28 September 2025
2025-26 Foothill High School Music Program’s Newsletter
Announcements:
President’s Message:
It has been a delight to welcome so many new faces into our musical family this year! I type this note as I recover from a marching band sectional sleep over, held at our home last night. 😊 I am reminded often that our band, guard, and strings students are amazing, and they represent their families well. Good job parents, on raising wonderful humans! I am consistently greeted with respect and courtesy – students are always asking how they can help out. In fact three kiddos stayed at my home today and insisted on vacuuming and helping with the dishes post party! Well done, parents! If you get the chance to host a group of our students, you are in for a treat! My heart is full!
Thanks to everyone for the flurry of energy and excitement surrounding our most recent Vertical Raise Fundraiser. We reached the $30,000 mark (just shy of the $40,000 goal). That is a huge help to all aspects of our program! Thanks for helping to let friends, family and coworkers know about us and to rally to get so much support!
Our next big push is Band Review! We are preparing to host a few thousand people at our 51st Foothill Band Review on Saturday, October 25th. This annual event benefits all members of the Foothill Band, Guard, and Strings Program. All are expected to help out – both families and students alike. If you have not yet joined a Wed. evening prep meeting, plan to pop in, either in person or online, to understand what the hype is all about!
Needed: Student Share Donations are required for our program to function, these family donated funds are a part of our annual budget. You may pay in full, in little bits, or in quarterly installments. Every dollar helps us pay our bills.
This week we will have our second General Board Meeting
Who: All Foothill Music Family adults
Where: Foothill High School Library
When: Tuesday, September 30 @ 7:30-8:15
Why: Because we love our kids and want to know what’s going on in the music program
Announcement regarding our 2025-26 music trip!
📣 Check the Kick Off Meeting Slide Show This is updated regularly and has many important links and specifics for band students and families.
📅 Important Dates:
9/30 Tue General Board Meeting- All Parents encouraged to join! 7:30pm, FHS Library
10/3 Fri Evening Football Game: Pep Band and Half Time Field Show Performance!
10/4 Sat Honors Jazz Band at NCBA Antioch Schedule Here
10/11 Sat First Marching Band & Guard Competition at Liberty High, Brentwood – Itinerary
10/13 Mon All State Orchestra and All State Band recordings uploaded to website + confirmation with your teacher.
10/15 Wed @ 7pm Fall Concerts for Honors Wind Ensemble & Honors String Orchestra
10/18 Sat @ 8am Marching Band Picture Day
10/25 Sat, All Day. Foothill High School hosts our 51st Annual Fall Band Review! Fall Band Review is on Saturday, October, 25th. All program families (strings, bands & guard) and students are required to help. Save the date and Sign Up Here to volunteer :Band Review Sign Up
1/23 Pasta & Crab Feed Annual Booster Fundraiser Dinner:
- Save the date for an evening of music, food and fun together. Held at the Veteran’s Hall!
- Honors Jazz & Jazz B perform; other small jazz, brass or string quartets/ensembles welcome to perform by advanced request to Mr. Nishimori
3/11: Sonoma State Band and Orchestra
- Honors Symphony Orchestra @ 3:00pm
- Honors Wind Ensemble @ 6:00pm
🎶 Ensemble Classes
Honors Jazz – Need to be working on FM, 88 Basie Street, and Hammerhead for NCBA Antioch on 10/4
Jazz B – Working on our six pieces.
Honors Symphony Orchestra – Molly on the Shore, Scherzo, Barrier Reef, and Idyll for 10/15 Concert
String Orchestra – Rhythm Test 2 – Due September 26th
Honors Wind Ensemble – Through the Looking Glass, October, and Serenade for 10/15 Concert. Students will be working on scales and sectional time before the Fall concert.
Symphonic Band – Continue reading new music and selecting our winter concert set. Students will also be working on major scales in class.
Concert Band – Continue reading new music and selecting our winter concert set. Students will also be working on major scales in class.
🙌 Parent and Guardian Volunteering:
We are less than ONE MONTH away and we still have many vacant positions in the Signup Genius we need filled before the big day!
Some signups are currently very low like parking helpers and all the various parade guards that are mandatory for us to run a successful event. No matter the position, there are experienced volunteers ready to help you, so no experience is necessary (many hands make light work)!
Sign up now to get your first choice volunteer slots! Please contact Cynthia Sandhu at volunteer@foothillmusic.org if you have any questions.
We’re happy to report that the Student Signup Genius went live this week, and is already 90% filled by our Music Student Volunteers! Let’s follow their example and do the same for the Adult Signups!
📊 Treasurer of Student Accounts Information
Getting monthly reminders for your Student Share Donation?
Pay what you can as you go. Installment Plans are Available.
Our program DEPENDS on this money to function.
Your voluntary Student Share donation is how your family supports your student’s music goals and ensures they get the best music program possible. Please strive to meet or exceed the requested amounts, but any amount helps.
There are four ways to make your Student Share donation:
1) Write a check. Then give it to your student to drop in the locked band box in the band room.
2) Pay with PayPal (https://paypal.com/). Use your PayPal account (or set one up if you don’t have one) to pay your Student Share in the app. Here is how it works: open the PayPal app, click the menu in the upper left corner, scroll down to Donate and tap, search for Foothill Band Boosters and select it, click the Donate button and select the Other category, input your student’s Student Share amount (see table below*), follow the payment instructions and you’re done!
