April Band Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Fundraisers

The spring fundraiser will start up next week on Wednesday, April 13th! We are running the spring fundraiser through Century Resources this year. We will be selling from the 'Greatest Hits' and 'Spring in Bloom' catalogs. 'Greatest Hits' includes meat sticks, popcorn, trail mix, and other snacks that are great for road trips, camping, or just snacking at home! 'Spring in Bloom' includes flowers, summer kitchen gadgets, grilling seasonings, and other items to prepare you for your summer!

Spring Concert

Our Spring Concert is scheduled for Wednesday, May 4th, 2022 at 7:00pm in the Owen-Gage gym. The theme of the Spring Concert will be Film. There is no cost for entry. As always, we will be accepting donations at the door if you wish to support the Owen-Gage Music Program. Concert attire for Beginning Band students is dressy, concert attire for 7th-12th grade students is concert black (black shirt, black pants or skirt (dresses also accepted), black socks, black shoes. We look forward to performing for you!

Music in the Park

The second annual Music in the Park will take place on Wednesday, May 11th, 2022 in the Owendale Park starting at 1:30pm. Come join us for some fun, relaxed music outdoors!

Band Trip

We are planning a band trip to the Detroit Zoo on Tuesday, May 24th, 2022. We are working on all of the details and we will send out all of the information as soon as it is available.

As always, if you have any questions feel free to contact me!

Sincerely,

Zachary Osborn

Director of Bands

Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools

989-678-4141

To receive the Owen-Gage band newsletters and other information by email, email a request to osbornz@owengage.org

February Band Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Congratulations to Shelby, Lucas, and Karsyn for their fantastic performances at Solo and Ensemble, as well as Shelby and Lucas' performance at Tri-County Honors Band. Their demonstration of excellence and representation of Owen-Gage Schools and Owen-Gage Bands is important and appreciated!

Band Festival

Band Festival is NEXT Friday, February 25th at Unionville-Sebewaing High School. The Middle School and High School bands are combining to perform as the "Owen-Gage Combined Band" for Festival this year. We perform at 6:05pm; however, I am still waiting on information regarding what time we will leave Owen-Gage. We will take a bus to USA and back to Owen-Gage. As soon as I have all of the proper information, I will send out permission slips with departure times.

Spring Concert

Our Spring Concert is scheduled for Wednesday, May 4th, 2022 at 7:00pm in the Owen-Gage gym. The theme of the Spring Concert will be Film. There is no cost for entry. As always, we will be accepting donations at the door if you wish to support the Owen-Gage Music Program. Concert attire for Beginning Band students is dressy, concert attire for 7th-12th grade students is concert black (black shirt, black pants or skirt (dresses also accepted), black socks, black shoes). We look forward to performing for you!

Music in the Park

The second annual Music in the Park will take place on Wednesday, May 11th, 2022 in the Owendale Park starting at 1:30pm. Come join us for some fun, relaxed music outdoors!

Fundraisers

We will have a "spring" fundraiser soon. More information to come.

Band Trip

We are planning a band trip to the Detroit Zoo with a tentative date of Tuesday, May 24th, 2022. We are working on all of the details and we will send out all of the information as soon it is available.

As always, if you have any questions feel free to contact me!

Sincerely,

Zachary Osborn

Director of Bands

Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools

989-678-4141

To receive the Owen-Gage band newsletters and other information by email, email a request to osbornz@owengage.org

December Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Winter Concert

Our Winter Concert is THIS Wednesday, December 8th, 2021! The concert will be at 7:00pm in the Owen-Gage gym. Students should start arriving to the band room around 6:15pm and be there no later than 6:30pm. All are welcome to come out for an evening of delightful holiday music! There is no cost for entry. We will be taking donations at the door if you wish to support the Owen-Gage Music Program. As it has been for the last couple of year, concert attire for 7th-12th grade students is concert black (black shirt, black pants or skirt (dresses also accepted), black socks, black shoes). For the Winter Concert, students are welcome to wear holiday/Christmas sweaters! The "uglier" the better! Students are also welcome to wear things such as Santa hats and reindeer antlers. We look forward to performing for you!

