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Information for Students Joining Band for the FIRST TIME

ENROLLMENT AND INSTRUMENT SELECTION

  • There are two ways to initiate enrollment for your child:
    • Email Mr. Nguyen directly at dnguyen@umasd.org OR
    • Your child can tell Mr. Nguyen directly that they would like to join band.
  • Your child and Mr. Nguyen will decide together which instrument they will play at an instrument demonstration.
  • Please read and sign this permission slip (CLICK HERE) and have your child return it to Mr. Nguyen at their instrument demonstration.
  • Instrument availability for first-year students will be determined by the number of second-year students currently assigned to each instrument.
  • Please sign up your child for an instrument demonstration appointment at this link (click here).
  • The deadline for both instrument demonstrations and permission slips is September 12, 2025.

RENTING AN INSTRUMENT

  • Please WAIT UNTIL I DO AN INSTRUMENT DEMO WITH YOUR CHILD before renting an instrument.
  • After your child and I decide on an instrument, please rent an instrument from Music and Arts (CLICK HERE).
  • Please DO NOT buy an instrument from Amazon.com or another vendor without contacting me first. Instruments from Amazon and certain other vendors are often of low quality and break easily.
  • Please purchase the supplies for your child's instrument listed on this page (CLICK HERE).
  • Please rent the instrument as soon as possible; Music and Arts takes a few weeks to deliver instruments.
  • If you need any assistance with renting an instrument, please contact me.

LESSONS AND REHEARSALS

  • Students will leave their core class to come to a 30-minute lesson once a week. I will post a schedule on Schoology once all demos are finished.
  • Lessons will begin during the week of September 29.
  • 45-minute rehearsals with the full band will start in January or earlier. Students must demonstrate proficiency and readiness to participate in rehearsals.
  • Students are responsible for making up any work from academic classes that they miss.
  • If your child needs to miss their lesson for a test, quiz, or other important material, they must email me to let me know.

PRACTICING EXPECTATIONS

  • Students are expected to spend a total of 100 minutes per week learning the skills that they are taught in their lesson. I recommend 20 minutes a day on five days of the week.
  • Students are to document the time that they spend practicing on a practice log with a parent/guardian signature.

CONCERTS

First-year students must demonstrate proficiency and readiness to perform in the spring concert. All qualifying first-year students must attend and perform in the spring concert on May 21 at 7:00 PM.