H

Weekly News

* Graduation, May 19, 7:00 PM.  The HHS Concert Band will be participating in the graduation ceremony Tuesday evening.  Students should be dropped off at Allen Arena by 4:00 PM dressed and ready to play. (See note below for more information.)

Details regarding graduation may change;  we will try to get word out ASAP.

* PayPal now accepted! Band fees can now be paid by using PayPal.  Don't forget donations!  We have a place for that now, too.  Visit the HHS Band website at www.hillwoodband.com to see (and use) them.

* FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITIES:
     1) Kroger cards (ongoing; contact Mrs. Marcie Allen)
     2) Central Parking (ongoing; contact parking@hillwoodband.com)

From Mr. Chester and Mr. Shepherd:

Graduation Gig Sheet Information, Tuesday May 19:

Emergency Contact Number: 615.308.6098 (Michael Chester - Cell) if you do not reach me, please leave a voice mail with a phone number so that I may call you back.

Call time: 4:00 PM dressed and ready to play

Location: Lipscomb University - Allen Arena

Dress Code: - Semi Casual - Men - Dress shoes (NO TENNIS SHOES), slacks, long sleeve button down shirts, tie - jacket optional.  Ladies - dress (must be ankle length) or dress pants and blouse or dress pants suit or ankle length skirt and blouse, dress shoes (No FLIP FLOPS or House Shoes).

Graduation Start Time: 6:00 PM

Estimated End Time: 8:00 PM

Dismissal will be immediately following the graduation ceremony. Students should be picked up outside Allen Arena

Senior Band Members:

Since band auditions a couple of weeks ago, I have been working on gathering and updating band member information and thinking about next year's newsletters and trying to keep up with end of year events.  But here is one thing I have been avoiding: thinking about what to say in your last newsletter.

The May calendar (below) has been getting shorter and shorter. There will be no more gig sheets attached to emails to look for, no more parent commentary from marching season. This is your last "weekly news" email.

But we won't soon forget about you! We've talked about keeping in touch with our alumni.  I have email addresses going back 3 years and Mr. Chester has names going back further than that. (And I'll be remiss if I don't mention our now-parents who were Hillwood Band members and now alumni!)

So, though I haven't been thinking about your "last" weekly newsletter, I will begin thinking about your new alumni newsletters.  They won't be weekly, and they won't be weekly updates, but they will come.  Please look for them in a couple of months.

Best wishes-
Cindy Franco, Co-Vice President Media and Community Relations

May Calendar:

May 17 (Sun)

- HHS Baccalaureate

May 19 (Tue)

- HHS Graduation; Lipscomb Allen Arena

May 21 (Thu)

- Nashville Symphony/Curb Youth Symphony concert (7:30 PM)

H

Weekly News

* Spring Concert Friday, May 15, 7:00 PM.  The Spring Concert will be held Friday evening in the Hillwood High School Auditorium. Come listen to the Concert Band, the Jazz Band, and the Percussion Ensemble.  These students have worked very hard to put this performance together.

A brief Band Booster meeting will be held during the 25 minute intermission/set change. Next year's budget will be discussed.

See note below for call time and uniform information.

*Annual Band Banquet to be held Saturday, May 16 6:00 - 8:00 PM. The annual Band Banquet has been set and will be the evening of May 16 at the Holiday Inn-Vanderbilt.  (Doors will open at 5:30 PM.)  Tickets ARE required.

* Graduation Participation for the Band. Participation in the graduation ceremony is still being finalized. Final announcements will be made Friday at the concert.

* Parking Opportunity: Summer Calendar Now Available. The summer calendar has been distributed.  This is an easy way to pay your band fees.

If you are interested in working, please send an email to parking@hillwoodband.com. 

* PayPal now accepted! Band fees can now be paid by using PayPal.  Don't forget donations!  We have a place for that now, too.  Visit the HHS Band website at www.hillwoodband.com to see (and use) them.

* FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITIES:
     1) Kroger cards (ongoing; contact Mrs. Marcie Allen)
     2) Central Parking (ongoing; contact parking@hillwoodband.com)

From Mr. Chester and Mr. Shepherd:

Call time for concert on May 15th - 5:30 PM dressed and ready to play.

