Dear Parents, Guardians, Friends, and Families:

I hope this newsletter finds you enjoying this beautiful fall weather!

As we enjoy the fall weather, activities and events, we wanted to make sure we share with you all that has been happening and what will be happening with Fenton Bands. Please be sure that both parents and students read this newsletter in it's entirety as it contains information regarding all upcoming performances, events and opportunities!

Before we go on, I would like to take a moment to thank all the parents of band students. Thank you for dropping off and picking up your child at rehearsals and events. Thank you for purchasing reeds and supporting your band student here at Fenton. Thank you for volunteering your time to help with band camp, uniforms, or Friday night football games! Our band students are successful because of you, so thank you for doing that each and every day.

Secondly, I would like to thank all of our band students for their efforts, spirit, and musicianship; but most importantly, I am grateful and impressed with their dedication. They have been working hard and are showing steady progress. Keep it up!

If you or your family have any questions about anything, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Sincerely,

Garett George

On Thursday, September 15th (Mexican Independence Day), Sones de Mexico Ensemble performed concerts featuring the musical geography of Mexico for all Fenton students! This effort was made possible by the JCS Arts & Education Grant of the DuPage Foundation and Fenton H.S.

The Bandarama Concert is Monday, October 17th, at 7:00 PM in the Field House. Call times are 5:45 PM for all band students.

Both the Bison Chamber Band and Marching Band will be performing at this concert. You will hear the music of Bartok, Motown, The Jackson 5, Brittany Spears, Neil Diamone, some Bluegrass, and more!

At this concert, the Marching Band will be wearing their Marching Band uniforms without hats. The Bison Chamber Band will be wearing our concert dress uniform. There are parts of this uniform that the students are responsible for having and are not provided by Fenton Bands. Please click here for our Concert Attire information.

All family members and friends are invited to attend this event. There will be plenty of room in the bleachers for everyone!

The Fenton Jazz Bands have had their auditions and will be starting the season on October 25th with our first rehearsal. Jazz rehearsals will be on Tuesday nights with Jazz Lab Band from 3:30-4:30 and Jazz Ensemble 5:00-7:30. Thank you to everyone who auditioned back in September!

The Jazz Bands will also be hosting our Jazz Boot Camp on Saturday, October 29th, 2022 from 9-noon. Our guest clinicians are TBD!

Thank you goes out to the Bensenville Arts Council for supporting our guest artists for the Boot Camp!

The Music Boosters will be hosting their annual Mattress sale on Saturday, October 29th, 2022 from 10-5 PM in the Fenton Cafeteria. This is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year. Students in the music program can earn $25.00 for the first two referrals who use their name. At the third referral, the student earns $50.00 per referral! This is a great way for students to offset costs of the Disney trip!

Additionally, the Music Boosters will make a profit from each mattress and accessory sold that day, which can be huge with a great turnout.

There will be a brief informational meeting on Wednesday, October 12th at 7:30 PM in the Band Room during the Music Booster Meeting. For every parent in attendance, the mattress company will give us $10.00 each! We hope you can join us!

Please click here to connect to the Facebook link posting.

The Fenton Bison Chamber Band is made up of students who choose to pursue learning their instrument in a traditional band setting. These students are grouped into small groups or "chamber" ensembles. From there, they work together to build ensemble and instrumental skills in a more intimate level. They also work together in a full band setting. This ensemble is comprised of freshmen through seniors.

The BCB will have a dress rehearsal on Monday, October 17th after school from 3:30-4:30 PM. This is so the BCB can have enough time to feel comfortable in our performance space and figure out transitions before our concert.

The Bison Chamber Band will be wearing our concert dress uniform. There are parts of this uniform that the students are responsible for having and are not provided by Fenton Bands. Please click here for our Concert Attire information.

The Bison Chamber Band will be performing at the Bandarama Concert on Monday, October 17th, 2022 at 7:00 PM in the field house.

The Fenton Marching Bison Band is made up of students who choose to pursue learning their instrument in a marching band setting. These students work on a unique halftime show, pregame show music, and pep band tunes. They also work on marching fundamentals throughout the season.

This season, the Marching Band has performed at Northwestern University, Fenton Band Night, home football games, the Homecoming Bonfire, the first day of school, and Friday Morning Marches! They have one more football game to perform at on October 14th, which is SENIOR NIGHT.

The Marching Bison Band will also be performing at the Bandarama Concert on Monday, October 17th, 2022 at 7:00 PM in the field house.

Please note that our final dress rehearsal of the year will be Tuesday, October 11th from 9:30AM-NOON. Note the different time!

We are very excited that we have so many committed band students attending our trip to Disneyworld, Florida in December.

As a reminder, our next trip payment is due this Friday, October 7th, 2022.

In order to keep our student musicians in tip top shape, there are a few things that need to happen at home as we continue to grow this year .

To begin with, all band students should be practicing their music four to five times a week outside of class. The practice needs of each individual as it pertains to the challenges the music presents to them varies from person to person; therefore, setting an amount of time is very difficult. Our recommendation at this time is that those sessions be no shorter than 15-20 minutes. Every family should be noticing some music playing in the home.

Additionally, we please ask that all students refrain from eating, drinking, or chewing gum during and before their instrumental music practice. Musical instruments do not respond well to the residues of food, drink, or gum. Students, remember that "nacho cheese is the enemy." :)

Thank you for your support!

After the Bandarama concert, students will transition from Marching Band and Bison Chamber Band over to Concert Band & Symphonic Wind Ensemble. This process is determined by the auditions and playing assessment that is due Wednesday, October 5 at 3:30 PM.

Please be sure your student has submitted their playing assessment so that they can be placed in the correct band.

Members of Fenton Bands will be performing at the Bensenville Park District's Veteran's Day Breakfast 2022 on November 11th at White Pines. We are excited to share our gifts with the members of our community.

We are very grateful to be able to continue learning and making music together again and in person! Our students have been a tremendous source of inspiration for each other and their teachers! We are all so lucky to be able to get together, learn about music, share a laugh, and grow as a band family.

Be on the lookout in November for information regarding our Holiday events.

Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.

Musically yours,

Garett George

georgeg@fenton100.org

630-860-4944