   AMB WEEKLY UPDATE 5/18/2026
Greetings, Eagle Band Family! We are ALMOST there to the end! This week, we honor our senior class, as this is the official last week with them, and they will be performing their final and last-ever concert with the Atascocita High School band. We are also honoring them by playing at the AHS Graduation this coming Saturday. Mr. Hicks has asked if you have ANY school-owned instrument at home, please bring it back up to the school. We have a district-level fine arts instrument audit in progress, and we are doing the best we can to scan instruments in. This update will deal with three things:
CALENDAR: Here is a look at the band calendar that takes us to the end of school:
ACTION ITEMS: VERY IMPORTANT!! We need for everyone to go through the following check list of things and make sure that you have taken care of them.
GRADUATION BAND ITINERARY:
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AMB WEEKLY UPDATE 5/11/2026
Greetings, Eagle Band Family! We are proud of our Wind Symphony and Wind Ensemble students in their performance at Sam Houston State University this past weekend. They played very well, and we are very proud of them representing Atascocita High School through high-quality musicianship. As we push through the final reps of the school year, our focus must remain absolutely locked in. We are laying the groundwork right now for a large 280+ corps-style marching band next year. Every performance, every rehearsal, and every meeting sets the standard for what is to come. This week, we are excited to launch our new leadership team into action and share our Wind Ensemble onto the University of Houston stage. Let’s finish the year strong. CALENDAR: Here is a look at the band calendar that takes us to the end of school:
ACTION ITEMS: This is a repost from last week. VERY IMPORTANT!! We need for everyone to go through the following check list of things and make sure that you have taken care of them.
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON MOORES OPERA HOUSE CONCERT BAND FESTIVAL Detailed Itinerary Monday May 11, 2026 Performance Site (PS): University of Houston, Moores School of Music - Opera House Address: 3333 Cullen Blvd, Houston, TX 77004 This event is for the high school Wind Ensemble ONLY Concert performance attire required - black long sleeve dress shirt, black dress pant, black socks, black dress shoes/flats Parents: are strongly encouraged to attend. This is the very last time these amazing students will ever play this very difficult program again. We are very proud of all of our band students who have worked so hard this year - let’s show them as much support as we possibly can!
AMB WEEKLY UPDATE 5/4/2026
Greetings Eagle family! We have gotten past a lot of big events in our band world this last month, including concert and sightreading, evaluations, orientation, and much more! We are thankful for everyone who came to marching band orientation. The directors are tremendously excited to kick start the new year with an all-new marching band season. If you missed orientation, we will get with you and help you through the process to get started with the band next year. CALENDAR: Here is a look at the band calendar that takes us to the end of school:
ACTION ITEMS: For this week, these are the biggest things. We need for everyone to go through the following check list of things and make sure that you have taken care of them.
SAM HOUSTON STATE UNIVERSITY CONCERT BAND FESTIVAL Detailed Itinerary Saturday, May 9, 2026 Performance Site (PS): SHSU Performing Arts Center - Auditorium Address: 815 17th Street, Huntsville, TX 77340 This event is for the high school Wind Ensemble and Wind Symphony, 4th and 5th period Concert performance attire required - black long sleeve dress shirt, black dress pant, black socks, black dress shoes/flats
UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON MOORES OPERA HOUSE CONCERT BAND FESTIVAL Detailed Itinerary Monday May 11, 2026 Performance Site (PS): University of Houston, Moores School of Music - Opera House Address: 3333 Cullen Blvd, Houston, TX 77004 This event is for the high school Wind Ensemble ONLY Concert performance attire required - black long sleeve dress shirt, black dress pant, black socks, black dress shoes/flats Parents: are strongly encouraged to attend. This is the very last time these amazing students will ever play this very difficult program again. We are very proud of all of our band students who have worked so hard this year - let’s show them as much support as we possibly can!
AMB WEEKLY UPDATE 4/20/2026
Greetings Eagle family! We have a JAM PACKED WEEK!! Lots of exciting things are going on this week for our band. Here is the calendar of events that gets us up to the end of April.
BAND BANQUET! IS THIS THURSDAY! We are excited to party!! TUESDAY: HIGH SCHOOL BAND ORIENTATION: It is time! We are gearing up for the next school year, and we are tremendously excited to share with everyone our theme, the music, the outfits, and SO much more! Orientation is something that you will not want to miss at all. We will reveal our show theme and so much more.
