Grundy Center Bands

Sticky: Dates for the 2025-26 School Year:

Most Dates are High School - Middle School Dates are in red Concessions Dates: Fall

Friday, Aug. 29th 6:30PM Home FB pregame Tuesday Aug. 26th 4:45 PM VBall

Friday, Sept. 19th 6:30 PM Home FB pregame Tuesday, Sept. 2nd 4:45 PM VBall

Friday, Oct. 3rd 6:30 PM Home FB pregame Tuesday, Sept. 16th 4:45 PM VBall

Friday, Oct. 17th 6:30 PM Home FB pregame Monday, Sept. 22nd 4:00PM JHVB

Tuesday, Nov. 11th 10AM Veterans' Day Performance, Main Gym         Tuesday, Sept. 30th 4:00 PM JHVB

Tuesday, Nov. 11th 7PM FALL CONCERT 6-12, South Gym Monday, Oct. 13th 4:00 PM JHVB

Friday, Feb. 13th 7PM WINTER CONCERT 5-12

Thursday, March 26th 7PM JAZZ SHOW (HS Jazz Band)

Friday, April 10th-Monday, April 13th HS Band and Choir PERFORMANCE TOUR TO NASHVILLE, TN.

Saturday, April 11th IHSMA Solo/Small Ensemble Festival original date  We will look at other possibilities for this performance.

Wednesday, May 6th 6:00 PM SPRING CONCERT grades 5-12, Main Gym

Saturday, May 9th IHSMA Large Group Festival @Cedar Falls

Sunday, May 17th 1:30 PM Commencement

Monday, May 25th 9AM Memorial Day Performance @Cemetery

High School Band and Choir: Trip Spring 2026:

UPDATE:  Preliminary Itinerary can be found HERE

Please review this and we are looking for any further suggestions as to activities to add or replace.  So far one tentative change is removing Graceland in favor of Dollywood.  Please let us know what other activities you would like to see happen!

We also wish to finalize our chaperone list soon.  If you have not emailed wither Mr. Van or Mr. Gutzmann, please do so and we will include you in the list.

Mr. Van (avan@spartanpride.net) or Mr. Gutzmann (jgutzmann@spartanpride.net) 

Future updates will be placed here and on the HS Band tab.  We will have another opportunity for a parent meeting soon.

REMINDER: Payment and trip application form will be due 9/22/2025.  (Link will be posted here soon)

Sticky: 

Attention all 5th grade teachers and parents:

<--- Please click on the 5th grade tab to the left <--- for more information on what to buy, what to bring, etc.

Thanks everyone!

-Van

All Reed Players 5-12 (clarinets, saxophones)

Every clarinet and saxophone student should have a box of reeds:

5th graders: strength 2 (do not need expensive brands but please also avoid Glory brand reeds from Amazon - they look like they were cut with a chain saw)

6th graders: 2.5

7th and 8th grade: 2.5 or 3

HS: 3 or 3.5

Please call West Music and purchase some reeds for your student(s)!

YouTube Channel

I've put together some of the arrangements I've done that we have performed in the past, plus a few past performance recordings.  Nothing fancy but finally starting to organize some of these.  The link is HERE if you are interested.

Whither Study Hall?

Hi - I am taking this opportunity to address the study hall issue.  

About every three to four years we have this issue pop up and it is once again time.

While some will suggest that study hall time will increase student achievement, those studies refer to types of *guided* study time for specific needs, which is not the same as our study hall design.  Study hall time at GC is mostly unstructured/free time and therefore can result in watching videos or playing video games.

That is not a criticism of staff here as no one person can possibly monitor so many screens all at once.  Students, as you know, are adept at circumventing most restrictions. 

We have a strong music program here but in order to maintain such a program, we need our most talented students to participate.  I ask you to have a discussion and urge your student(s) to stay out for music and to resist those in study hall who try to convince them to drop (this is happening - "I want my friends to hang out with in study hall").  

The draw of study hall vs. our talented students participating in our award-winning music program is not comparable.  Students with full academic schedules learn to manage their time more skillfully and generally perform better both academically and in the workplace.

And once they reach high school, band and choir split a period, making it easy for students to be in music (both band and choir).  Students not in music must take another class during this time.  With proper planning, there is no real benefit to dropping music.

Band events do not interfere with other activities.  Our lone conflict last year occurred when local events were scheduled on top of an existing state festival date, one that had been on the calendar for years (the state unified calendar is completed years in advance to prevent conflicts and is not subject to our choice).

Band is essentially cost-neutral (for time and scheduling) and provides benefits that cannot be obtained from other classes or athletics.

In my 34 years of teaching, I have had countless students return and tell me they wish they had never dropped band.  Never once have I had a student return and tell me they dropped band and it solved all their problems! :)

Please contact me if you have any questions  - we want to keep ALL of our programs strong and it shouldn't be "band OR choir" but "band AND choir!"  With WIN time every day the study hall time is almost completely unnecessary.

Thank you.

-Mr. Van

Remember, everyone: No matter what you choose to do with your life, music will always be there.  It is the only subject taught in school that is with you at every major point in your life -- your birth, your graduation(s), your wedding and even your funeral.  There is nothing more "real world" than what we do!

Q. "Why bother studying music?   It is something everyone hears and experiences every day."

A. "That is one reason why we study it!"