Fundraisers

Great job with the Butter Braid fundraiser, Bulldogs! We raised a total of $1,176! Some of that will go towards our upcoming trip in the spring and some will go towards our marimba that we have been fundraising for since 2019.

As always, if you have any questions feel free to contact me!

Sincerely,

Zachary Osborn

Director of Bands

Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools

989-678-4141

To receive the Owen-Gage band newsletters and other information by email, email a request to osbornz@owengage.org

November Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We have some fun stuff coming up and others still being planned! Here are a few things to look forward to!

Marching Band

Marching Band is done for the year! We were able to march in the Homecoming Parade, perform for the Homecoming ceremonies, and give a performance for Halloween. Hopefully next year we can do even more! The plan for next year will be similar, but high school students do have the option of marching in football games, parades, and showcases with the Bad Axe Marching Band! Anyone interested in joining the Bad Axe Marching Band next season should contact me. This is an amazing opportunity!

Winter Concert

Our Winter Concert is coming up in just under a month! The concert will be at 7:00pm on Wednesday, December 8th, 2021 in the Owen-Gage gym. All are welcome to come out for an evening of delightful holiday music! If there are any restrictions for the concert, I will send another email ahead of time. We look forward to performing for you!

Fundraisers

Our Butter Braid fundraiser is coming to an end! I am asked that all forms and payment are turned in by tomorrow (Wednesday, November 10th). I have to submit the final orders no later than this Friday (November 12th). This will give us all two extra days, just in case something is missed! It sounds like we are doing quite well so far!

Tri-County Honors Band

A few of our high school band members auditioned for Tri-County Honors Band this year. We are still awaiting the results. I will share those when they arrive. TCHB will take place at Bad Axe High School this year. The rehearsal will be on January 6, 2022. The final rehearsal and concert will be on February 5th, 2022. More information to come. Best of luck to our musicians!

High School Solo & Ensemble

High School Solo & Ensemble will be held on February 12, 2022 at Imlay City High School. The deadline to register is December 10, 2021. The entry fee is $10 per student.

As always, if you have any questions feel free to contact me!

Sincerely,

Zachary Osborn

Director of Bands

Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools

989-678-4141

To receive the Owen-Gage band newsletters and other information by email, email a request to osbornz@owengage.org

September Band Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer and you are all looking forward to a more normal 2021-2022 school year! We are only a couple of weeks into the new school year and I already have band related updates for you!

Marching Band

We have decided to do marching band differently this year. Instead of working to put a show on the field for a one-time performance, we are dedicating our marching band time preparing for the homecoming parade, a Halloween performance in October, and stands-band music for Pep Band. We are still meeting every Wednesday 6pm - 7:30pm so we can work on parade marching and music as one band (7-12). The plan for next year will be similar, but high school students do have the option of marching in football games, parades, and showcases with the Bad Axe Marching Band! Anyone interested in joining the Bad Axe Marching Band next season should contact me.

Marching Band Hoodies

We are ordering Owen-Gage Marching Band hoodies for the students this year! If non-student family members would like a hoodie, they are currently estimated at $25 each, but that could change by the time they're ready to order. The company we are ordering through is still working on the new design, so sample images are not currently available. As soon as the design is ready we will have to order, so family members who order hoodies might not be able to see the design until after they order. That being said, IF you would like to order one, contact me as soon as you can with your name, relation, and hoodie size.

Homecoming Parade

Homecoming has been moved to Thursday, September 30, 2021. This is when we will have the parade. All marching band members are required to march in the parade.

October Performance

The marching band performance will now be a mini Halloween performance based around school activities. This will most likely take place on Friday, October 29, 2021 instead of Wednesday, October 27, 2021.

Fundraisers

We are planning two fundraisers for this year. Butterbraid in the Fall and Little Caesars Pizza Kits in the Winter/Spring.

Middle School Solo & Ensemble

Middle School Solo & Ensemble will be held on Saturday, December 4th, 2021 at North Branch Area Schools. It is $10 per student per event. Registration and payment are due by Friday, October 1st, 2021.

