February 25, 2024 Band Notes

CRCBF Set Up 2:45-6:00pm
Marching Band School Fee #1 Due, $400 via EZ Pay or check to Mason City Schools
Deadline For Booster Executive Committee Candidates To Submit Intention To Run; Please Submit To secretary@masonbandboosters.com.

Needed: Candidate For VP Of Fundraising

Saturday, March 2

Competitive Winter Guard Camp 11-9pm; MHS Gym

Rehearsal 11-2pm; Off Campus Break 2-5pm; Rehearsal 5-9pm

Cincinnati Regional Concert Band Festival; Details and Schedules Below

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

Parent To Do Checklist For This Week

Please sign up to volunteer for the Concert Festival on March 2nd. (details below)
Fill out Marching Band Commitment and Financial Agreement by TONIGHT. Please see details below.
Pay Marching Band School Fee #1 Due March 1st, $400 via EZ Pay or check to Mason City Schools. (Please be sure you select the correct payment dates for the 2024 marching band season.)
Please consider running for a band booster Executive Committee position or becoming a committee chair. We are especially looking for someone to run for the VP of Fundraising role. Must submit intention to run by March 1st to secretary@masonbandboosters.com. Additional details in previous band notes.
Save the date: Booster Meeting, March 12th 7pm; HS Large Commons

NEW INFORMATION

2024 Marching Band Next Steps

It’s hard to believe that little over a month and a half ago, the William Mason High School Marching Band marched 5.5 miles down Colorado Blvd in the Rose Parade in front of hundreds of thousands of people live and millions more on TV. Not only was that experience amazing to perform, but the trip itself was a highlight for many of our band students. These social experiences coupled with the high standards of a nationally competitive group make the Marching Band a unique and special activity at Mason High School.

Now is the time we start building the 2024 version of the William Mason High School Marching Band, and the future is exciting! Sign ups are beginning now, and below is the first form to complete!

Marching Band Registration Next Steps

Due Tonight: 2024 MARCHING BAND COMMITMENT & FINANCIAL AGREEMENT
March 1st: Marching Band School Fee #1 Due, $400 via EZ Pay or check to Mason City Schools
March 12th: Marching Band Booster Meeting 7pm

See Mr. Sleppy’s email message for more information on 2024 Season!

Enchanted Promises Uniforms On Sale

Students in the 2023 Marching Band have the option to purchase their uniform from this past marching band season. This is not required, and optional for families that would like to purchase their uniform as a keepsake. The DUE DATE to order is March 3rd. Please see the order form link for additional information.

CLICK HERE FOR ORDER FORM

Save The Date: Booster Meeting March 12th

Please join us for our upcoming booster meeting on March 12th at 7pm in the High School Large Commons. We will be introducing our Executive Committee candidates for the 2024/2025 school year, explaining all the steps involved in the marching band registration process, and much more.

Congratulations To Our Competitive Winter Guard!

Congratulations to the Mason High School Winter Guard on a fantastic Prelims performance yesterday and a wonderful Finals performance today! For the first time in school history, the team placed 2nd in finals with a score of 81.1 in the Chicago Scholastic Open Class Regional Competition. We are beyond excited and proud of all of you!

Wonderful Performance By The Wind Symphony!

Our very own Wind Symphony put on a beautiful performance this past Friday at the University of Cincinnati! We are appreciative that UC’s College-Conservatory of Music shared their stage with our students. It was a wonderful evening showcasing the talents of both our Wind Symphony and the incredibly gifted students of CCM.

The program can be found HERE.

Photos from the evening can be found HERE. (If you need the password, please contact smugmug@masonbandboosters.com.)

New System To Replace Charms

Charms, the system we utilize for student data, communication, inventory tracking, and volunteer sign-ups, and much more, has been bought out by a new company. Our current contract with Charms will end on May 3rd. Booster leaders and the band directors are working to transition the band to a new system. This means that some aspects of the registration process for both the marching band and the concert bands will be different for this upcoming school year. It may also impact students currently enrolled including Seniors. It is yet to be determined if current students will need to take steps in order to continue to receive communication from the band through the end of this school year. It will be critical that EVERY band family reads all upcoming communication very carefully. This will ensure everyone understands and completes all relevant action steps in a timely manner. More details and an announcement of what system we will be using is coming soon once we have made our final selection.

If you are a committee leader and utilize Charms in any way, please feel free to contact Kim Bishop at secretary@masonbandboosters.com with any questions or concerns. Please also let her know if you have any volunteer sign-up needs this Spring so we can plan accordingly.

REMINDERS

Concert Band Festival March 2nd- We Still Need Volunteers!

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.

CLICK HERE FOR STUDENT ITINERARIES BY BAND CLASS

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.

Volunteers

Student Volunteers-As hosts of the festival, we ask all Mason Band students to volunteer in some capacity during the day. This date and volunteer requirement was included on the student dates contract provided in August. Students are welcome to work as many shifts as they would like, and these CAN count as service hours for Wind Symphony Honors Credit, NHS or any other organization that requires service hours. Make sure your volunteer shift does not conflict with your performance time (see below)

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 No time to shop? We will do the shopping for you. Donate at the link above to help fund our hospitality donations.

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 including the event schedule can be found on the Mason Band website HERE. The 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

Schedule of Mason Band Performances

See link above for full student itineraries

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

Concerto Competition

All Wind Symphony members interested in participating in our annual Concerto Competition should fill out THIS FORM. Concerto Competition participants will perform a panel of judges. The first place winner will be given the opportunity to perform with Wind Symphony accompaniment at the spring concert. The second place musician will perform at the concert with piano accompaniment.

Music For All Summer Symposium

Music for All has a fantastic Summer Symposium Camp! They offer camps for marching band, drum majors, color guard, concert band, percussion and several other camp tracks. Mr. Jackson and Mr. Hinson will both be two of the camp instructors for the marching band track this summer.

If you are interested in attending the camp, Music For All offers several scholarships based on merit and financial need. Most of the scholarships require both an essay and a director recommendation. Reach out to a director if you need a recommendation for your application. Scholarship Info: CLICK HERE