March Events

Perry Band Olympics Results
Concert Band & Percussion Ensemble concert
Concert Attire
Hoover Jazz Fest & Waukee North West Blue Note Jazz Festival
Band Placement
Senior Photo Video
Summer Dates to add to your calendar
Drum Major auditions
Section Leader auditions
Marching Band Percussion auditions
Sticks and Mallets
PABC Garage Sale
Civic Center Scholarships

 

Perry Band Olympics Results
On February 17, 2024, Urbandale High School Instrumental Music Department entered 81 events into the Perry Band Olympics Solo & Small Ensemble Contest.  Results can be viewed here.

Concert Band Concert
Friday, March 1, 2024.
7:00 PM

This concert will feature both UHS concert bands and both Percussion Ensembles.
Call time for students is 6:20 p.m. for a 6:30 p.m. warm-up.
Tickets must be purchased in advance at: https://www.j-hawks.com/tickets.  The concert will be live streamed at: www.j-hawks.com/live

•Everyone helps clear the stage, dismissed when everything is put away

Students must be wearing appropriate concert attire in order to perform.  Many area schools have purchased long black gowns for the women and tuxedos for the men. We have chosen to give students some liberty in their choice of clothing for their concerts. However, in order to maintain the appropriate decorum in the formal concerts, we ask that all members of the J-Hawk Bands follow these guidelines when choosing their concert attire.

Suit option:
Black dress shirt with collar and tie based in royal blue.
Black dress pants (suitable for a crease in front) and black belt (exclude cargo pants, denim, corduroy, etc.)
Black dress shoes with black socks (suitable for polishing; exclude athletic shoes and socks, sandals, flip-flops, or other casual footwear)
Black suit or sport coat optional but recommended (if wearing a suit, you may substitute a white dress shirt)

Dress option:
Floor length black dress with sleeves or floor length black skirt with black blouse
Optional accent accessories should be royal blue (such as a scarf or head band)
Black dress shoes (Color: flat black close-toed and flat heel with skin-toned hose.
Exclude athletic shoes and socks, sandals, flip-flops, or other casual footwear.
Proper decorum for formal concerts is that no skin is showing from shoulders to the floor.

 

Hoover Jazz Festival
Saturday, March 2, 2024 (Morning)
Hoover High School
4800 NW Aurora Ave., Des Moines, IA 50310

Students in Jazz I will perform in the morning at the Hoover Jazz Festival on Saturday, March 2.
Hoover Jazz Itinerary March 2024
Hoover Arrival Map
Admission for the festival is $8

North West Blue Note Jazz Festival
Saturday, March 2, 2024 (Afternoon & Evening)
Northwest High School
655 NW 10th Street Waukee, IA 50263

Jazz I, II, and III will perform at Waukee North West Blue Note Jazz Festival on Saturday, March 2
North West Blue Note Jazz Intinerary.
Spectators should plan to park in the parking lot immediately south of the school, east of the stadium. This lot can be accessed from NW Sunrise Drive, which runs between 6th and 10th streets on the south side of the school.  Admission for the festival is $10 for adults and $5 for K-12 students. Tickets may be purchased at the door with a credit card, but spectators are encouraged to pre-order their tickets by going to https://www.vancoevents.com/us/CGJK. Please note: cash is not accepted for events at Northwest High School.  More information can be found at the festival website here.

 

Band Placements
Students should be practicing feverishly for 2024-25 band placements, which will take place in lessons from March 25 – April 5, 2024.  Students will be evaluated on scales, music reading skills, tone quality and technique, and history of attendance, attitude, etc. Exact band requirements can be found here.

Senior Video
Seniors!  Our Awards Concert on Monday April 29 will feature the Senior Photo/Baby Photo video.  Send your name, senior photo, and baby photo to Alli Ternes by Monday April 15 to be included.

 

Dates for Summer and Fall 2024
Rehearsals for the 4th of July Parade will take place on July 1, 2, and 3 with the parade on July 4.

Band Camp will take place from August 5 – 16, 2024. Attendance at camp is vital to students’ feelings of success and the band’s quality of performance. Make plans to be home during the camp dates.

We are working on next year’s official calendar of events and hope to have that ready in April. More specifics about summer practices and rehearsal dates will be included in the full calendar at that time.

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

 

2024-25 Drum Major Auditions
Drum Major Prep Sessions – March 21 and 28 at 7:00 a.m. in rm. 511.
Auditions will be held April 4. Students will sign up for a specific time.

Audition Materials:
– Vocal Commands (Attention and Mark Time)
– Four Progressive Conducting Exercises (100 BPM)
– Conduct National Anthem + School Song
– Interview With Directors
*Drum majors are required to audition for All State or SCIBA honor band in the fall.They must attend the All State mock auditions in order to continue improving throughout the marching season.

2024-25 Section Leader Auditions
Any student interested in becoming a section leader must attend all three sessions on March 22, 29, and April 5.

Audition Materials:
– Vocal Commands (Attention and Mark Time)
– Marching Fundimentals
– Rehearsal Techniques
– Interview With Directors

Marching Band Percussion Auditions
All percussionists in Marching Band next year, must attend audition sessions on Friday April 12 and 19 from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm.  Material will be shared at the audition.  Both Battery and Frontline instruments will be played at the two sessions.

Percussion Sticks and Mallets
Ms. Flatt has collaborated with Steve Weiss Music to put together stick and mallet sets for Urbandale students.  Visit the online store here and get the pack that’s best for you.  For more details, please talk to Ms. Flatt.

 

PABC Garage Sale
The Performing Arts Booster Club Garage Sale (benefitting the band, vocal, and drama departments) will be held on Saturday, April 13.  Please begin setting aside donations now as you start thinking about your spring cleaning; more information on how to donate will be available after spring break.  Visit https://signup.com/go/TNUHHKU to sign up to help.  Thanks for your help with making this a great fundraiser for Performing Arts at UHS!

Civic Music Association Scholarships
The Civic Music Association of Des Moines was established in 1925. Their mission is to engage, enrich, and educate the central Iowa community through provocative, world-class musical performances by legends and rising stars. They offer some fantastic scholarship opportunities for students offering funding that can be used for music lessons, instrument rentals/purchase, and summer camps/programs. Applications are accepted through April 1st! https://civicmusic.org/studio/scholarships/