April Events
Band Placements
Jazz Band schedule
Drumline – Battery & Frontline Group Auditions
Drum Major audition
Section Leader Prep
PABC Garage Sale
May Events
Awards Concert
Large Group Contest
Wind Symphony Elementary Tour
Summer and next school year
2025-2026 Calendar
All-State Band & SCIBA Honor Band Audition
Summer Lessons
Performing Arts Booster Club Meetings
Band Placements
Students in grades 8-11 are completing band placements for next year. These should be completed on or before Friday April 11th. Once completed, next year’s Three Concert Bands will be posted. Members of next year’s Wind Symphony will perform for commencement on May 22nd. A complete roster will be posted after band placements are complete.
Jazz Band
With Marching Band related activities this week and next, Jazz Band rehearsal has been altered:
Tuesday morning: Jazz 2 and Jazz 3 will rehearse
Tuesday evening: NO Jazz 1: April 8, 15, and 22
Wednesday morning: Jazz 1 and Jazz 2 will rehearse
Thursday morning: NO Jazz April 10 and 17
Friday morning: NO Jazz April 11 and 18
Directors will be communicating more information in rehearsals or via email.
Drumline – Battery & Frontline Group Auditions
Battery & Frontline Group Auditions (6-7:30 pm)
Tuesday, April 8th
Tuesday, April 15th
Tuesday, April 22nd
EVERYONE should prepare all exercises in this packet for auditions.
BRING: Music (audition packet), earplugs, and a positive attitude!
You will not be allowed to participate in the audition process without earplugs. We have earplugs for you to use but we ask that you keep them safe and clean to use for multiple rehearsals.
Drum Major auditions
We’ve had some great prep sessions and now we’re ready to see quality conducting and voice commands from students that have elected to audition this Thursday, April 10.
Section Leader prep session
Students interested in applying for Section Leader next season must attend all three sessions on Friday April 11, Thursday 17, and Friday 18 from 7:00 to 7:50 a.m.
PABC Garage Sale – April 12th
8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
The Band Department is excited to team up with the Vocal and Drama Departments in order to host the UHS Performing Arts Garage Sale! The event will take place in the UHS Commons from 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM. We need your help in three ways: volunteering, donations, and shopping.
Families, the Performing Arts Booster Club Garage Sale is this week, and we still need a LOT of help with volunteering with both preparations on Friday, April 11, and with the sale itself on Saturday, April 12. Please visit https://signup.com/go/FCffOuA and find somewhere that you can help! Proceeds from the sale benefit ALL Performing Arts at Urbandale — Band, Vocal, and Theater/Speech!
Also please consider things that you might be able to dig out to donate for the sale. For more details on accepted/not accepted items, dropoff times, large item pickup, etc., please refer to https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NzOIoF6Sbvy-8usBPEnjKLybtHkrrDjeloc7qBXAY_E/edit?usp=sharing
And finally… plan on coming to shop from 8:00 AM-2:00 PM on Saturday, April 12!
Thanks for helping to make this event a big success!!
Awards Concert
Monday, May 5 – 7:00 PM — Student Call Time: 6:20 PM
We look forward to seeing band families at our final home concert band performance of the season. Seniors! Our Awards Concert on Monday May 5 will feature the Senior Photo/Baby Photo video. Send your name, senior photo, and baby photo to Miley Seliquini by Monday April 28 to be included. PAC concerts can be live-streamed: http://www.j-hawks.com/live
State Large Group Festival
Saturday, May 10th – Ankeny/Ankeny Centennial
Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble and Wind Symphony will perform at the Iowa High School State Large Group Festival to be held at Ankeny/Ankeny Centennial High School on Saturday, May 4. More information will be communicated in the May Newsletter.
Wind Symphony Elementary Tour
On May 15th, the Urbandale Wind Symphony will tour elementary schools throughout UCSD in order to perform and demonstrate instruments for next year’s 5th grade class. The Wind Symphony will feature soloists to introduce each instrument and perform a short concert at each school. We are excited to perform and encourage band enrollment within UCSD!