As always, if you have any questions feel free to contact me!

Sincerely,

Zachary Osborn

Director of Bands

Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools

989-678-4141

To receive the Owen-Gage band newsletters and other information by email, email a request to osbornz@owengage.org

Welcome Back to OG Bands!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I would like to welcome all students and their families back for the 2021-2022 school year! I am excited for an amazing year of music making! We have some fun performances and events planned for this year and more plans in the making! As a reminder, the best place to keep up to date with the latest OG Bands news, upcoming performances, fundraisers, and anything else is on the Music Department website. The easiest way to get there is to go to Owengage.org, scroll over the “Quick Links” tab, and click on “Band”. You can also join the growing list of band parents who receive Band Newsletters via email! The emails include monthly updates about band related events, news about our student musicians (Solo and Ensemble, Honors Band, etc.) and anything else relevant and important to our music program! If you would like to receive emails, contact Mr. Osborn at osbornz@owengage.org, or call the school.

Speaking of reminders… Owen-Gage Bands are now on the Remind app! If you would like to receive notifications about upcoming events straight to your phone, join us on Remind! Parents/Guardians and students are all welcome and encouraged to join.

Our class code for 7-12th bands is: @owengage

Beginning Band code is: @ogbegi

I hope you’re all excited for this year! If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact Mr. Osborn at osbornz@owengage.org or call 989-678-4141.

Sincerely,

Zachary Osborn

Director of Bands

Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools

989-678-4141

To receive the Owen-Gage band newsletters and other information by email, email a request to osbornz@owengage.org

Spring Concert 2021 - Livestream

Here is the link to watch the Spring Concert! It appears that anyone wanting to view the concert through this livestream event must first make an account and sign in. This should be FREE. Once signed in, the concert itself should also be FREE.

Thank you all for your continued support!

https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/owendalegagetown-high-school-owendale-mi/evt154af0ec62

MAY Band Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians,

The end of the 2020-2021 school year is close, but we still have some important things to remember! Here is everything we are planning for the remainder of the year!

Festival:

The MSBOA Virtual Band Festival video submission date has been extended to May 10th for all schools. We recorded our performances last week and both bands sounded great! Unfortunately, due to technical issues with the microphone, we have to record again later this week. We will be recording and submitting our Festival videos this Thursday during class. This means all 7-12 band students must have their concert attire this Thursday 5/6/2021 during school.

Concert:

We will have our Spring Concert on Wednesday, May 12th in the Owen-Gage gym. This will include the 6th Grade Band, Middle School Band, and High School Band. Concert attire for 7-12 this year is the same as last year, concert black (black shirt, black pants or skirt (dresses also accepted), black socks, black shoes.) 6th grade band students are simply asked to dress up for the concert. No jeans, shorts, or hats.

INVITE ONLY: Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we are limiting the number of audience members at the Spring Concert. Each band student will receive a small number of tickets that they will give out. Only people with tickets will be admitted into the concert (this includes children). The concert will be live streamed for those who cannot attend.

Performance in the Park:

The High School Band will be giving a performance outdoors on Thursday, May 13, 2021. The performance will take place at the Owendale Park (across from the school) at 12:30pm. There are no audience number restrictions because this will be outdoors. If you have time, feel free to show up and bring a lawn chair!

Graduation:

The combined Middle School/High School band will be performing at graduation this year. Graduation is May 27th.

As always, if you have any questions feel free to email or call me.

Make sure to keep an eye on the band website for band related news and updates.

Sincerely,

Zachary Osborn

Director of Bands

Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools

989-678-4141

To receive the Owen-Gage band newsletters and other information by email, email a request to osbornz@owengage.org

April Band Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Festival:

Virtual Band Festival is only three weeks away! Our submission window is April 28th - May 5th. Yes, the students should wear their concert clothes for the video performances. I recommend they wear their concert clothes to school the day we record. Concert attire this year is the same as last year, concert black (black shirt, black pants or skirt (dresses also accepted), black socks, black shoes.)

