What an incredible evening last night! Our 2025 Band Awards Ceremony was a heartfelt celebration of an outstanding year filled with music, memories, and milestones. We are so proud of everything our students accomplished this season, from unforgettable performances to personal growth on and off the field. This event allowed us to honor those achievements and reflect on the hard work, talent, and dedication that make the Trojan Band family so special.

A very special thank you goes out to the amazing parents who made the entire evening possible. From planning and setup to execution and cleanup, your time, effort, and attention to detail created a beautiful and seamless event for our students and staff. Your behind-the-scenes dedication does not go unnoticed, and we are truly grateful for all you do to support our program. To our staff and students, thank you for another phenomenal year. Here’s to the continued tradition of excellence that defines the CHS Trojan Band!

This Week at a Glance • CHS Announcements
4/21 – 4/26

Jazz Performance Evaluations • Tuesday, April 22

Tuesday, April 22, is the GMEA Jazz Band Performance Evaluations hosted by Cartersville High School. All three jazz bands will travel together for the event because our performance times are so close together. Please note the updated performance times that we learned about on Friday.

• 11:37PM • Students eat 1st Lunch (grab in lunch room, eat in the band room)
• 12:15PM • Load Equipment
• 12:30PM • Depart CHS
• 2:30 PM • CB Jazz Performance (SB and WE will watch)
• 3:20PM • Symphonic Jazz Orchestra Performance (WE will be in warm-up, CB will watch)
• 3:45PM • 1st Block Jazz Performance (SB and CB will watch)
• 4:30PM • Depart for Carrollton
• 5:45PM • Approximate time of arrival back at CHS • Updates via REMIND

Concerts are FREE and Open to the Public!

Solo & Ensemble • Saturday, April 26

We are excited that many of our students have signed up to perform in the annual GMEA Solo & Ensemble Festival. The event is hosted at Paulding County HS and our time is 9:30AM.

At registration, students will receive an adjudication sheet that they will then fill out the top portion of, be sure to get the appropriate sheet. There is one for solos and one for ensembles. Performers will take their completed adjudication sheets and original numbered scores/extra parts with them to the room and hand them over to the judge before they play.  Signs posted throughout the building will help guide you to the appropriate locations.  If you are performing a solo and an ensemble, you should perform your solo first, then perform with your ensemble, This will help free up these rooms for ensemble performances once all soloists are finished.  PCHS will not have any A/V equipment available for accompaniment playback, if you need something please alert Dr. Carr ASAP so that he can assist you with making arrangements. We will have a few pianos available in select rooms if needed.  

Here is a condensed version from the GMEA Handbook regarding Solo and Ensemble:

• All solos and ensembles perform only 1 selection.
• Scores of all music performed including the accompaniment part must be furnished to each judge.  Each score must have measures numbered.  Photocopied scores may be used ONLY if a letter from the publisher or vendor is attached.
• In cases where a score is not published, a copy of the principal part must be supplied to the judge with measures numbered.
• Solos for which an accompaniment part is published must be performed with the accompaniment.  Reminder: a performance of a solo without an accompaniment when the accompanied part is published will result in the lowered of the performers rating by one division.  Recorded accompaniment may be used but MUST NOT have the solo part added (no play-along-with-the-melody type tapes are allowed).  The student/director must furnish the playback equipment.
• All ensemble parts must be performed by the students, bona fide accompaniments excepted.  Reminder: if all ensemble parts are not performed, the rating of the performance will be lowered one division.
• Memorization is not required for instrumental solos or ensembles.
• Memorization is required for vocal solos and ensembles.
• All compositions containing Latin text must be sung in Latin.  Other foreign language compositions may be sung in the original language or in English.
• If a selection is marked acapella, it must be sung without accompaniment.

If you need help, please send a message to Dr. Carr @ christopher.carr@carrolltoncityschools.net so that he can assist you. We are excited about your performance and appreciate your hard work in preparing! This is a fun event and we are proud that you are representing us!

Band BBQ • Packet Turn In Last Friday

Thank you so much to our volunteers who assisted with the packet turn in on Friday as well as those who have organized delivery drivers, the ordering of supplies, and are coordinating volunteers! The Band BBQ is always a fantastic day for our band program.

If you forgot to turn in your BBQ Packet, please bring them in ASAP. We will sell tickets up until the day of the BBQ, but knowing how many have be presold helps us plan how much BBQ to order. Billy Bob’s spends days preparing the BBQ for us and we want to have as accurate an estimation as possible. Thank you so much for your support of our students!