Dates for Summer 2024-25
| Summer Schedule | |||
| Attendance expectations: During July, students who are in town are expected to attend rehearsals. Please communicate with jobs/schedulers accordingly. Students who are on family vacation or or are out of town are not expected to alter their travel plans. Beginning in August, attendance at all camp rehearsals is expected and necessary for students and the ensemble to succeed. | |||
| June 17 | Optional (Highly Encouraged) Marching Band Music Rehearsal: 5:00pm – 7:00pm | All Members | UHS Band Room |
| June 24 | Optional (Highly Encouraged) Marching Band Music Rehearsal: 5:00pm – 7:00pm | All Members | UHS Band Room |
| July 1 | Percussion Rehearsal: 9:00 – 12:00 p.m. | All Percussion Members | UHS Band Room |
| Leadership Session #1: 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. | Leadership Team | UHS Band Room | |
| New Marcher Orientation: 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. | New Members & Leaders | Band Room/Stadium | |
| New Band Parent Meeting: 5:30 p.m. | New Band Parents/Members | UHS Band Room | |
| July 2 | Percussion Rehearsal: 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. | All Percussion Members | UHS Band Room |
| Marching Band Rehearsal: 9:00 a.m. – noon | All Members | Band Room/Stadium | |
| July 3 | Percussion Rehearsal: 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. | All Percussion Members | UHS Band Room |
| Marching Band Rehearsal: 9:00 a.m. – noon | All Members | Band Room/Stadium | |
| July 4 | Urbandale Independence Day Parade: 8:00 a.m. | All Members | UHS Band Room |
| Attendance Expectations: Students who elect to be in band are expected to attend all events according to the following calendar.° | |||
| Band Camp | |||
| Date | Event | Participants | Location |
| August 4 | Leadership Session #2 w/seniors: 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. | Leadership Team | Band Room |
| Band Camp Orientation: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | New Members & Leaders | Band Room/Stadium | |
| August 5 | Band Camp Rehearsal: 8:00 – 11:30 p.m.; 12:30 – 3:00 p.m. | All Members | Band Room/Stadium |
| August 6 | Band Camp Rehearsal: 8:00 – 11:30 p.m.; 12:30 – 3:00 p.m. | All Members | Band Room/Stadium |
| August 7 | Band Camp Rehearsal: 8:00 – 11:30 p.m.; 12:30 – 3:00 p.m. | All Members | Band Room/Stadium |
| August 8 | Band Camp Rehearsal: 8:00 – 11:30 a.m. | All Members | Band Room/Stadium |
| Band Camp Rehearsal: 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. | All Members | Band Room/Stadium | |
| Capture The Flag 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. | All Members | Stadium | |
| August 9 | Uniform Fitting: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. | All Members | UHS Band Room |
| August 11 | Band Camp Rehearsal: 8:00 – 11:30 p.m.; 12:30 – 3:00 p.m. | All Members | Stadium |
| August 12 | Band Camp Rehearsal: 8:00 – 11:30 p.m.; 12:30 – 3:00 p.m. | All Members | Stadium |
| August 13 | Band Camp Rehearsal: 8:00 – 11:30 p.m.; 12:30 – 3:00 p.m. | All Members | Stadium |
| August 14 | Band Camp Rehearsal: 8:00 – 11:30 p.m.; 12:30 – 3:00 p.m. | All Members | Stadium |
| August 15 | Band Camp Rehearsal: 8:00 – 11:30 a.m. | All Members | Stadium |
| Friday Night Lights – 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. | All Members | Stadium | |
As a reminder, you can subscribe to the J-Hawk Band Calendar electronically using this link:
https://www.google.com/calendar/ical/i7d3csg6oincr3dnp1gqklh97k%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
We are still waiting on next year’s Football schedule to be released before updating our Fall Schedule. Details will be added soon.
The 4th of July Parade
The community has long enjoyed the UHS Band students’ participation in the Independence Day Parade. Please mark your calendars so band students will be available to provide this great service to our community on Friday, July 4th. Students will be involved from approximately 8:00 a.m. to Noon. We hope to see you along the route cheering on the band as they perform for you and the whole community of Urbandale!
All-State Band and SCIBA Honor Band audition
We always want to set students up for success. Students interested in auditioning for SCIBA Honor Band must also audition for All-State and attend the weekly after-school prep sessions. Students that are the most prepared have the strongest chance of a favorable outcome. If a student is choosing to audition for All-State Vocal, the instrumental audition must be done independently with a director.
Summer Lessons
Summer is a great time for students to get connected with the Metro’s best musicians for lessons. Many private instructors have started in-person lessons once again. Students (and their parents) who are interested in connecting with private teachers this summer should visit with any of the band staff for contact information of the best local pro’s on each instrument.
Performing Arts Booster Club Meetings
Any member of the UHS Performing Arts community with an interest in seeing our programs succeed is invited to attend meetings of the Performing Arts Booster Club. The next meeting is May 27. All of these meetings will be at 7:00 pm in the Media Center at UHS. You can also keep connected with the Performing Arts Booster Club via Facebook,