S&E:

Solo and Ensemble is also virtual this year. The high school students have already recorded and submitted their videos. They all did a great job! The upload window for Middle School is April 19th - 25th. Performance attire for S&E is up to the individual student/group performing, but attire should be given careful thought.

Concerts/Performances/Trips:

We have a concert planned for Wednesday, May 12th at the school. It is currently planned for indoors, but will be moved outdoors if need be. This will include the 6th Grade Band, Middle School Band, and High School Band. Again, concert attire this year is the same as last year, concert black (black shirt, black pants or skirt (dresses also accepted), black socks, black shoes.) Note: 6th Grade attire will be different, but is still in the works.

Unfortunately, the other two performances will not happen this year. There are too many students who will not be able to make it due to personal time conflicts. I am heartbroken that we have had and will have so few performances this year, but I am excited to try some of these and more possible performance opportunities next year! We are considering taking part of a school day to travel around the area and perform outdoors.

As always, if you have any questions feel free to email or call me.

Make sure to keep an eye on the band website for band related news and updates.

Let's finish off the school year strong!

Sincerely,

Zachary Osborn

Director of Bands/Teacher

Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools

989-678-4141

To receive the Owen-Gage band newsletters and other information by email, email a request to osbornz@owengage.org

March Band Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians,

A quick thought:

I know everything over the past year has our energy down and students are looking forward to the upcoming spring break and then summer, but I want to encourage everyone to keep going strong so we can come back next year stronger than ever!

Fundraiser:

The Little Caesars Pizza Fundraiser is done! We had a few students sell a LOT of pizza, which is great! Our music program earned $678. In the Fall fundraiser we earned $1,260. Hopefully, we can step up our game next year and do even better than we did in the Fall! After the Fall fundraiser, we ended up at 34% of the total funds needed for our classroom keyboard. We were hopeful this pizza fundraiser would put us near 50%. Alas, we are only at 38%. That being said, I know that if we work hard and put in a solid effort, we can have that new marimba in no time! As always, the rest of the funds raised will go towards new instruments/materials for the band program, things such as band shirts for students, and trips/activities in the future. Thank you for your participation in helping to provide new opportunities to all of our young musicians!

Festival:

As a reminder, Band Festival will be completely virtual this year. The submission will be a video recording of the Middle School Band and a recording of the High School Band performing their selected festival music. Our recording/submission window is April 28th - May 5th. Yes, the students should wear their concert clothes for the video performances. Concert attire this year is the same as last year, concert black (black shirt, black pants or skirt (dresses also accepted), black socks, black shoes.)

S&E:

Solo and Ensemble is also virtual this year. The high school students have already recorded and submitted their videos. We are still waiting for scores and comments. Middle school S&E registration has begun and will last until March 12th. The upload window will not be until April. Any middle school students who would like to participate need to have their information filled out and submitted to me asap. Performance attire for S&E is up to the individual student/group performing, but attire should be given careful thought.

Concerts/Performances/Trips:

We have a concert planned for Wednesday, May 12th at the school. This will include the 6th Grade Band, Middle School Band, and High School Band. Again, concert attire this year is the same as last year, concert black (black shirt, black pants or skirt (dresses also accepted), black socks, black shoes.) Note: 6th Grade attire will be different, but is still in the works.

EXCITING NEWS!!! We are looking into two more possible performances, one in April and one in May. The April performance would only include the High School Band, but the May performance would include the Middle School Band (7th/8th) as well as the High School Band. Nothing is set in stone just yet, but details are currently being hammered out. The April performance, which is sponsored by the Congressional Institute, would be a NON-competitive outdoor band showcase for the nationwide Congressional Art Competition ( https://www.house.gov/educators-and-students/congressional-art-competition ). The event will be held at Jimmy John's Field in Utica, Michigan on Saturday, April 17th. This would be an amazing opportunity for our students to see and hear other ensembles perform, as well as give a performance themselves. I will keep everyone updated on the events as information becomes available.

As always, if you have any questions feel free to email or call me.

Make sure to keep an eye on the band website for band related news and updates.

Let's finish off the school year strong!

