!
Private Lessons Information
The BEST investment you can make for your student's musical education is with PRIVATE LESSONS! We have the most wonderful group of private teachers around who are dedicated to providing quality one-on-one instruction to our students. Most of our teachers have been working with our students already this summer at our camps and have already told me how much they are enjoying getting to know your students. To sign your student up for private lessons, fill out this enrollment form and get it back to us ASAP. The teachers will schedule students as soon as they receive their enrollment form, so be first to get the most desired lesson time! Private lessons are $25 each week, payable directly to the private teacher. If finances are the only thing keeping your student out of lessons, we do have limited scholarship money available to help. This private lesson scholarship application is due Friday, August 23rd. We will issue scholarships at that time to as many students as possible, based on financial need. If you would like to contact the private teacher for your student's instrument, you can find all of our teachers' contact information on this page.
Sectional Schedules for Advanced Bands
Students in the Advanced Bands will begin their biweekly before/after school sectionals the week of August 26th. Sectionals are required and grades will be given during sectionals. Please make arrangements to schedule appointments on the off days or weeks so your student does not miss these important rehearsals. Please see the links below for the sectional schedule for each band.
Lockers & Locks
All band students should now have a band locker issued to them. Band lockers are for storing band instruments and band binders during the school day. We expect all students to take home both their binder and their instrument EVERY DAY because consistent practice is the best way to improve on an instrument. We do have combination locks available to students who request one, but we do not initially issue locks with the lockers. We HIGHLY RECOMMEND students to keep their locker locked all the time. Students are welcome to bring their own locks, however, they are REQUIRED to either share the combination with the band directors or give us a copy of the key. We do our very best to keep things safe, but the best way you can help yourself is to lock your locker and LABEL ALL OF YOUR BAND SUPPLIES!
Advanced Bands Required Supplies
Much like the beginner band year, as students continue with band there are new/different/extra supplies that will be needed. Many of these are the same supplies that we requested for this past year, so if your student will be an 8th grader, they likely already have these supplies. Please make sure your student has these supplies when we start school. The supplies on the list have been linked to Amazon to try and make it super easy for you - just add to cart and check out!
Beginner Band Supply Lists
You can find all of the Beginner Band supply lists for each instrument on our band website. They're found on the handouts page, where there's also a list of our recommended music stores that can help you rent instrument or purchase necessary supplies. Don't wait to get your supplies ordered - it takes a few days for the stores to fill the orders and you don't want your student to miss out on the first sounds of the year with their class!
Presto-Assistant
This year, we will be using a new fine arts management program called Presto. For our returning members, this is replacing Charms. This program allows us to keep track of band finances, inventory, music library, communicate with members, and much more. On Thursday, August 15th, all parents and students should have received a welcome email from Presto with details on how to log in. You will be able to see upcoming events, outstanding balances, make online payments, keep track of your student's school-owned uniforms and inventory, etc. We believe this system to be much more user friendly than Charms and are excited to transition to this new program!
You can watch a quick tutorial video below!
Join Groups on the Band App
Amazon Wish List & Donations
- Reams of copy paper
- Cases of bottled water
- Puppy pads (for emptying spit valves and saving the carpet)
- Candy/Stickers/Trinkets (to use as student incentives)
Communication Changes
As many of you can probably relate to, I have become a bit overwhelmed by the amount of communication forms we are using. I have made some changes to my own notification settings on the apps. If you send me a message in Talking Points, you will notice an automatic message that lets you know your message has been received, but will be responded to on a school day during the hours of 8am-5pm. The same will happen to messages send on the Band app. The great thing about the Band app is that other parents and students have the ability to comment and answer questions as well (and I hope you all will chime in when you know the answers to questions that are being asked there).
The best way to contact the band directors is through email. Please know that we team-teach our classes and each of us only has one 45-minute conference period each day. If you haven't received a response to your message within 48 hours, please message us again. We all strive to respond within 24 hours, but that isn't always realistic. We are all setting boundaries to leave work at work (as much as possible), so we can be more present for our families at home. We spend many extra hours and days with your students, who we love, but our families must come first. Thank you so much for your understanding and for showing us grace as we put these boundaries in place.
For the remainder of this year, we will continue to share information through email (in both Presto and Skyward), post on Canvas and Skyward, and send through Talking Points and the Band app. At the end of the year, we will likely send out a survey to find out which form of communication works best for you. Our hope in the future is that we can simplify our processes and make our communication easier for everyone!
About Us
Dan Urban - Assistant Director
Ryan Neff - Assistant Director
Sue Manaois - Percussion Director
Website: www.hudsonband.org
Phone: 972-675-3070 ext. 52218
Facebook: facebook.com/hudsonmsband
Instagram: instagram.com/hudsonhawkband