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)