Dear UT Martin Honor Band member:

Congratulations on being accepted into the UT Martin Honor Band. This is a high honor and you should feel proud for being selected. The event is next week on Jan. 26-28 and we will plan to leave at 11:00 on Thursday 1/26 – please come to the band room at 11:00 to load. The six Appling students attending are Anton Salameh – 7th grade bass clarinet, Kenneth Burnett – 8th grade percussion, Chris Brown – 8th grade clarinet, Jeremiah Bowman – 8th grade bari sax, Maddie Chapman – 8th grade clarinet, and Angela Ramirez – 8th grade oboe. I have mailed your $45 registration feethat you already gave to me but you will need to pay your part of the hotel for two nights (which will include a nice breakfast) which is another $75 and I’m asking everyone to pitch in $10 per person on gas…. So if you can all pay $85 payable to Appling Band that would be great. You will be responsible for bringing money for four meals (Thurs. night, Fri. lunch and dinner, and Sat. lunch) which I would approximate at $25-30. We will be staying at the Quality Inn in Union City, TN which is about 15 minutes away from Martin. You will also need to bring your own spending money if you want any snacks or if we make a Wal-mart run.

Dress for rehearsals is school dress (casual and comfortable… I would love for you to wear an Appling band shirt on Friday). The dress for the concert on Saturday is Sunday dress type clothes – dress pants and shirt with tie for boys and dress/skirt/nice dress pants outfit for girls.

You need to make sure to get all make-up work before leaving Thursday. Auditions are for chair placement and students will audition on the music that was given to you (I hope you have all practiced),all major scales up to three flats and three sharps (They will pick several – try to do in as many octaves as you can do them) and the chromatic scale (also try to do this in multiple octaves) and sightreading. Please work hard on these and do your best to achieve a higher chair placement but know that you are already “in” the group. After auditions we will check into the hotel, go to dinner and then come back for audition results and the first rehearsal. There will be rehearsals all day on Friday (with lunch and dinner breaks) with a montage concert put on by the music department that night. On Saturday, there will be a morning rehearsal and we will check out of the hotel. We usually go to the Hearth restaurant for lunch (about 11:40 if any parents want to meet us there), back for warm up at 12:45, and then the junior high concert is at the Fulton Theater in the Fine Arts building at 1:00, followed by the three high school concerts at 1:45, 2:30, and then 3:15 (Usually students will be dismissed after they perform unless they want to stay and listen to the high school groups).

Parents are encouraged to come to the concert and then take your child home from there. To get to the university, go up the main highway toward Martin, turn right at the main intersection where the Days Inn is and also a McDonalds towards the left, turn right onto the first street and then the new music building is on the left. You can always call me at 901-219-8779 if you need directions or get lost. You will need to get there early to find a seat because it will be crowded. Please let me know if you cannot attend and I will gladly bring your child home.

My cell phone number is 219-8779 and I will have it on during the entire trip. Your child may bring a cell phone if you would like him/her to be responsible for it, but it MUST be turned off during rehearsals. If there are any special considerations or medication that your child takes, then please give this to us to administer. All luggage should be brought to the band room Thursday morning.

Please sign the permission slip below and then please get a $85check to the Appling Band Boosters by Wednesday 1/25 at the absolute latest. Thank you and I’m looking forward to a great trip!

Mrs. Sanders

I give my child ______permission to participate in the UT Martin Honor Band. I understand that he/she must make up all work missed and that he/she will have exceptional behavior. I understand that he/she will be riding with Mrs.Salameh (Anton’s mom)or Mrs. Sanders and that I will not hold them responsible if an accident should occur. I give my permission to administer medical attention if need be.

Student Signature ______

Parent Signature ______

Emergency Contact # ______

Allergies/Medications? ______

Insurance Information ______