Hudson Hawk Band Updates

Week of 2/27/2023

Advanced Band Solo Contest Success!

On Saturday, February 25, 100 of our Advanced Band students participated in the Solo & Ensemble Contest at Austin Academy. We are so proud of ALL of them for their preparation, growth, and courage throughout this process. We are excited to announce that we had 91 students earn a first division rating from their judge! 21 of those students received a 1+ rating and were also nominated for Outstanding Soloist in their room. 3 of our students were selected as THE Outstanding Soloist in their room for the entire day. An extra special congratulations goes to Mak Korenek, Trapper Rohde, and Valeria Salinas for earning the Outstanding Soloist award!
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Advanced Band Makeup Solo Contest

For Advanced Band students who did not participate at the contest at Austin Academy this weekend, the makeup solo contest will be held at Hudson Middle School on Thursday, March 9th. The schedule for performances can be found here. Students should dress up professionally for their judge and play to the best of their ability. They will receive a test grade for their preparation and another for their performance on the day of the contest.

Beginner Percussion Snare Solo Contest

This Friday, March 3, the Beginner Percussion class will be performing their snare solo for a judge after school at Hudson. The schedule for the performances can be found here. Questions about this contest can be sent to Mr. Tucker.
Select Beginner Rehearsals

Select Beginner Rehearsals

The Select Beginner Band will have their next rehearsal this Monday, Febrary 27. This will be the last rehearsal before Spring Break due to the Honors Band Pre-UIL the following week. We have made the decision to increase the Select Beginner Band rehearsals by 15 minutes. The rehearsals for the remainder of the year will end at 5:30pm instead of 5:15pm. This will allow us to have almost 2 extra hours of rehearsal over the course of the semester. Thanks for being flexible with us!
Select Beginner Rehearsals

Grade Reminder!!!

There are only 2 weeks left in the 3rd quarter. Progress report grades locked on Friday and after running a grade report this weekend, there are many students who will have to work very hard to pull their grades up over the next 2 weeks so they can stay eligible for the 4th quarter band activities, including the spring trip to Splash Kingdom waterpark! Please check your student's grades in Skyward and help encourage them to turn in any missing work, attend tutorials, and stay on top of their assignments as we close out the 3rd quarter. We know they can get it done!

1 Week Left for the Winter Practice Challenge!

We gave out a Winter Practice Challenge sheet just before the holiday break. The students are tasked with practicing for at least 20 minutes for 62 of the 77 days on the page. If they meet the challenge, they will be invited to a pizza and board game party the week before Spring Break. Parents must initial each snowflake (day) that they practice and all forms must be turned in on Monday, March 6th.

Find a copy of the Winter Practice Challenge form here.

Honors Band Pre-UIL Concert & Sightreading Evaluation

Monday, March 6th, 5pm

4843 Naaman Forest Boulevard

Garland, TX

Honors Band detailed Pre-UIL itinerary can be found here.


Parents, families, and friends are invited to join us for this performance. We hope that you will come out and watch this performance and follow us into the sightreading room to view that process as well. This is the practice version of what equates to the band STAAR test. We are also looking for 3-4 chaperones who can be with us from 2:30-7:00pm . If you are cleared as a volunteer and are free to help us on this day, please let Mrs. Becker know ASAP.
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Band Fee Statement Emails

Last week, each family with a band fee balance should have received an email with a band fee statement. It includes outstanding band fees, as well as instrument usage fees for students who have not yet paid those. You can send checks (made out to Hudson Band Boosters), cash, or pay via credit card through our band website. If you choose to pay with a credit card through the band website, please use HawkBD2223 as the password.

Wind Symphony Pre-UIL Concert & Sightreading Evaluation

Tuesday, March 7th, 5pm

4843 Naaman Forest Boulevard

Garland, TX

Wind Symphony detailed Pre-UIL itinerary can be found here.


Parents, families, and friends are invited to join us for this performance. We hope that you will come out and watch this performance and follow us into the sightreading room to view that process as well. This is the practice version of what equates to the band STAAR test. We are also looking for 3-4 chaperones who can be with us from 2:30-7:00pm . If you are cleared as a volunteer and are free to help us on this day, please let Mrs. Becker know ASAP.
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Incoming 5th Graders

Incoming 5th Graders

If you know any students in the 5th grade (or any other current middle school students who wish they had joined band this year) and are coming to Hudson next year, please tell them to be on the lookout for a chance to sign up for one of our Instrument Selection Drives on our band website THIS WEEK! The signup links will go live on March 1st.

We are thrilled with the growth in our program this year and look forward to welcoming tons of new Hawk Band members next year! Our best recruiting tool is our current and former band families - please help us spread the word about joining band and getting more amazing students to be part of our band family!

Incoming 5th Graders

Booster Club Meeting

Wednesday, March 8th, 7pm

4405 Hudson Drive

Sachse, TX

We will be discussing end of the year events and needs at this meeting. We will also be talking about board positions that we will need to fill for next year. If you are interested in serving the band in a larger capacity next year, please make plans to be at this meeting to find out how you can help!
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Side-by-Side Rehearsal Fun!

Our Honors Band & Wind Symphony students got to sit side-by-side with the Sachse Band this week to work on their UIL music. It was a really great experience and opportunity for us to grow and learn from our high school students and directors. We had a great time and made a lot of improvements!

