Rehearsals & Concerts

Annual Calendar

Our regular season runs from year round. We are currently based at Sacred Hearts Academy, which is the location for our weekly rehearsals. We have four different concert seasons (Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter) with a variety of performing venues, ranging from malls/shopping centers to local school auditoriums.

Rehearsals

We rehearse at Sacred Hearts Academy, 3253 Waialae Avenue, Honolulu, HI, from 7:00 to 9:00pm on Tuesday evenings throughout the year. There are no rehearsals during the Christmas and New Years holidays. Please consider the following guidelines to make the most effective use of rehearsal time and to respect those around you, and the music director.

• PRACTICE - Come prepared to each rehearsal. Performances are the end product of our rehearsals and our commitment to knowing the music. Let’s make sure we are doing our best.

• MARK YOUR MUSIC when instructed by the music director.

• PLAY YOUR ASSIGNED PART - Do not switch parts unless requested by your section leader or the music director. New players, please report to your section leader for part assignments and further instructions.

• LIMIT YOUR TALKING & TEXTING - Talking and texting can disrupt rehearsal or distract yourself and those around you. Please consider this if the need to talk/text arises.

• NO EATING OR CHEWING GUM - Please keep eating, drinking and chewing gum outside of the rehearsal space. Planned social events are the exception.

• NO SMOKING OR USE TOBACCO PRODUCTS (including vapes) on school campus.

• NO ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION during rehearsals or arriving under its influence.

• DONATE your weekly $2 per rehearsal to help defray expenses if it is within your means.

Attendance Policy

Regular rehearsal attendance is extremely important to adequately prepare for and perform well at our concerts. It is expected that all members attend as many rehearsals as possible. Please inform your Section Leader ahead of time if you have to miss a rehearsal, and the Section Leader will respond to let you know they received it. The Section Leaders and the Music Director will have the final say on your participation in upcoming concerts if you miss too many rehearsals, particularly the ones leading up to the concerts. Finally, attendance at the last two rehearsals is strongly recommended since we generally run through our concert program repertoire during these rehearsals.

Once concert dates are set, it is expected that all members will notify their Section Leader as soon as they know they have a conflict that keeps them from participating so that parts and seating can be rearranged if necessary. Those who can't participate in a particular season's concerts should notify their Section Leader and sit at the end of their section so that the other members don't suddenly find themselves with a different stand mate for the concerts.

Participation in the concerts is not mandatory, nor do you need to stop coming to rehearsals if you can't go to the concerts, but you must let your Section Leader know as soon as you can. We also ask that you forgo coming to the dress rehearsal if you are not participating in the concert, so that the last rehearsal is comprised of only the members who are performing. This is essential to adjusting any balance issues due to a change in numbers.

Communications

Check your email often to avoid missing important HWE announcements, surveys, and other information. New members must submit a completed HWE Membership Form and their email address that will be added to our Members Google Group to receive all important band announcements. Please send email a message to us if you do not receive an invitation to the list within a week of submitting your form.

Formal Concerts

The formal auditorium concerts are typically held in the Spring and Fall seasons. Dress for indoor concerts is dark suit (preferably black), white shirt, neutral colored tie, black socks and black shoes, black dress/pant suit. For footwear, women should wear black shoes (open or closed toed), long black dress, or pant suit. Since there is far more variability in women's shoes please wear those with a low to medium heel (1–2 inches) or flats, matte black or polished leather finish (avoid patent shine), and quiet soles (to prevent noise when walking on stage). Please keep your cases, coats, bags, etc. in the dressing rooms and off stage. For limited parking venues, please try to find street parking to leave the parking lot open for our audience. As a reminder, you are responsible to bring your own music stand to concerts.

Preview/ Summer/ Winter Concerts

Patriotic/Americana concerts are performed in July, and Holiday themed concerts are performed in December. Dress for the Summer, Holiday, and Preview concerts is an Aloha shirt with dark pants/shorts/skirt and dark/black shoes. You may also wear appropriate patriotic or holiday themed apparel. As a reminder, you are responsible to bring your own music stand to concerts.