newsletter
January 12, 2025

Weekly Newsletter - january 12, 2025

Sent 1/12/2025, 12:35 PM.

Edited 1/12/2025, 12:55 PM.  Fixed dates in Mr. Sayre's section.

I hope everyone's first week back was good.  Congrats to all of our all-state students on some great performances yesterday - great job.

I have a number of things for you this week.  First - keep those Jazz Festival sponsorships coming in, they are critical to putting on a great event, and are great opportunities for band communities around the state to engage with our local business communities.

Second, I have a couple of things from our Yearbooks chair, Mrs. Whiston, so please take a look at those, especially if you are the family of our seniors.

Let's dig into this week.

What's in this newsletter?

Here's what I have for you all this week:

• Jazz Festival Sponsorships - See how you can get our business community engaged in this amazing event - Only 2 Weeks Left!

• Senior Yearbook Pages - A note from our Yearbooks chair for our seniors

• Spring Trip Deadline Change - We had to move this up a week because of the airlines...

• Zia Patches - If you ordered Zia patches, and have not yet picked them up, this section is for you

• A word from Mr. Sayre - As always, make sure to read through his section

This week in band...

Wednesday 1/15

• 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM - Color Guard Sectional

Thursday 1/16

• 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM - Percussion Sectionals

Now on to the details...

Jazz Festival Sponsorships

We are still seeking sponsorships from local businesses to help cover the costs of putting on this massive event.  If you don't know, Jazz Festival is a 3-day event that occurs in February that brings together 40+ jazz bands and ensembles from around the state to perform their selections, and ends with an amazing jazz concert featuring the UNM Jazz I and Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra each performing with a well-known jazz professional.

Sponsorships are key to making this event successful.  If you own a business, have a family member who owns a business, know a local business that would be a great partner, or even would like to make a general donation to support the festival yourself - you can get all the details on the Jazz Festival Sponsorship page.  For convenience, I'm also including a link to the sponsorship letter and form here:

2025 Jazz Festival Sponsorship Letter 

2025 Jazz Festival Sponsorship Form 

Sponsorships are due by Jan 27, 2025.  If you have any questions, you can contact our Jazz Festival chairpersons at jazzfestival@eldorado.band.

Senior Yearbook Pages

Seniors and senior parents, you should have received an email with information about senior pages in the band yearbook.  If you did not receive this information, please reach out to Beth Whiston at yearbooks@eldorado.band .

Don't forget to order your 2024-2025 Band Yearbook! It will be 90 full color pages filled with all things BAND. To order, visit treering.com and enter passcode 1016667234694117.

Spring Trip Deadline Change

As we have gotten closer to our spring trip, and working out the details and logistics of getting over 100 people flown to Washington D.C., we learned that we have to pay for our flights the very first part of March.  Because of this, we are having to move up our payment deadline a week from March 6th to February 27th.  I have done my best to update all references to March 6th in our documentation to be February 27th.  This means all fees - student fees and spring trip fees - need to be paid by that February 27th date to remain eligible to go on the spring trip.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.  Thanks for your understanding as we navigate this new world of flying for our spring trip!

Zia Patches

If you ordered Zia patches, and did not pick them up at the December concerts, they will be handed out at zero hour Monday (tomorrow) morning.  Make sure you pick them up tomorrow.

Have a great week!

Go Eagles!

JD

a word from Mr. Sayre...

Hello, Eagles!

What an incredible start to the semester! First, congratulations to all of our students who participated in All-State this past week. Your performances were outstanding, and you represented our band program with excellence. A special shoutout to the Wind Ensemble for an impressive performance during Friday’s Educator Clinic with Dr. Emily Moss. Your hard work and dedication truly shone through, and we couldn’t be prouder of your efforts.

As we move into another busy week, here’s what you need to know:

Monday, January 13th Zero Hour: There will be no Symphonic Band Zero Hour this Monday. However, the Wind Ensemble will meet during Zero Hour as scheduled. Please plan accordingly.

Wednesday, January 15th Assembly: This week, we are hosting the 8th Grade Assembly with guests from Madison, Hoover, Eisenhower, and Jackson Middle School. The assembly begins at 9:45 AM, and the band will need to meet in the band room at the end of 1st period, promptly at 9:40 AM. Be sure to wear your band shirt so we can proudly represent our program to our future Eagles!

Thursday, January 16th Percussion Class: A reminder for all percussion students: attendance during your Thursday Percussion Class is taken and is a part of your overall grade in band class. Please ensure you are on time and communicate with Mr. Sayre if there are any issues with attendance.

Basketball Band Next Week: Looking ahead to next week, we have our first two basketball games of the semester on Tuesday, January 21st, and Thursday, January 23rd. If you need to rearrange the bands you are assigned to, please communicate with Mr. Sayre as soon as possible. For all basketball games, you will need your band shirt, flip folder, and marching band instrument. Call time for each game is 6:00 PM in the band room.

Here is the basketball band schedule.  A/B Bands Here.   (This schedule has also been added to the band calendar)

Band Team Date Vs Call TIme Start Time

A Boys 1/21/2025 vsManzano* 6:00 PM 7:00 PM

B Boys 1/23/2025 vsLa Cueva* 6:00 PM 7:00 PM

A Girls 1/29/2025 vsSanta Fe* 6:00 PM 7:00 PM

B Boys 1/30/2025 vsSandia* 6:00 PM 7:00 PM

A Girls 2/5/2025 vsCapital* 6:00 PM 7:00 PM

B Girls 2/8/2025 vsManzano 12:00 PM 1:00 PM

A Girls 2/18/2025 vsSandia* 6:00 PM 7:00 PM

B Boys 2/21/2025 vsCapital* 6:00 PM 7:00 PM

Thank you all for your continued dedication and enthusiasm. Let’s carry the momentum from this past week into another fantastic week ahead.

Go Eagles!

Mr. Sayre