The BBQ is NEXT WEEK! We need your help on Wednesday to prepare and on Thursday to serve our community. Volunteer Here

Performances start at 6:00PM

6:00PM CB Jazz
6:30PM Symphonic Jazz Orchestra
7:00PM 1st Block Jazz Band
7:45PM Marching Band • With Senior Tribute during Battle Hymn to close

PERCUSSION AUDITIONS

They are off to a great start! We have 3 days this week to wrap up these auditions. April 21, 23, 24 • 4:00PM – 6:00PM in the Band Room. This is a clinic-style audition where students will participate on various percussion instruments to determine front ensemble and drum line placements. Percussion students also complete the “Wind” audition on April 15 to determine class placement.

WIND AUDITIONS

We had an outstanding turnout of auditions! Thank you so much to the adjudicators who assisted us this evening. Also, thank you to the students who prepared. We know that audition day can be a day of anxiety for many. We are so proud of the determination and courage that were displayed by our students! Ms. Menendez has done an outstanding job preparing our 8th Graders, and they performed incredibly as well. Results will be posted soon.

Did you miss your audition? Contact Dr. Carr at christopher.carr@carrolltoncityschools.net to set up an audition. It’s not too late!

GUARD AUDITIONS

We have had a good turnout the past couple of clinic days and encourage more to show up this week. It is not too late to try out, we have 3 more days this week! 21, 23, 24 4:00PM – 6:00PM in the Band Room. We look forward to seeing you on Monday!

This is a workshop-style audition. No experience is necessary. We welcome all students who would like to audition for the colorguard to attend these auditions. We ask band students to please invite their friends who currently do not play an instrument. Students should wear athletic clothing, have a great attitude, be ready to try new things, and be prepared to be outside.

SPRING CONCERT • May 6, 2025

Our final concert of the year is on May 6, 2025 at 7:00PM in the MAC. Students are preparing a fun and challenging program to close the year with style.

Concert Band is working on Foundry by John Mackey, Terracotta Warriors by Scott Watson, and Hypnotic Memories by Brian Balmages. Symphonic Band is preparing Beyond the Ridge by Chris Ozley, Blue Ridge Saga by James Swearingen, Mountain Thyme by Samuel Hazo, and Red Rock Mountain by Rossano Galante. Wind Ensemble is preparing Wind Sprints by Richard Saucedo, Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Weber arranged by Warren Barker, and Danzas Cubanas by Robert Sheldon.

Here is a poster designed by AI for the Wind Ensemble’s repertoire:

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

We would like to highlight our seniors on our Facebook page! Their leadership of their peers and commitment to our band program have shaped our year, and we are so proud of each of them! Please help us by filling out this form so that we can share more accurately. Link to the Senior Spotlight Form

Upcoming Events • Download and Share on Social Media

These are the larger events throughout the year. Please mark your calendars, download, and share on social media as we get closer to the event to help us advertise. Thank you for spreading the word!

Upcoming Dates

Be sure to subscribe to the calendar • www.chstrojanband.com/calendar • Some calendar events stopped syncing after we transferred to CutTime. Be sure to subscribe to this Google Calendar — the CutTime calendar automatically syncs to this one. All you have to do is click the “Add to Google Calendar” at the bottom after visiting http://www.chstrojanband.com/calendar to subscribe. The photo below shows you where to find it.

April

• 21 • Marching Band Percussion Clinic/Audition Day 3 • 4:00PM – 6:00PM • CHS Band Room
  • Guard Clinic/Audition Day 3 • 4:00PM – 6:00PM • CHS Band Room
• 22 • Jazz Performance Evaluations
• 23 • Marching Band Percussion Clinic/Audition Day 4 • 4:00PM – 6:00PM • CHS Band Room
  • Guard Clinic/Audition Day 4 • 4:00PM – 6:00PM • CHS Band Room
• 24 • Marching Band Percussion Clinic/Audition Day 5 • 4:00PM – 6:00PM • CHS Band Room
  • Guard Clinic/Audition Day 5 • 4:00PM – 6:00PM • CHS Band Room
• 26 • Solo & Ensemble
  • Prom
• 28 • Leadership Clinic 3:30 – 6:00PM
• 29 • Leadership Clinic 3:30 – 6:00PM
  • 2025 Marching Band Kick-Off Meeting • 7:00PM
• 30 • BBQ Concession Clean-Up • Leadership will help 3:30PM – 5:00PM • Volunteer Here

May

• 1 • Band BBQ • Volunteer Here
• 5 • Leadership 3:30 – 6:00PM
• 6 • Spring Concert
• 8 • Leadership Interviews • Sign-Up during Leadership Clinics
• 16 • Graduation • Band Performs • Volunteer Here
• 20 • Finals • 1st and 2nd Block • Early Release 12:30pm
• 21 • Last Day of School Finals • 3rd and 4th Block • Early Release 12:30pm

July – Tentative

• 3 • 4th of July Parade Practice
• 4 • 4th of July Parade
• 14 – 18 • Band Camp Week 1 • 8:00am – 5:00pm
• 21 – 25 • Band Camp Week 2 • 8:00am – 9:00pm