Location: Hillwood High School Auditorium

Concert Dress: - Semi Casual - Men - Dress shoes (NO TENNIS SHOES), slacks, long sleeve button down shirts, tie - jacket optional.  Ladies - dress (must be ankle length) or dress pants and blouse or dress pants suit or ankle length skirt and blouse, dress shoes (No FLIP FLOPS or House Shoes).

Concert Start Time: 7:00 PM

Jazz Concert will start about 25 minutes or so after. 

Your 2009-2010 Hillwood Band Boosters Board of Directors:

President - Gail Reeder
Treasurer - Jody Gregory
Secretary - Cindy Smith
VP of Media and Community Relations - Cindy Franco and Shirley Dansby
VP of Ways and Means - Andi DeJarnette and Lisa Willoughby
VP of Transportation and Logistics - Maria Carter
VP of Student Services - Fareeba Rafipour
VP of Uniform Maintenance - Alice Craft
Parliamentarian - open

May Calendar:

May 11 (Mon)

- AP Music Theory Test

May 13 (Wed)

- Jazz Band Rehearsal (3:00 PM - 5:00 PM)

May 15 (Fri)

- HHS Band Spring Concert (7:30 PM)

May 16 (Sat)

- Band Banquet (6:00 PM; doors open at 5:30 PM)

May 17 (Sun)

- HHS Baccalaureate

May 19 (Tue)

- HHS Graduation; Lipscomb Allen Arena

May 21 (Thu)

- Nashville Symphony/Curb Youth Symphony concert (7:30 PM)

H

Weekly News Update

* Competitive Marching Band and Concert Band Auditions to be held Saturday, May 9, 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM.  Auditions for the 2009-2010 Hillwood High School Competitive Marching Band will be held Saturday, May 9th in the Hillwood High School auditorium lobby.  Any and all students wishing to participate need to be present. There will be a parent meeting at 8:00 PM. Please see note below for more information. 

* Steeplechase Fundraiser Opportunity Tomorrow.  In case you missed it, a copy of the email Cindy Smith sent out this morning is included below.

*Annual Band Banquet to be held Saturday, May 16, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. The annual Band Banquet has been set and will be the evening of May 16 at the Holiday Inn-Vanderbilt.  (Doors will open at 5:30 PM.)  Tickets ARE required and cost $12.50 per person; children 5 years old and under are free.

Tickets can be purchased from Mrs. Reeder or Mr. Chester.  There are still plenty of tickets, but they will be ONLY BE SOLD UNTIL Friday, May 8!

* Parking Opportunity: 2009 CMA Music Festival (formerly known as FAN FAIR). Many more opportunities will come, but this is the next big one.  If you are interested in working, please send an email to parking@hillwoodband.com with the dates and times you are willing to work. 

   - June 11 through June 14
   - 8:00 am - 8:00 pm 
   - 4 hour blocks with no limit on how many hours you can work
   - $8.50 PER HOUR
   - LP FIELD (lot A)

* PayPal now accepted! Band fees can now be paid by using PayPal.  Don't forget donations!  We have a place for that now, too.  Visit the HHS Band website at www.hillwoodband.com to see (and use) them.

* FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITIES:
     1) Kroger cards (ongoing; contact Mrs. Marcie Allen)
     2) Central Parking (ongoing; contact parking@hillwoodband.com)
     3) Steeple Chase (information coming)

From Mr. Chester and Mr. Shepherd:

Just a reminder that the auditions for the competitive marching band and concert band will be held at Hillwood High School on Saturday, May 9th.  Registration will take place at 5:30 PM in the auditorium lobby.  Students can be dropped off but please make sure they have the following:

-  $25.00 for audition fees (Checks made payable to the Hillwood Band Boosters; if you would like to use your positive band account balance, you will need to submit authorization in writing as you would cash or check. )

-  Comfortable clothing and tennis shoes (no flip flops or house shoes)

-  Instrument (Those auditioning for percussion will need to have sticks and/or mallets; percussion equipment will be furnished.  Those auditioning for color guard will have equipment provided.)

-  Current mailing address, parent email address, student email address, parent home and cell phone numbers and student cell phone number

After registration and introductions, the students will break out into their section for the duration of the evening.  We will then reconvene at around 7:45 PM to perform in show and tell.  This will give everyone a chance to see what the other sections have worked on during the camp. 