Sincerely,

Zachary Osborn

Director of Bands/Teacher

Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools

989-678-4141

To receive the Owen-Gage band newsletters and other information by email, email a request to osbornz@owengage.org

January/February Band Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Congratulations to...

Shelby Bowers, Boyd Evans, Clay Evans, Karsyn Gruehn, Jameson McKnight, and Libby Ondrajka for being accepted into the 2021 Tri-County Honors Band! An extra congrats to Clay and Libby for being accepted into the TCHB all four years of high school!

Fundraiser:

If your student has not made you aware yet, we have the Little Cesars Pizza fundraiser going right now! This fundraiser comes to an end THIS FRIDAY (2/12/21). Pick up will be Monday, March 1st (3/1/21) outside the band room from 3:30pm until 6pm. Just like the last fundraiser, a percentage of these funds will go towards the percussion keyboard that Mr. Bicigo began fundraising for last year. We are currently at 34% of the total funds needed. The rest of the funds raised will go towards new instruments/materials for the band program, things such as band shirts for students, and trips/activities in the future. Thank you for your participation in helping to provide new opportunities to all of our young musicians!

Festival:

Band Festival will be completely virtual this year. There are two submission periods for Festival this year, March and May. We have decided to submit ours in May. The submission will be a video recording of the Middle School Band and a recording of the High School Band performing their selected festival music. Typically, we are asked to perform three selections, this year we are only asked to perform two. Yes, the students should wear their concert clothes for the video performances. Concert attire this year is the same as last year, concert black (black shirt, black pants or skirt (dresses also accepted), black socks, black shoes.)

S&E:

Solo and Ensemble is also a go this year; however, it is of course virtual. We have four high school students registered for solos and two small ensemble groups (one duet, one trio). The upload window for high school S&E is late February. Middle school S&E registration does not begin until February 15th and will last until March 12th. The upload window will not be until April. Any middle school students who would like to participate should begin searching for music now. Performance attire for S&E is up to the individual student/group performing, but attire should be given careful thought.

Concerts:

As everyone is aware, many things have been cancelled throughout the 2020-2021 school year so far due to COVID. We have already lost our Winter Concert in December, but we do still plan on having at least one concert before the end of this school year! It was my personal hope that we could perform two concerts after returning from Winter Break, one before festival and one after festival with different music. Looking at the current festival situation, we will only have one concert, which is being planned for May. This will include the 6th Grade Band, Middle School Band, and High School Band. Again, concert attire this year is the same as last year, concert black (black shirt, black pants or skirt (dresses also accepted), black socks, black shoes.)

Trips:

We are in the process of planning at least one band trip for this year. We have to wait for more to open and see what events (if any) become available. The trip will most likely be for 7th-12th grade band students and may include performing. Details will be emailed and posted to the "News" page of the band website as soon as they become available.

As always, if you have any questions feel free to email or call me.

Make sure to keep an eye on the band website for band related news and updates.

Let's have a fantastic second semester!

Sincerely,

Zachary Osborn

Director of Bands/Teacher

Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools

989-678-4141

To receive the Owen-Gage band newsletters and other information by email, email a request to osbornz@owengage.org

The

Owen-Gage

Music

Department

Presents…Our Pizza!Pizza! Fundraiser!

It’s Pizza! Pizza! Time! Time for you, your friends, and your family to stock up with Little Caesars Pizza Kits! Have them on hand for quick dinners, parties or entertaining! They’re fun to make and delicious to eat! We need your support! We are asking that everyone participate and sell at least 10 kits!

How: Collect payment at the time you take orders. Please fill out the top portion of your order form with your name and your best contact phone number (cell phones preferred).

Accepting Credit or Debit card payments at www.pizzakit.com

· Click on - “Products” then “Shop”

· Verify Fundraiser ID # 381931 to link the sale to your group

· Customer selects items and pays securely with a Credit or Debit card

· Purchaser must provide seller name before checkout

· Items will deliver to the group and are delivered to purchasers by the sellers

When: NOW!!! (01/25/2021) Fundraiser start date.

Friday 02/12/2021 Order form and payment due.

Be sure your order form is correctly tallied!

Double check all rows and columns.