COLOR GUARD SPIN PARTY: The high school band is creating an all-new color guard and dance team. We encourage our students and families to reach out to non-band students who may be interested in participating in our program who have not previously played an instrument but want to do something different. Any interested student can join us for our spin party next week on April 27-29 in the band hall. PERCUSSION PAD CAMP: All percussionists 8th grade to 11th grade who are signed up for band for next year will participate in this year’s pad camp in the high school band hall. Percussion pad camp dates and times are April 20-22 and April 27-29. 4:30 to 6:00. BAND PHYSICALS and RANKONE: All band students for the next year must have an athletic physical form on file. They also must have a RankOne profile signed up. The latest Humble ISD physical and RankOne can be located here: https://www.atascocitaband.com/physicals-and-rankone-for-marching-band.html#/ BAND EVALUATION: We have already started the evaluations for the concert band placement for next year. We are going to try to have every student heard at least by the end of this week. The music and the information is located on our band website: https://www.atascocitaband.com/class-placement-evaluations.html#/ DRUM MAJORS: We will have weekly drum major practices on Tuesday and Wednesday. Since we have over 25 candidates applying for drum major, we will have a prelims audition on the original date April 24th to determine the top 10 for a finals audition on May 1st. JAZZ BAND: Tryouts are now available for students who would like to participate in the AHS Jazz Band for the next school year. We are looking for saxophone, trombone, trumpet, drums, bass guitar, lead guitar, piano, and even vocalists. The information to sign up is located on our website: https://www.atascocitaband.com/the-jazz-band.html#/ Jazz band auditions will take place on April 29th and all students will record their audition and submit it on a Google Form. The music for tryouts will be really short, and it will be provided here really soon. AMB WEEKLY UPDATE 4/6/2026
Greetings Eagle family! Now that UIL concert and sight reading is behind us, we are ready to move forward with all the things for band. We have a lot to cover this week, now that we are shifting gears into the final portion of our year and getting all things ready for the next school year. In this update, you will receive the following information:
Here is the calendar of events that gets us up to the end of April.
BAND BANQUET: Today Monday is the last day to purchase tickets. We are delighted to present awards, and celebrate the amazing accomplishments of our students and our seniors at our very lovely annual band banquet. The link to purchase tickets is here: http://my.cheddarup.com/c/band-banquet-senior-families-copy-63117 DRUMLINE @ PARADE OF FLOWERS: We are still waiting on the City of Humble to give us details on the event. We anticipate that it will be around morning and will be a very short event - about an hour. That is our estimate while we are waiting on a response. We will keep all drumline students and parents posted once we learn more. HIGH SCHOOL BAND ORIENTATION: It is time! We are gearing up for the next school year, and we are tremendously excited to share with everyone our theme, the music, the outfits, and SO much more! Orientation is something that you will not want to miss at all. We will reveal our show theme and so much more.
BAND PHYSICALS and RANKONE: All band students for the next year must have an athletic physical form on file. They also must have a RankOne profile signed up. The latest Humble ISD physical and RankOne can be located here: https://www.atascocitaband.com/physicals-and-rankone-for-marching-band.html#/ BAND EVALUATION: The high school band evaluation music is now posted. Students can start practicing today. The music and the information is located on our band website: https://www.atascocitaband.com/class-placement-evaluations.html#/ LEADERSHIP APPLICATIONS: Are now open and we are accepting applications today. Any student who is interested in serving on next year’s marching band leadership team will be required to submit an application, receive 5 letters of recommendation (on a Google form), play scales, and interview with the band directors. The information is located on our website: https://www.atascocitaband.com/leadership-team-application-open.html#/
DRUM MAJORS: Any student who is interested in trying out for drum major, please meet with us after school on Wednesday April 8th. Drum major candidates must fill out the entire leadership application above to be considered. We will have weekly drum major practices. The final audition is April 24th after school. JAZZ BAND: Tryouts are now available for students who would like to participate in the AHS Jazz Band for the next school year. We are looking for saxophone, trombone, trumpet, drums, bass guitar, lead guitar, piano, and even vocalists. The information to sign up is located on our website: https://www.atascocitaband.com/the-jazz-band.html#/ Jazz band auditions will take place on April 22nd. AMB WEEKLY UPDATE 3/23/2026
Greetings Eagle family! I hope that you all had a wonderful spring break with your friends and family. The rest I know was much needed from everyone. Now that we are back, we are officially in contest mode. We have one more week of preparation, and then it’s UIL concert and sightreading time! Once UIL concert and sightreading evaluation is behind us, all of the leadership applications, the band registration links, drum major applications, and evaluation music will all be released. Be on the lookout for all of the information in two weeks. BOOSTER MEETING TONIGHT. Tonight, we have a band booster meeting. The booster board will meet at 6:00, and booster parents for the band are welcome to attend at 7:00 PM. Here is the calendar of events that gets us up to the end of April. Lots of events are coming up!
