Hi Everyone Some folks have already been emailing me about Band Camp dates for the end of this summer.  First off, let me thank those of you who take this into consideration when planning your summer.  I greatly appreciate it! Band Camp will be August 13-17 (Monday-Friday) from 9am to 4pm with an additional day just for Drumline August 11 (Saturday) from 9am to 4pm. For those who are interested (or planning WAY in advance), our band camp always falls the week before fall sports start (with the exception of football, which starts the Wednesday of Band Camp).  If you’re interested in finding these dates you can always visit the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) website at www.wiaa.com and select a fall sport to… Read More »Band Camp 2018 Dates

Dear Band Students and Parents, We are about 3.5 months from our band performance tour to Southern California!  The trip is May 23-27. Please remember that all trip balances must be paid in full no later than March 23.  Please contact Educational Discovery Tours at 1-800-544-4723 or at www.educationaldiscoverytours.com for questions about balances or payments.  As of this email, several travelers have only paid the $200 deposit and nothing more.  While this is completely fine and allowable, please make sure you are making preparations to be paid in full by the due date. Still want to travel with us?  We still have room!  Please follow this link to view the paperwork and send a registration form and deposit directly to EDT. Cancellations:  If you are no longer planning on… Read More »Important Band Trip Information

This is a reminder that our annual Master Classes are coming up. The first of these classes is on Saturday, February 10 and the second will be on Saturday, March 3. Both dates were included on the calendar distributed to students at the end of last year as well as in the handbook distributed in September, and both events are a required portion of being in band. Keep in mind that these are two separate events, so students need to attend both dates. On each day, students will get the opportunity to work in their sections with a professional musician on their instrument. These sessions will focus on refining technique overall, and more specifically help students with improving their current… Read More »Master Classes Are Coming Up!

Dear Students, It’s that time of year where we start thinking about auditions for county, state, and regional honor bands.  We have a core group of students who are very enthusiastic toward honor bands, but many students either don’t know about honor band opportunities or are apprehensive about preparing an audition.  While honor band auditions are certainly optional (not graded), everyone in band should consider challenging themselves to complete an audition.  I STRONGLY urge Wind Ensemble members (and percussionists who play with Wind Ensemble) and upperclassmen to prepare and submit at least one audition. Honor bands are a fantastic way to challenge your own abilities, meet music students from outside of Hockinson, get introduced to world-renowned composers/conductors/professors, add items of distinction to… Read More »Apply For An Honor Band!

Dear HHS Band Students and Parents, As most of you know, we use an online data management program called Charms Office for much of the administrative work involved with the band and the music boosters.  Everything from communication to fundraising to instrument rentals is handled though Charms.  It’s the system I’m using right now to email you!  Every student has their own Charms account. Over the weekend, a glitch in the Charms system resulted in some students’ profiles being deleted.  I’ve done my best working with Charms tech support to restore the affected profiles, but we’re noticing that some data has been permanently lost. Because of this, I am asking that all students and parents take a moment to log… Read More »ACTION REQUIRED: Charms Glitch