Late orders will NOT be accepted.

Monday 03/01/2021 Pick-up of Pizza Kits. Date and time will be communicated after our final order is placed. Watch for announcements.

Where: Pickup will be at: Owen-Gage Schools, outside the Band Room

Please pick up your pizza kits as soon as possible. We will not be responsible for any kits remaining as we do not have storage onsite.

Questions: Please feel free to email Mr. Osborn at osbornz@owengage.org with any questions.

Thank you for your support and participation!

December Band Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I am sorry to announce that the Owen-Gage Winter Concert has been cancelled for December 9th, 2020. It is unfortunate that we cannot come together to enjoy live music in this moment; however, all of the hard work your students have put in has not been in vain. Before going virtual, the High School Band recorded some of the music we have been working on for the concert. Soon the Middle School Band (7th/8th) will also record their music. We plan to upload these performances to the band website sometime soon under the Videos tab. We currently have very few in person 6th grade students, so I am not sure if we will be able to record anything for the 6th Grade Band before Winter Break. We are planning at least one concert in the spring and POSSIBLY a pre-festival concert in February.

The Butter Braid fundraiser brought in a total of $1,260 for the Owen-Gage Music Program. Thank you so much for all of your help and support to keep the program running and improving! 25% ($315) of these funds will go towards the percussion keyboard that Mr. Bicigo began fundraising for last year, bringing us from 27% to 34% of the total funds needed! It is a slow crawl, but we are making progress! The rest of the funds raised from Butter Braids will go towards new instruments/materials for the band program, things such as band shirts for students, and will go towards trips/activities in the future. Again, thank you all!

Finally,

This year has been and continues to be a strange one. There are legitimate physical health reasons for social distancing, wearing masks, and even having some students go virtual rather than in person. That being said, we sometimes forget that humans have an innate need to socialize, work hard as an individual or groups, revel in our accomplishments, and even learn from our mistakes. These are things that make us human, keep us going, and help us improve our society. It is more difficult now than ever for some students to feel their accomplishments or understand what mistakes they can learn from. These accomplishments and learning opportunities are there, they are just not as obvious as usual. Many music groups are not able to rehearse or perform at all right now. We at Owen-Gage have been very lucky to spend most of our time rehearsing music; although, we are not going to have a live performance this December. With all of that said, it is so very important that we do what we can to keep our students' spirits up. We need to remind them that what they're doing now is still important and will still receive results. It just might take longer or look different than normal. We all still have to work hard and look to the future. We need to keep our heads up, our hearts warm, and our minds strong. Be it in music, other classes, or life.

Sincerely,

Zachary Osborn

Director of Bands/Teacher

Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools

989-678-4141

To receive the Owen-Gage band newsletters and other information by email, email a request to osbornz@owengage.org

Butter Braid Pick Up

NEXT MONDAY!

November 23, 2020

3:00pm-6:00pm

Get there as early as you can!

Yes, this is for virtual students too!

Pick up will be in the back of the school, in the shop.

November Band Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Thank you to everyone who came out for the Marching Band performance! I know this year has been and continues to be strange, but seeing so many people come out to performances like that makes me really happy and helps us all to feel a bit more normal again.

The Butter Braid Fundraiser is done! Thank you again to everyone who participated! As a reminder, Butter Braid orders MUST be picked up on Monday, November 23rd between 3:00pm and 6:00pm. We are still figuring out our final numbers, but I think we did pretty well! These fundraisers help us purchase new instruments/materials for the band program, things such as band shirts for students, and will go towards trips in the future. Hopefully we will be able to take trips again soon! If anyone has questions about fundraisers or donations, feel free to contact me via email or my office phone.

As of now, the first indoor concert of the season will still be on Wednesday, December 9th at 7:00pm in the Owen-Gage school gym. If anything changes or we have to cancel/reschedule, I will send out another email and it will be posted on the band website. Please, continue to check the band website for updates. As always, admission to the concert is free. Donations are greatly appreciated!

