Welcome to the Fossil Ridge Bands Program.
We are so glad that you're here!
High School is a big place. Band is one great way to find your place in it. Fossil offers lots of different music opportunities across the entire school year. Here's some information to get you started.
Concert Band
Every incoming freshman student is enrolled in concert band, a non-auditioned ensemble. Students who would like to be considered for placement in Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony may record and submit an ensemble audition. Contact Mr. Herman for more information about the audition process.
Incoming students do not need prior music experience to participate in our program. Students may contact Mr. Herman or Mrs. Peterson to discuss pathways towards learning and being successful at an instrument at the high school level. You can find out more about our concert bands here. Marching Band
Every marching band student plays in one of our three concert bands, but not every concert band student marches with marching band. That being said, we'd love to have you! Marching Band is considered an extra-curricular club - almost all events take place outside of school hours. This is a highly decorated, award winning team and takes a lot of work, but it is an absolute blast! Our marching band consists of wind and percussion instruments as well as our award winning color guard.
You can find out more about Marching Band here. Parents, marching band is a great place to get involved. Visit the Band Booster page for more info. Color Guard
Color Guard is the visual part of our marching band, and they really make us look good! Everything they learn and practice they do so outside of classroom hours - their dedication to our program is really top notch. Color guard summer sectionals are held Tuesdays and Thursdays this year and start on May 14 at 5:00 on the guard field. Guard is judged as part of the larger marching band during the fall season, but during the winter season, they compete in Rocky Mountain Color Guard Association (RMCGA) and Winter Guard International (WGI) shows. You can learn more about winter guard here.
The Band Field
If your child is participating in marching band, most of the action will be taking place on the band field, indicated by the blue oval in the picture. This year, we are also excited to have a guard field, the red oval. Most parents drop off or pick up from the staff lot (accessible from Rock Creek Drive) or on the far north curve of the western student lot, accessible from Ziegler Road. Both spots are indicated by yellow lines. If you're new to our program and looking to connect with other band parents, there's usually several hanging out by the red X at any given practice. We'll definitely be there on Saturday, May 18 at 9 AM to chat with you about our Band Boosters Job Fair!
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Our staff
Mr. Herman and Mrs. Peterson are our main two band directors, but they are not our only staff. Please visit our staff page to see all the people who make our band program work.
The Band App
The Band App (not just for Band, but an app for organizing groups) is how we disseminate the most up-to-date information about what is going on in the music program. And I'm not going to lie, it can be overwhelming. But it is super useful, immediately connects you to all the members of the band and it's where we house ALLLLLL the pictures. Once your child is officially committed to band, you will be invited to join your particular group (concert, marching, color guard etc). And if you have any trouble navigating the band app, please reach out. You can direct any question you might have to Allison Williams.
Football Games
Both marching band and concert band students perform as a pep band for our high school football games throughout the season. Games are held at the District Stadium at Timnath Middle/High School up off of Prospect Road. Students are bussed to the school from Fossil. Football games are a low stress way to perform our show in front of an audience without the pressure of judging and playing the pep tunes in the stands is a lot of fun. Color guard provides some sweet dance moves. During halftime, when the marching band performs, the concert band students that attend watch the show. After the game, the band is transported back to Fossil for dismissal.
Competition Days
Competition Days for marching band are long. Generally running from 8 or 9 in the morning and lasting until 11 pm, there's a lot that goes into a comp day. Always look for a complete minute by minute itinerary that our band directors provide close to each show - they go out on the Band App. And there are a lot of parent jobs that go into supporting our students during these days. Please consider visiting the Volunteer Opportunities page to see how you might get involved in helping with anything from uniform fittings to feeding 125 hungry teens throughout the day. At each comp, we set up a home base and mark it with our Fossil Ridge Bands flags - you can see the base of one in the photo to the right. It makes it easy for kids and parents alike to find us when we're not on the field performing. In the stands, we ask that our parents be respectful and supportive of all competitors and bands on the field at any given competition.
CBA
We are members of CBA - Colorado Bandmasters Association, and perform in their competitions throughout the year, both for concert band and for marching band. There is a lot of information that goes into the scoring of our performances and the feedback that our directors receive from the panel of judges. The CBA website outlines all of that information. Follow this link to read up on all things marching, and this link for all things concert band related as it pertains to CBA. BOA Marching band also competes at the national level with BOA - Bands of America. This is a much larger stage with many more bands involved. You can get all information about how BOA runs here Social Media |
