Week of April 26
Spring Concerts
To end the year on a high note, we will be having spring concerts! These graded concerts will be held in the auditorium and we are also planning to live stream the event on Youtube.
Wildcat Band and Wind Ensemble will perform at 8pm on Monday, May 10.
Concert and Varsity Bands will perform at 8pm on Tuesday, May 11.
Students who are also in athletics are expected to be at the concert for their band. Please plan ahead and talk with your coach EARLY! They are generally very accommodating and we don’t often have situations where the students can’t do both. We plan the spring concerts later so that all of our musician-athletes can do both events without having to choose! Please see us if you have any questions.
Call time is 7:00pm. Students should be at West and ready to go no later than 7:00pm for fundamentals and tuning.
The district has told us that we can be at 20% capacity including performers. Each student will be able to bring 2 guests to the concert. Additional guests will be able to view the concert live stream from home.
Students are expected to stay for both portions of their concert evening and will be graded as such. If an audience member needs to leave early, that is allowed, however, we’d love to have everyone stay for the entirety of the concert to support the hard work of all of our students!
We will not be issuing the school attire for these final concerts. Instead, students will “dress nice,” choosing from a collared polo shirt, collared button-down shirt, blouse, khaki pants, slacks, skirt, or dress, with “nice” shoes. These items can be any color. Students will not be permitted to perform if they’re wearing sweatpants, jeans, shorts, t-shirts, tennis shoes, etc. Only students dressed appropriately will be able to perform. Families with financial difficulties should contact the band directors for help as soon as possible!
Take a look at the information below for dressing “nice.”
Memorial Day Procession
While the middle and high school bands have been invited to perform in the annual Memorial Day Procession, the district has reiterated that we will not be able to participate in person on Memorial Day.
The West Bands will still move forward with our spring marching unit, preparing a patriotic tune, working on memorization skills, and performing on marching instruments. Our plan is to put together a video that will be featured on the broadcast of the Memorial Day Procession aired on Oshkosh Community Media and their platforms.
The recording will happen during 4th hour on Tuesday, May 25th with a rain date of May 26th.
Memorial Day Donations: Thank You!
Thanks to the families who stepped up to volunteer donations to provide our students with a t-shirt and pizza lunch for our Memorial Day recording session on May 25! At this point, we are set and will have enough to also provide a dessert with lunch. Thank you!
Next Year
We have made great strides in returning to a more “normal” band experience this semester! We are excited for next year as we return to the band room, pep band performances, in-person concerts, parades, and all of the fun that the West Bands are known for. We are fortunate that our enrollment for next year is steady compared to the current year in a time when band, choir, and orchestra programs across the country have seen drastic drops in the number of participating students.
We thank you for all of your patience as we have navigated COVID, focusing on the safety of our students. We know that there is no single decision that will satisfy all, but we believe that we have done what’s best for our students in the decisions made by the district, schools, and directors using the latest scientific research at the time.