It’s not too late to take advantage of our pie fundraiser to help offset costs for the 2020 Disneyland band trip, but you must act quickly! Orders and money must be received by this Friday, October 18. Information packets with order forms were made available to all students last week. You can also find the order form attached here (pdf) »

A few things to note:

• Please make checks out to Friends of Cleveland Bands and submit them with your order form. Order forms and checks should be placed in the FOCB mailbox in the main office. 
• Order forms must be returned by Friday, October 18. Pies will be delivered on November 4th. Unfortunately, the pick-up date is not flexible as there is no place to store frozen pies at Cleveland. (Pies that are not picked up on November 4th will be donated to CHS Staff.).
• On your order form, please indicate whether you will be using your fundraising money towards your own Spring 2020 LA Band Trip or whether you would like to donate it for financial aid.

For more information about hand-crafted Willamette Valley Pies please see the attached flyer ».

If you have any questions or are interested in volunteering to assist on pie delivery day, please contact Stephanie Shanley at sbshanley@comcast.net or 503-319-6285.

You can find videos of the band’s events on Cleveland Bands PDX YouTube Channel. Please subscribe to our channel.

To subscribe: sign in to your Google account, go to the YouTube app/website, search “Cleveland Bands PDX” in the search field, then hit the subscribe button

What an amazing night filled with music, fun, and hard work! With tireless help from an army of volunteers and supporters, on Friday, October 4, 2019 we raised over $33,000! We are so blown away by the generosity of our community of friends and family who stayed up late to watch our kids perform, whether in person or via the live stream, and who continued to donate even after we met our original goal.

We are also grateful for the steadfast commitment of the community that made this event possible: for Play-a-thon Chair, Tammy Lewis, who oversaw every last detail; Brian Richardson and Debbie Wager, who created and maintained the GoFundMe page, processing donations and sending out personal thank-you’s before the event and all through the night; Craig Lewis, who never abandoned his position behind the video camera and kept the live stream up and running for nearly seven hours; volunteers like Daryl Harrison Carson who provided lighting and technical support, and the many, many parents who spent their Friday cooking, feeding, chaperoning or cleaning up after 170 ravenous kids, organized by Hospitality Chairs Colette Livermore and Kelly Schauer. Thanks also to Jennifer Bamer for patiently organizing the Sign Up Genius through all of our changes and, behind the scenes, Volunteer Coordinator and Communications Chair, Jennifer Means for her supporting role.  Finally, and most importantly,  we are so thankful for the tireless dedication of our band director, Gary Riler, who demonstrates, day in and day out, in the band room and on the stage, his commitment to music and its power to change lives.

To everyone in the community who contributed to our success, and on behalf of the CHS Band Program, THANK YOU!  

The Spring 2020 LA Band Trip will be here before we know it, which means it’s time to start thinking about costs. All interested band families, who have signed up for the trip, have the opportunity to sell delicious Willamette Valley Pie Company pies, cobbles, and frozen fruit to earn money towards the cost of their own trip.

These hand-crafted pies are made with local, Willamette Valley–grown fruit using very little added sugar and no trans fats. They can be kept frozen for eight months or up to two years depending on the variety of pie. This means you can serve fresh Willamette Valley pie at your Thanksgiving or Holiday celebrations! For more information about Willamette Valley Pies please see the attached flyer.

Information packets with everything you need to sell these fabulous pies will be available this week. Be sure to remind your student to bring one home! A few things to note:

• Please make checks out to Friends of Cleveland Bands and submit them with your order form.
• Order forms must be returned by October 18th. Pies will be delivered November 4th. Unfortunately the pick-up date is not flexible as there is no place to store frozen pies at Cleveland. (Pies that are not picked up on November 4th will be donated to CHS Staff.)
• Mini pies are sold by the case which includes six pies. Cases can consist of a single type or the variety pack specified in the brochure. Custom orders of the mini-pie cases are not possible.
• On your order form, please indicate whether you will be using your fundraising money for your Spring 2020 LA Band Trip or whether you would like to donate it for financial aid.  