At 8:00 PM students will then be treated to our signature Hillwood High School Band Hospitality.  We will have hamburgers and hotdogs grilled and students will be able to meet and greet as future band members.  Additionally, we will have a parents meeting in the auditorium to give an overview of the program and to answer any questions about the season.  We will end at or before 8:30 where the students will be dismissed.  Auditions for field conductor will then take place at 8:35 and end at 9:00 PM.

If there is an unforeseen conflict please contact me as soon as possible at michael.chester@mnps.org .  We will need to finalize our drill spots for the 2009-2010 school year and we can arrange a private audition. (Thanks to those of you who have already contacted me.)

Thank you so much for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you at our auditions!

Warmest Regards,
Michael Chester
Director of Bands,
Hillwood High School

From Cindy Smith:

Hello everyone,

The Steeplechase will definitely go on Saturday, May 9th rain or shine.  We will need to report at 8:30 am in Lot 7, not where we park cars, but the field next to it.  We will walk over the bridge to the top half of Lot 7.  Half of us are again directing parking of cars in Field 7.  The other half will be working in Lot T parking cars.  Lot T is over by the ball fields on Vaughn Road.

The fields we are working in will be muddy!  Wear galoshes or shoes that will protect your feet.  Your feet will get wet!  Also, right now we have a 60% chance of rain--bring a poncho to help you stay dry.  We may also have peeks of sun.  Bring sunscreen in case.  There also may be bugs.  Bring repellant if you are sensitive.

We will have lunch provided by Swanky's Taco House.

I have t-shirts and volunteer wristbands for you that I will bring to school on Friday for the students.  You must wear these shirts on Saturday.

Remember, if asked, every student working is at least 16.

This event is promoted as a volunteer assignment, but remember, our band gets $2,250 in fair share money for this.  It is a job and I need all students to act responsibly.  We are not there for fun, we are there to work.  Please act accordingly.  Do not embarrass your band or yourself.

If there are any changes, and there still may be, I will let you know.  If you have any questions, please call me at 352-2070 or email me.

See you Saturday.
Cindy

May Calendar:

May 9 (Sat)

- Steeplechase Fundraiser (all day)

- HHS Marching Band auditions (evening)

May 11 (Mon)

- AP Music Theory Test

May 13 (Wed)

- Jazz Band Rehearsal (3:00 PM - 5:00 PM)

May 15 (Fri)

- HHS Band Spring Concert (7:30 PM)

May 16 (Sat)

- Band Banquet (6:00 PM; doors open at 5:30 PM)

May 17 (Sun)

- HHS Baccalaureate

May 19 (Tue)

- HHS Graduation; Lipscomb Allen Arena

May 21 (Thu)

- Nashville Symphony/Curb Youth Symphony concert (7:30 PM)

H

Weekly News

* Band Booster Meeting Tuesday, May 5 at 6:30 PM. The general board meeting will begin at 6:30 PM in the main rehearsal hall.  (The executive board will meet at 5:30 PM.)

* Competitive Marching Band and Concert Band Auditions to be held the evening of Saturday, May 9.  Auditions for the Hillwood High School Competitive Marching Band will be held Saturday, May 9th in the Hillwood High School auditorium lobby.  Please see note below for more information.  Any and all students wishing to participate need to be present.

*Annual Band Banquet to be held Saturday, May 16, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM. The annual Band Banquet has been set and will be the evening of May 16 at the Holiday Inn-Vanderbilt.  (Doors will open at 5:30 PM.)  Tickets ARE required and cost $12.50 per person; children 5 years old and under are free.

Tickets can be purchased from Mrs. Reeder or Mr. Chester.  There are still plenty of tickets, but they will be ONLY BE SOLD UNTIL Friday, May 8!

* Parking Opportunity: 2009 CMA Music Festival (formally known as FAN FAIR). Many more opportunities will come, but this is the next big one.  If you are interested in working, please send an email to parking@hillwoodband.com with the dates and times you are willing to work. 

   - June 11 through June 14
   - 8:00 am - 8:00 pm 
   - 4 hour blocks with no limit on how many hours you can work
   - $8.50 PER HOUR
   - LP FIELD (lot A)

* PayPal now accepted! Band fees can now be paid by using PayPal.  Don't forget donations!  We have a place for that now, too.  Visit the HHS Band website at www.hillwoodband.com to see (and use) them.

* FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITIES:
     1) Kroger cards (ongoing; contact Mrs. Marcie Allen)
     2) Central Parking (ongoing; contact parking@hillwoodband.com)
     3) Steeple Chase (information coming)

From Mr. Chester and Mr. Shepherd:

The Jazz Band is to be commended on a very successful and enjoyable performance at the Murfreesboro "Jazz on the Square" Festival. This was the second consecutive year that our Hillwood jazz group has attended this outdoor, public performance venue. Although it was a dreary day, the organizers of the Festival decided that the show must go on and, as such, moved our performance into the Walnut House Studios near the square. Our band was recorded live with the professional acoustics, equipment, and expertise courtesy of Walnut House Studios. Mr. Karl Wingruber, who has worked with our jazz ensembles in the past, was very complimentary of the students' performance as was the recording engineer behind the board who expressed that he especially liked our last chart, "Get it On," since he is a big Bill Chase fan.

Congratulations, Jazz Band! We have two more very important rehearsals before our final concert of the season on May 15th, where we hope to add even more repertoire to our performance.

Keep working hard!

- Mr. Shepherd and Mr. Chester

Dear Parents and Students,

Auditions will be held for any student currently in grades 8-11 who would like the opportunity to perform with the Hillwood High School competitive marching band and concert band on May 9th, 2009.  Registration will take place in the auditorium lobby of Hillwood High School from 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM.  Please make your student has his/her current address and telephone numbers for parents/guardians and email addresses for themselves and their parents/guardians.

Students will need to bring $25.00 for their audition fee.  This $25.00 will be used for the following:
? To secure a drill spot for the 2009 competitive marching band
? To pay for the students band camp t-shirts and shorts (to be issued before band camp in July)
? To pay for copies of all music and technique packets for the May auditions

Although students often have anxiety about auditions, we will do everything we can to make them feel relaxed and comfortable.  Auditions are our way of being able to gauge each individual student's progress and will help us to make decisions about what music to select for the band program.  The students should think of this as merely an interview and will give us a chance to get to know them better.

 Auditions will consist of:
? Major Scales (do not have to be memorized - percussion will be asked scales and rudiments - do not have to be memorized)
? Sight-reading (individual and group)
? Ability to follow directions
? Positive attitudes

Students will not need to have any prepared solos for this audition.  We ask that the students wear comfortable clothes and tennis shoes as we will be moving around at various points throughout the audition. 

We will also have a parents meeting starting at 8:00 PM.  This will give us a chance to meet with you and talk about all of the exciting things that we have in store for the upcoming season as well as answer any questions that you may have.  Join us for some signature Hillwood High School Band hospitality as we kick off the 2009-2010 season.

If for some reason your child is not able to join us, please contact me at as soon as possible so that we can arrange for a private audition and secure a drill spot.  You can contact me at 615.308.6098 or via email at michael.chester@mnps.org .

 We look forward to meeting with you and your child.

Warmest Regards,
Michael Chester
Music Director and Conductor,
The Hillwood High School Band

May Calendar:

May 4 (Mon)

- Curb Youth Symphony Concert (Blair; 7:30 PM)

May 5 (Tue)

- Band Booster Meeting in the rehearsal hall (6:30 PM)

- Nashville Youth Repertory Concert (Blair; 7:30 PM)

May 6 (Wed)

- Jazz Band Rehearsal (3:00 PM - 5:00 PM)

May 9 (Sat)

- Steeplechase Fundraiser (all day)

- HHS Marching Band auditions (evening)

May 11 (Mon)

- AP Music Theory Test

May 13 (Wed)

- Jazz Band Rehearsal (3:00 PM - 5:00 PM)

May 15 (Fri)

- HHS Band Spring Concert (7:30 PM)

May 16 (Sat)

- Band Banquet (6:00 PM; doors open at 5:30 PM)

May 17 (Sun)

- HHS Baccalaureate

May 19 (Tue)

- HHS Graduation; Lipscomb Allen Arena

May 21 (Thu)

- Nashville Symphony/Curb Youth Symphony concert (7:30 PM)