3) Pay with CutTime (https://app.gocuttime.com/). CutTime is the Foothill Band Boosters management platform. Just login with your CutTime account, click below your students name, then click on the Payments link at the bottom of the list. Click on the green button that says “Make a Payment”, click the amount to pay, then fill in your debit or credit card information and submit the payment.
4) Pay with FutureFund (https://foothill.futurefund.com/). FutureFund is the PUSD sponsored platform that you signed up for when you registered your student for the school year. Just login to the site, click the Store button at the top of the webpage, click on the Band Boosters oval button below the page title, then select the Donation square designated for your students ensemble. Select your donation amount, fill in your students name, click Add To Cart, then proceed with the checkout process.
When using PayPal, here are the Student Share donation amounts for each ensemble to insert in the “Other” field:
- Fall Marching Band & Color Guard Students: $900
- Wind Ensemble Students: $225
- Concert & Symphonic Band Students: $150
- Orchestra Students: $100
- Jazz Ensemble A and B Students: $200
- Winter Guard Students: $900
- Winter Percussion Students: $900
Please reach out to Monica Fey, our Treasurer of Student Accounts, at treasurer.student@foothillmusic.org with any questions, contacts, or ideas!
👔 All Music Band and Orchestra Concert Attire
Students in String Orchestra, Honors Symphony Orchestra, Concert, Symphonic & Honors Wind Ensemble will need concert attire for performances this year.
Tuxedo: Black Tuxedo, Black Bowtie and cummerbund (or vest), White shirt (wing collar is a good choice), Long black socks, Black dress shoes (pants will need to be hemmed)Tuxedo Link OR ANY tuxedo works fine – MUST BE ALL BLACK with a WHITE SHIRT
Concert Dress: Long black dress, Black dress shoes (dress will need to be hemmed)Dress Link
- Students may choose EITHER option
- Plan ahead for ordering, delivery, and alterations!
Concert Attire is required for all performances.
🥁 Marching Band and Color Guard
Marching Band & Color Guard Picture Day
- Group, buddy and individual picture options for picture day with “Photo 360” on Saturday, October 18th, at 8:00 a.m.
- Order forms will be distributed to students as we get closer to the date.
Fall Band Review 2025, Saturday, October 25!
The Fall Band Review is one of our biggest events of the year! * It is a premier marching band and field show competition that brings schools from across Northern California in the NCBA circuit to Pleasanton. The day kicks off with a parade down Main Street and continues into the night with exciting field shows at the Foothill High School stadium. It’s a full day of music, family, food, and fun—and it takes all of us!!!*
IMPORTANT VOLUNTEER ROLES STILL NEEDED:
Facilities Lead at Amador. If you can manage the Facilities responsibilities for the show at Amador High School, please reach out to this year’s Band Review Lead, Steve Haney, at fundraising@foothillmusic.org.
Interested in learning more about Fall Band Review 2025? Come to the weekly Band Review Planning Meetings! All parents & guardians are invited!
- Next Meeting: Wed. Oct 1, 7pm – Foothill Campus, Room C-6. If you can’t attend in person, please join us online via Google Meet at https://meet.google.com/rqp-zxzp-ovh
Reminder:
ALL FHS MUSIC FAMILIES ARE EXPECTED to VOLUNTEER @ FHS Band Review 10/25!
Sign up early to get your first choice volunteer slots!
Band Review Sign Up
💵 Fundraising
Fall Band Review Trophy Sponsorships. Sponsor a trophy (or trophies!) for the 2025 Fall Band Review. Just click the link, fill out the form, and proceed to the payment page on GiveButter:Foothill Fall Band Review Trophy Sponsorship . Please share this link with family, friends, and businesses that you think might want to sponsor a trophy. Questions? Contact Sue Kuo at susiekuo@hotmail.com.
Join Us for 925 Gives: A Day of Community Generosity! We are excited to announce our partnership with the Three Valleys Community Foundation for 925 Gives, a community-wide Day of Giving on September 25th! As a non-profit dedicated to supporting our amazing band students, this is a special opportunity to join forces with other local organizations and raise critical funds. Every donation we receive on this day will directly help us provide essential resources, from new instruments to competition travel. And your generosity on September 25th to other local non-profits will be amplified and stay right here in our community. Please mark your calendar and join us in giving to the causes that make our hometown of Pleasanton and the whole Tri-Valley stronger. To participate, please visit the official website on September 25th,www.925gives.org , and make a donation to one of the many worthy charities listed alongside the Foothill Band Boosters.
Surf & Turf Sale- New date pending! This semi-annual food sale (formerly “The Meat Sale”) will be held at Foothill High School. Watch for a SignUp Genius to help with point of sale, custom cuts, and bagging of products.
Please reach out to Steve Haney, our VP of Fundraising, at fundraising@foothillmusic.org with any questions, contacts, or ideas!
📸 Photography & Media (aka the Band Click)
Hey Parents!
You may think you need a fancy camera to take great photos… but in reality, the best ones are taken close up…. with a cellphone! The Media team would love to have you join our Band Click!
The requirements are; If you can tell your kid and their friends to smile for a picture without them rolling their eyes – you’re in!
We will need your help through the rest of the season1 Please reach out to photography@foothillmusic.org, and we’ll get you started!
Photographs of all Band events can be found on Flickr
- Videos will be uploaded to our Youtube Playlist for each performance.
Please note that most videos will be marked private, and are un-searchable on the platform until the band season is over.
That’s it for The Falcon Beat this week — thank you for your energy, time, and support in making Foothill Music thrive. Go Falcons! 🦅
Email president@foothillmusic.org to change or add contact information to our distribution list.