If you have any questions, please contact Stephanie Shanley at sbshanley@comcast.net or 503-319-6285.

If you missed it, you can watch the live stream archive on YouTube ». Thank you Debbie Wager for taking pictures of the evening, they can be viewed here » If you have photos and video to share, please upload them to the Band photo folder »

The Play-a-thon is THIS FRIDAY, October 4, and the donations are streaming in. Please spread the word—via Facebook, email, word of mouth, carrier pigeon, whatever works best for you. Let’s make this our most successful fundraiser yet!

And remember to include the name of the student on behalf of whom the contribution is made. Kids who solicit the most donations will win valuable prizes! Contributions are tax-deductible. Please visit Play-a-thon GoFundMe

This year’s Play-a-thon will be open to a live audience in addition to our customary live stream. Friends and family are invited to join us in the auditorium for any or all portions of the show, starting at 3:30 pm.

Please check with your student to determine which bands they will be playing with. Please note that the groups labelled A, B and C are sight-reading bands. Students from Concert Band, Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony are mixed together to form three groups. This gives our veterans the chance to assist the newer members of the program with our sight-reading process. Here is the schedule:

Performances in auditorium
3:30 pm Band A
4:30 pm Band B
5:30 pm Band C (Band A & Jazz – dinner)
6:30 pm Jazz Lab (Band B and C – Dinner)
7:00 pm COMBO 1 – ALL do a clean up sweep
7:30 pm Jazz Ensemble
8:00 pm Jam Session
8:30 pm Concert Band
9:00 pm Wind Symphony
9:30 pm Symphonic Band
10:00 pm COMBO 2
10:20 pm Jam Session – ALL do a final clean up sweep
10:50 pm Pep Band – Everyone in auditorium
11:10 pm Break Down

Note: Students attending mandatory school sports games and practices during the Play-a-thon will return to the band room and auditorium when they have finished, to participate in the remainder of the Play-a-thon.

We still need a few more food items to make sure all of our band students get fed. Please check out our Sign up Genius to contribute.

Questions about how you can help with the Play-a-thon? Please contact Tammy Lewis at ctclewis@gmail.com.

Questions about how you can help with food? Please contact Hospitality Chairs Kelly Schauer at pkschauer@gmail.com or Colette Livermore at letteco@msn.com.

Audition due dates for All-State Honor Band & WIBC Honor Bands are fast approaching. Check with your student to find out if they are participating and make sure they are on track to meet the following deadlines:

All NW / All STATE: Friday, September 27
WIBC: Tuesday, October 8

Adherence to these dates allows Mr. Riler to upload All NW/All STATE materials, and review WIBC auditions prior to the deadlines set by OMEA and WIBC.

The fifth annual CHS Playathon is almost upon us! The kids are rehearsing like crazy, the GoFundMe page is up and running, and we’re assembling an army of volunteers to make sure the evening goes off without a hitch (more on how you can help below). We’ve got the musicians and the instruments and the video camera all lined up for the live feed. But there’s one more thing we still need to make this year’s event our most successful ever: your contributions.

With over 170 students and six different bands to support, this amazing program wouldn’t be possible without your generous donations. Remember, the band program receives no direct funding from the school district. Ever wonder just what your contributions buy? Here’s a sample:

$100—One set of sheet music for a single title
$350—One set of advanced music for a single title
$500—Pep Band t-shirts and hats for 20 incoming freshman
$750—A school bus for the PIL Band Contest
$1000—Registration fees for our solo and ensemble participants
$1850—Buses to and from the Starlight Parade (Marching Band)

The GoFundMe page is live now! Please tell your friends and family just how much this program means to our kids and how incredibly important their tax-deductible contributions are. And don’t forget to include the name of the student on behalf of whom the contribution is made. Kids who solicit the most donations will win valuable prizes!

Let’s make this a Play-a-thon to remember. Stay tuned for updates!