Finally,

Now that Marching Band season is over, it is a good idea to have your student’s instrument(s) inspected. Even if your student was not in Marching Band this year, it is still a good idea to have the instrument(s) looked at. To help keep an instrument “healthy” and prolong its life, you should take your instruments in to be inspected by a professional twice every year. Once after Marching Band season and again when the school year finishes up in the Spring. This way, if there is anything that needs fixed, it will likely be a cheap repair. If you let it go without having it fixed, that once cheap repair might end up costing more than the instrument is worth and you might find yourself buying a new instrument. It’s similar to keeping up on a vehicle. Again, feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns, or for recommendations of places to take your instrument(s).

Sincerely,

Zachary Osborn

Director of Bands/Teacher

Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools

989-678-4141

To receive the Owen-Gage band newsletters and other information by email, email a request to osbornz@owengage.org

October Band Newsletter

Dear Parents/Guardians,

First, I wanted to let you know that we have a fundraiser coming up starting on October 12th ending on November 2nd. The fundraiser will be Butter Braids. If you have never tried Butter Braids, I have to tell you... they are SO good!

Second, we are planning a parent performance on the last Wednesday of Marching Band (October 28th). Rehearsal will start at 6:00pm, as always. The performance will start at 7pm.

Third, the first indoor concert of the season will be on Wednesday, December 9th at 7:00pm in the Owen-Gage school gym. If anything changes or we have to cancel/reschedule, I will send out another email and it will be posted on the band website. Please, continue to check the band website for updates. As always, admission to the concert is free. Donations are greatly appreciated.

Finally, I wanted to leave you with this thought...

This is not the fall we all expected or wanted, but it is the fall we have. While many things are different, some things remain the same. The return of football signals that we are finding our way back to a new normal. Cheering fans, funny commercials, and good ol’ fashioned competition. Competition is everywhere. Our young people are continually bombarded with the message that they must be better, smarter, stronger, or faster. On the athletic fields, in the classroom, online, and in real life. Win, Win… WIN!

Our music room is certainly not immune to competitive forces, nor should it be; however, it is my hope to emphasize a healthier form of competition with students... always striving to be better than we were yesterday. We can’t always control how we rate, but we can control how hard we work. In music we strive not to be better than other people, but to be better people.

Each child has room to grow, improve, and become more confident. If we can finish each rehearsal, practice session, or performance and are able to say with honesty we gave our very best, then that is the type of competition I want to foster in our students.

By focusing on continual improvement, it is my hope that our band room becomes a place where we inspire one another to strive for excellence each and every day. By promoting excellence as a lifestyle, we not only learn to improve as musicians, but as people. That’s the power of music.

I hope you will join me in celebrating our students’ successes each day while inspiring them to reach farther than they thought possible. Now more than ever they need something to feel good about, and I want music to be one source of that joy.

Sincerely,

Zachary Osborn

Director of Bands/Teacher

Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools

989-678-4141

To receive the Owen-Gage band newsletters and other information by email, email a request to osbornz@owengage.org

Greetings Parents!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I would like to introduce myself. My name is Mr. Osborn and I am the new Director of Bands/General Music teacher at Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools. I graduated from Saginaw Valley State University with my Bachelor of Arts in Music Education. I have performed in many groups, such as Concert Bands, Jazz Bands, Pep Bands, Marching Bands, a Percussion Ensemble, and some small chamber ensembles. I have worked since 2015 as a marching and brass instructor to many Mid-Michigan marching bands. I am excited to bring my experience and passion for music to Owen-Gage!

I am also excited to meet everyone throughout my first year here! This will definitely be an interesting school year with everything going on, but I know that no matter what happens we will have fun in the music room! I have a lot planned for this year, and even if we are not able to do everything I would like to, I made sure to have back up plans for my back up plans! I look forward to continuing this music program from where it left off and building it up over the coming years. That being said, I would love to have the support and involvement of parents. If you are a parent/guardian who would like to be more directly involved in the continued growth of the music program at Owen-Gage schools, please feel free to call or email me. My email address is osbornz@owengage.org.

Sincerely,

Zachary Osborn

Director of Bands/Teacher

Owendale-Gagetown Area Schools

989-678-4141