BiWeekly Update – October 4th Updates!

by Oct 5, 2020(old)Color Guard, Concert Band, Ensembles, Jazz Band, Marching Band / Color Guard, News, Orchestra, Parents, Students, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble

Hello Amazing Band Families!  

Welcome to our first October 2020 Communication Update!  This newsletter will capture a few big topics that you will help keep you involved and informed.  Please ensure you check the website and subscribe to our band calendar.

Director’s Letter

“Music isn’t fun anymore!” This is the clarion call of October — and the pandemic isn’t helping. Gone are some of the funnest parts of our activities: trips, performances and competitions. I’m sure you have heard your child say it. If you haven’t, just wait; it’s likely coming soon! But don’t worry — it’s natural and almost predictable and part of the ebb and flow of any rigorous activity.

Yes, we missed out on the traditional start of the school year and the energy of new faces, new music, and typical start-of-school experiences have been replaced with the sometimes monotonous tasks of learning in small groups and in remote settings. The repetition and grind associated with our new normal, combined with mounting academic pressures can sometimes take their toll.

Add in after-school activities, tests, jobs, and the other responsibilities associated with being a teenager, and your child might be right — band might not always be fun. Here’s a secret… It’s not supposed to always be fun. It’s supposed to be life-changing.

Speaking from my own life experience, except for the occasional trip to an amusement park, there is very little in my teenage life that was “fun” that I remember. I’m sure that going to the movies was fun, but I don’t remember what I saw. I guess that going out to lunch with my friends was fun, but I don’t remember where we went or what we ate. I’m positive that hanging out with my friends on a Saturday night was fun, but for the life of me, I can’t remember what we did. I don’t remember anything I did that was “fun,” but I do remember being involved in music like it was yesterday! I remember the good, the bad, the happy, the sad, and the people I shared it with. I remember my time in music vividly.

Yes, maybe at this very moment, music isn’t “fun.” You know what music is?

Music is… worthwhile. Music is… character building. Music is… memory making. Music is… friendship building. Music is working hard with the same people, fighting through the bad days, and celebrating the good ones together. Music is life-changing — and your child will remember that.

Thanks for all you do to make your children successful, both in music and in all their other pursuits. Being a parent is hard. Being a parent in a pandemic is just flat-out ridiculous. But, you are doing a great job. You are making a difference in their lives.

Have a great month. Hang in there and let me know how I can help!

Sincerely,
Efrain Hinojosa
Director Of Bands
Foothill High

Honor Groups (band / orchestra)  Information

Meet The Staff

Drum Staff

  • Charles Cachero began his marching percussion journey in high school with private guidance from Roger Carter as he went to march San Francisco Renegades in 2011 and 2012, playing both tenors and snare drum respectively. He began working with schools across the Bay Area which include Los Altos High School, Monta Vista High School, and Saint Francis High School. From 2013-2016, Charles continued his endeavors in WGI with Team Percussion USA, giving him the privilege to march and instruct under Ralph Hardimon, Mike Jackson, Chris Cyr, Daniel Recoder, Brandon Hussey, and Casey Brohard. In his most recent years, Charles has had the privilege to instruct at many successful programs in the Bay Area, such as Lynbrook High School, Oak Grove High School, Irvington High School, and Fremont High School.  He is currently continuing his career as a percussion educator, designer, and clinician working primarily with Foothill High School, Dublin High School, Irvington High School, and Tri-City Percussion while working towards a Bachelors of Science in Nursing at San Francisco State University.
  • Alex is a marching percussion educator from Sacramento, CA who specializes in tenor drum instruction. In addition to working with the battery percussion here at Foothill, he also currently works with the band programs at CSU Sacramento, John F Kennedy HS, and Franklin HS. Alex likes to contribute to visual production as well, not only instructing but also staging indoor percussion shows for JFK HS, Franklin HS, California HS, Elk Grove HS, and Tri-City Percussion. Alex got started in percussion accidentally; he was placed in beginning band in 7th grade at Sam Brannan MS and only chose percussion to fool around in the back of the classroom. This turned into a love of all things drumming, joining jazz band and drumline within a year. He went on to attend John F Kennedy HS, going back to Sam Brannan to teach and eventually write for their small indoor drumline program. He went on to march in drum corps and WGI with Mandarins, Bluecoats, and Broken City Percussion. Alex enjoys working with the students and staff at Foothill because of the longevity of the program and high expectations that it demands. The students show up to rehearsal eager to learn, and the staff shows up eager to make an impact.

Guard Staff

  • Hello! My name is Nick Dueñas and this will be my 13th year teaching(wow) and my fourth year with Foothill as the Colorguard Caption Head. I began my colorguard career in 2010 with InMotion Performance Ensemble(‘10, ’11, ‘13) and ended with Imbue World Guard (‘15, ‘16, ‘17). When I’m doing colorguard related activities you catch me with two dogs, Paco and Slink or working on perfecting my new hobby, acrylic pour painting.

President’s Message

Dear Foothill Families

October is Band Season! It seems so strange to not be sitting in the stands watching and hearing our students.  We would be getting to spend glorious early mornings (anyone miss 6am call times??) traveling to far off lands (San Jose??) to help cook and feed, push and pull equipment all to watch our kids perform maybe for 15 mins on the field.   But we love it just as much as the students do!

It takes a village to transport, clothe, feed, support and cheer on these fantastic kids.  From the parent volunteer view it’s pretty amazing how so many hands come together to help the instructors and staff make it happen.

There are close to 20 ‘staff’ that we pay for – YOU pay for – to help teach our students each week – some even beyond the marching/field season.  The staff are professionals and past students teaching our kids to march, to dance, to throw flags, to beat drums, to play their instruments (I bet you thought Mr. HInojosa and Mr. Nishimori did it all by themselves!???)  

Some of the instrumental staff continue through the year as well and offer the students opportunities to have small group/private lessons.  

We cannot continue this level of support without your Fair Share donations.  During these lean times our focus as a Board is to keep as many of these support programs going.  We will continue to keep our smaller fundraisers going but please also check at work to see if your organization offers a Donation Match!

Thank you to those that joined our Booster Meeting last month – we are still looking for extra helping hands to join us on the Board even for small projects – if you are willing to spare just a minimal time per month we are looking for:

  • Fundraising Leads (run a small fundraiser like cookie or See’s candy orders)
  • Merchandise helpers
  • Serve as liaison for percussion, orchestra and guard
  • Committee members for 2021 Fall Band Review! (need to start planning now for next year!)

We appreciate you and miss our extended Band Family!  Be sure to mark your calendars for our next General Board Meeting on Oct. 21st at 7pm. See you soon!

All the best
Holly Crane

Promo about Merchandise

We have added new Merchandise to our Square Site.  With Christmas coming up, these would be great gifts for the band kids in your life. 🙂  We are working on another merchandise fundraiser, so stay tuned. 

Board Meeting Update 

Our next Band Board meeting will be October 21st at 7:00pm.  You can review a few highlights from the last September Meeting at https://foothillmusic.org/2020/09/24/september-2020-band-booster-meeting/