All-Region Concert Recordings

If your student was involved in the TMEA Region 3 All-Region Bands, there were professional recordings made of all of the concerts. Due to copyright laws, the recordings were not able to be sold, however, we have been given permission to share the recordings with our families. THIS LINK TAKES YOU TO ALL OF THE RECORDINGS. Feel free to download the recordings of your student's performance, as they will not be available for long!

A Word About Braces

We know that many of our students will need braces during the course of their middle school years. Every band instrument can be played with braces, however, it is a big adjustment that often takes weeks or months for the student to feel "back to normal" once they get them. As you are scheduling this big change for your student, please be mindful of the band performance calendar to help our students be able to perform their best this semester.

March 6-7 - HB & WS Pre-UIL Evaluation

April 4-5 - HB & WS UIL Evaluation

April 22 - Beginner All-Star Band Audition

April 27 - WS Peak Festival

May 6 - Beginner Solo Contest

May 12 - Spring Festival for All Band Students

May 13 - All-Star Band Clinic/Concert

May 17 - HMS Bands Spring Concert for All Students

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Repeat Information

CLICK HERE TO READ THE BAND HANDBOOK

GISD Bond 2023

GISD Bond 2023

During a special meeting on February 14, the GISD Board of Trustees approved calling a bond election to be held on May 6, 2023. The GISD Bond 2023 includes 3 propositions totaling $1.279 billion. To learn more about The GISD Bond 2023, please visit garlandisd.net/bond2023
GISD Bond 2023

Click here for any needed handout.

Advanced Band Supplies

Advanced Band Supplies

Please make sure your student in the Wind Symphony, Honors Band, or Symphonic Band have their required supplies for this year. We are using the Foundations for Superior Performance book in all band classes and many students do not yet have the book. We are also beginning to work on tuning and if your student does not still have their tuner/metronome from beginner band, they will need one ASAP.
Advanced Band Supplies
BAND App Links

BAND App Links

Because our band has grown so big, we can no longer use Remind. We have reached the maximum participants in multiple classes and do not have space for more unless we upgrade our account (which costs more than we wish to spend). We will be switching messaging services to the BAND app (which the Sachse HS band also uses) to align our cluster. Please sign up for the appropriate class(es) for your student. We will NO LONGER be using Remind, so if you were just signed up for band, you will not need that app/number any longer. Thanks for understanding!

22-23 ALL HMS Band Students/Parents

Beginner Band

Symphonic Band

Honors Band

Wind Symphony

22-23 HMS BAND PARENTS ONLY

BAND App Links
School-Owned Instrument Usage Fees

School-Owned Instrument Usage Fees

If your student is using a school owned instrument (or is a percussionist), the school-owned instrument usage fee has been added to your student's Charms account. Woodwind and Brass players will now see a fall and spring fee for $25 each, or $50 for the whole year. Percussionists will see a fall fee for $25.

Oboes, bassoons, bass clarinets, tenor saxes, bari saxes, French horns, euphoniums, tubas, and the few students who play a different instrument that is owned by the school will see that fee now and can pay it by cash, check (made out to Hudson Band Boosters), or through Charms (using Paypal).

This fee was originally supposed to be paid in Skyward, but we are adjusting the process for ease of charge and payment.

If you have any questions or have any issues logging in to Charms to check on fees, please let me know and I am happy to help!

School-Owned Instrument Usage Fees

Private Lessons Filling Up

Our private teachers are THE BEST and their schedules are starting to fill up. If you are going to sign up for private lessons, DON'T WAIT - TURN IN THE ENROLLMENT FORM ASAP.


The single biggest investment you can make in your student's musical advancement is signing them up for private lessons. Return the private lesson enrollment form to get your student started ASAP. Lessons are $20 each week and the fee is paid directly to the instructor.

Band Fees

Band Fees

Because our school band budget is so small, we have to charge a band fee so that we can provide the best music education experience for all our band students. This band fee covers all instructional materials (band binder and all its contents), band shirt, contest entry fees, solo accompanist fees, performance music, music theory subscription, transportation, meals before performances, incentive days, and so much more. We set up our band fees to be collected up front (or split into payments), so that we are not constantly asking for $5 here, $7 there, etc.


This year, you can pay band fees through cash or check (made out to Hudson Band Boosters), Paypal through Charms (watch this video to walk you through the Charms system), and for the first time - credit card through the band website. Visit the band website and enter the password HawkBD2223 to enter the secure page and pay online. Please consider adding the optional donation to your cart to cover the credit card fees we incur using this convenient service.


If you have a financial hardship, please communicate with us so we can help you. We never want a student to be unable to participate due to finances and will do everything we can to work with your family and ensure your student is included.

Band Fees
Log in to Charms

Log in to Charms

Please take a moment this week to log in to Charms. www.charmsoffice.com

Log in as a parent/student/member

The school code is hudsonsoundmachine

The password for first time users is your student's GISD ID number (should be 6 digits)

For non-first time users, your password should be your student's ID with their capitalized initials in front (i.e. HB123456) unless you've changed it to something else.

Please update contact information (add adults as necessary), check your student's birthday ID, instrument, etc. and make changes as necessary. If you have questions or have difficulty logging in, please contact Mrs. Becker.

Log in to Charms
About Us

About Us

About Us

Heather Becker - Director

Dan Urban - Assistant Director

hdbecker@garlandisd.net 972-675-3070 hudsonband.org