UIL CONCERT AND SIGHTREADING: The schedule of events is located on the main band webpage - www.atascocitaband.com !!! IMPORTANT !!! The schedule for each band class is different, and the bus situation looks different for everyone. It’s important that everyone understands what we need to do to navigate around our transportation situation. Note: EVERYONE IS ELIGIBLE FOR OUR UIL CONCERT & SIGHT-READING PERFORMANCE! IT IS A SUMMATIVE GRADE! UIL ATTIRE:
Parents are highly encouraged to attend their child’s concert and sightreading event. Parents are allowed to listen in the auditorium for the concert portion and follow the band into the sight reading room JAZZ BAND at Sam Houston State University March 28th Itinerary:
AMB WEEKLY UPDATE 3-2-2026
Greetings Eagle family! It’s been a while since we’ve done one of these things! And there is a lot that is about to happen with our program this month! We have lots of awesome events coming up, and this update has a ton of schedule-related information. It is really important to read through everything to make sure that you know your arrival and performance times for the performances scheduled this week. CALENDAR: Here is a look at the band calendar that takes us to UIL Concert and Sightreading:
Non-Varsity Pre-UIL: Coming up on March 10 Tuesday, we have Pre-UIL Concert Sightreading for all NON-VARSITIES (3rd, 4th and 6th period) ELIGIBILITY: First and foremost: Students – EVERYONE IS ELIGIBLE FOR OUR PRE-UIL CONCERT & SIGHT-READING PERFORMANCE!! BE HERE!! Let’s try really hard to stick to the schedule. UIL ATTIRE:
**There will be a visual uniform inspection when we meet in the Orchestra Room. Please understand that if you are not dressed correctly, you will not be able to perform with the band at Pre-UIL. Please verify that you have the correct attire and solve any issues that arise before Monday!** PRE-UIL ARRIVAL AND PERFORMANCE TIMES Concert Band (6th Period)
Varsity Pre-UIL: Coming up on March 12 Thursday, we have Pre-UIL Concert Sightreading for the Wind Ensemble varsity band (5th period) Please see attire above for what to wear. VARSITY PRE-UIL SCHEDULE:
HS Band Evaluation: Evaluation for next year’s high school band classes, music will be released in March. And evaluations will take place during the school day in April. Performance dates: Check the calendar above for the dates that band students will need to be in attendance for major performances. The jazz band is performing at major festivals, the concert bands are performing for Pre-UIL and UIL. All band students are performing at Solo and Ensemble this weekend. Make sure to have your calendars marked for these major dates! Sectional attendance: 3rd, 4th, and 5th period bands have after school sectionals and rehearsals, and they are strictly mandatory. Rehearsal attendance affects grades, and most importantly, missing any sectionals or rehearsals drastically impacts the team. JAZZ BAND: BLINN JAZZ FESTIVAL Friday, March 6, 2026 On March 6th Friday, the jazz band will travel to Blinn College to do a festival performance/competition for the Blinn College 30th Annual Jazz Festival. 9:13 Arrive in the band hall for 3rd Period Class, load up equipment 10:00 Depart from AHS to Blinn College 11:45 Arrive, lunch in the student cafeteria (all forms of payment taken there) 6:00 Warmup @ Student Center Ballroom 6:30 Performance @ Dr. W.W. O'Donnell Performing Arts Center 7:00 Clinic @ Blackbox 8:00 Blinn College Concert and Awards Ceremony 9:00 Drive Home 9:45 Late-night stop at Buc-ees in Waller for food/snacks (20 mins) 11:10 Arrive at AHS JAZZ BAND AT SAM HOUSTON STATE BILL WATROUS JAZZ FESTIVAL Saturday, March 28, 2026 On March 28th Saturday, the jazz band will travel to Sam Houston State University to do a festival performance/competition for the Bill Watrous Jazz Band Festival.
