This year’s Spring Festival band concert is upon us tomorrow! Please support our musicians and our program by signing up to bring treats for our Festival Concert and Bake Sale! In addition to replenishing precious glucose in both musicians and audience members, the bake sale supports our students by funding everyday necessities such as sheet music, instrument repairs, visiting clinicians and so much more!

You can sign up to bring goodies and to help set up, work the tables during intermission, and help clean up afterward here. (Please note that Sign Up Genius does not require an account. Just enter your email address, choose your contribution, and SignUp.com will send you an automated confirmation and reminders.) Questions or concerns? Please contact Brianne Williams at bri6031@gmail.com.

And remember: when it comes to baked treats, too much is never enough.

A number of key positions in the FOCB organization will be opening up next year as seniors matriculate and take their parents with them. We urge parents and guardians whose students are remaining (especially freshmen and sophomores) to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity to help steer the program to continued success. It takes a community to build a community!

We invite you to attend our upcoming FOCB Board meeting TONIGHT in the band room at 6:30 pm. For a detailed description of positions we are looking to fill please see the attached list. For more information please contact volunteer coordinator Jennifer Means at jennmeans@gmail.com. You won’t regret it.

For our fourth year running the Cleveland Pep Band will perform for the runners at the annual Shamrock Run, this Sunday, March 17 from 9:45–11:45 am. Precise location and other pertinent details will be provided to participating students this week. Participation is voluntary, but trumpets are strongly encouraged to step up!

We also need one adult volunteer to pick up and deliver donuts and hot chocolate to keep our musicians fortified in the chill morning air. (You have the option to be reimbursed for these purchases.) Please contact volunteer coordinator Jen Means at jennmeans@gmail.com at if you can help.

The Spring 2020 LA Band Trip will be here before we know it, which means it’s time to start thinking about costs. As we mentioned last week, all interested band families have the opportunity to sell delicious Willamette Valley Pie Company pies, cobbles, and frozen fruit to earn money towards the cost of the 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 Easter celebration and then again at your Fourth of July Party! 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 March 13th. Pies will be delivered April 1st. 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 April 1st 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.

The PIL Solo Ensemble schedule will be coming out this week. All students participating in an ensemble are strongly encouraged to find time to meet outside of the school day. One tried-and-true solution: If you can, why not host your student’s ensemble for a rehearsal and feed them? They’ll be motivated and we guarantee you will enjoy what you hear! Then, come join us for a chamber concert of our fantastic ensembles on the 28th

Mr. Dan Judd will be rehearsing the Wind Symphony for our next evening rehearsal this Thursday, February 21. This is a very important rehearsal. We urge all students who have conflicts to make EVERY effort to swing this date in our favor, if at all possible. Dan Judd’s bands at Summit HS won the 5A State Championship six years running before his retirement last spring. We are honored to work with him.

New band merchandise featuring our new school logo is now available for order online here through Monday 2/25! Get your all new T-shirts, sweatshirts, and caps while they’re hot!

Mr. Riler, who is the site manager for this year’s All NW Wind Symphony, still needs help with the following logistics (location TBD):

• Friday, February 15 from 10:30 am–12:30 pm: He still needs 1 more volunteer to check in student participants. (Note: this requirement has changed since last week.)
• Sunday, February 17 from 12 pm–2:30 pm: He still needs 3 volunteers to check students out again.

Please contact FOCB Volunteer Coordinator, Jennifer Means if you can help with this event.

“Sellwood loved being part of the ‘Future Warriors’ concert once again this year! It was great to hear Hosford’s band; kudos to Mr. Johnston and his students. It was a thrill to see and hear all of the ex-Sellwood kids up there in Cleveland’s phenomenal bands. Thanks, Mr. Riler, for another wonderful evening for the Cleveland Cluster Band Programs!” –Dan Arrayan, Director of Bands, Sellwood Middle School

“The Future Warriors Concert is a great way to build camaraderie in our cluster and provide a vision for our young musicians as they move on to Cleveland. It also provides a sample of the great things that are happening musically in our district. The students love the chance to listen to the Sellwood and Cleveland bands and look forward to continuing their music education into high school.” –Scott Johnston, Director of Bands, Hosford Middle School

This year’s contest will be held at Wilson High School on March 2, 2019, with schedules to be announced on or around February 19. Participating students should plan on blocking out an hour of their day around the time that they are scheduled.

Students are highly encouraged to participate in this event, at no cost to families. (Registration fees are covered by the Friends of Cleveland Bands.) Registration forms went home with students last week.