AMB WEEKLY UPDATE 2-2-2026
CALENDAR: Here is a look at the band calendar which now includes March:
VARSITY BAND SIDE BY SIDE: The varsity band will visit WLMS and TMS this Wednesday. They will go to WLMS during the school day, and then the TMS side by side starts at 4:30. SIDE BY SIDE SCHEDULE FOR WIND ENSEMBLE:
SOLO AND ENSEMBLE: This week after school on Friday is our solo and ensemble contest. We host it here at Atascocita High School, and times will be announced here shortly when students will report to their listening times. Solo and Ensemble is a required curriculum performance for all students participating in the band program. Every student should have been assigned either a solo or an ensemble to perform in. If you have questions, please come see a band director and we will help you. If parents want to listen to their kiddos play in the room, they are invited! HS Band Evaluation: Evaluation for next year’s high school band classes, music will be released in March. And evaluations will take place during the school day in April. Performance dates: Check the calendar above for the dates that band students will need to be in attendance for major performances. The jazz band is performing at major festivals, the concert bands are performing for Pre-UIL and UIL. All band students are performing at Solo and Ensemble this weekend. Make sure to have your calendars marked for these major dates! Sectional attendance: 3rd, 4th, and 5th period bands have after school sectionals and rehearsals, and they are strictly mandatory. Rehearsal attendance affects grades, and most importantly, missing any sectionals or rehearsals drastically impacts the team. AMB WEEKLY UPDATE 1-28-2025
Greetings Eagle family! We are starting strong in all of our concert band classes this year! The basketball band was a huge success, and currently the jazz band is preparing for their festival performances, and the symphony orchestra is in full swing! Very exciting things are happening in our program for the spring semester! CALENDAR: Here's another look at the calendar from where we are now to at least February.
VARSITY BAND SIDE BY SIDE: The high school wind ensemble will be participating in the side-by-side recruiting event at Atascocita Middle School this Thursday after school, January 29th. The start-time is 5PM with the non-varsity middle school band, pizza lunch provided by the Boosters, then their varsity band from 6:30 to 8:00. This is a required event for all wind ensemble students. Please plan on arriving at Atascocita MS by around 4:30 so that you have time to get your instrument out and we can start right at 5:00. If you are any high school band student who went to AMS and would like to participate in the event, come by and see me and I can get music to you. Next week on Wednesday, wind ensemble will go to West Lake MS during the school day and then TMS after school to complete our side-by-side recruiting tour. PEP RALLY: We have been asked to play at the spring pep rally on Friday. Band will go through the regular pep rally routine. Dismiss at 3rd period to the band hall to get instruments and head to the gym. Pep rally attire is standard: red polo shirt, jeans, tucked in. It’s been a while since we’ve worn these items. Take time the next few days to locate the red polo so that you can have it for the pep rally. Attendance is mandatory for ALL students who participate in band as a class. SOLO AND ENSEMBLE: Next week after school on Friday is our solo and ensemble contest. We host it here at Atascocita High School, and times will be announced here shortly when students will report to their listening times. Solo and Ensemble is a required curriculum performance for all students participating in the band program. Every student should have been assigned either a solo or an ensemble to perform in. If you have questions, please come see a band director and we will help you. AMB WEEKLY UPDATE 1-21-2025 Greetings Eagle family! Since this is my official first update of the school year, I hope that everyone is having an amazing start of the school year! We are unbelievably already on the 3rd week of school! We have tremendously exciting things happening in our program, and we are delighted to come back strong for another exciting semester of high school band. TMEA All-State: Beginning each fall, over 70,000 high school students across the state audition in their TMEA Region. Individuals perform selected music for a panel of judges who rank each instrument or voice part. A select group of musicians advances to compete against musicians from other Regions in their TMEA Area. The highest-ranking musicians judged at the TMEA Area competitions qualify to perform in one of 18 Texas All-State ensembles. Only 1% of band students across the state make it this far and represent the best of the best in Texas on their instruments. This year, we would like to congratulate EVEN SALAS and OWEN SALAS on advancing to the Texas Music Educators Association 6A All-State Band! Their concert will be held in San Antonio at the Henry Gonzalez Convention Center at the Lila Cockrell Theatre, Saturday February 14th. CALENDAR: let’s take a look at the calendar and go over all the details as they are from here to February.
AFTER SCHOOL SECTIONALS AND REHEARSALS: the 3rd Period, 4th Period, and 5th Period band have scheduled after school sectionals and full band rehearsals on the times listed below. BASKETBALL GAME: Select members of the high school band will be playing at this Friday’s boys basketball game against Summer Creek HS. Call time in the band hall for those students is 5:30PM and the game starts in the competition gym at 7PM. We will be arriving early to setup.  |
BRIAN BESTDirector of Bands, Atascocita High School 
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