New Student Information 2026

The start of a new marching season is fast-paced, but your student is about to build unforgettable memories.

Welcome to the 2026-2027 Trojan Marching Band and Guard Season

Summer Band Camp

Summer Band Camp is mandatory for all students.

Check the calendar for schedule details

9th Grade July 24, 10am – 4pm

Leadership July 23 – 24

All Band and Guard July 27 – August 15

Band camp is when band and guard members practice for the upcoming marching season. They also learn stand tunes that are played during football games.

Student Parking Lot off Steck (@Mesa) in the morning. Band Hall in the afternoon. Don’t Be Late!

First, get a sports physical and fill out the latest form. Physicals need to be dates after April 15 so it can count for the following school year. If you cannot get a physical at your child’s doctor’s office, you can get them at these clinics. We need students to be healthy coming into this–and it’s a UIL requirement for participation. Drink lots of water and get moving outside to become accustomed to the weather.

Eat a good breakfast, bring lots of water, a lunch, and some snacks, and bring or get dinner if the section is going to flamingo neighborhoods in the evening.

Band camp starts in the student parking lot off Steck/Mesa. Look for our band trailer. Students must be ready to go at 8 am, so you need to drop them off about 10-15 minutes beforehand to set up. If they need to get instruments from the band hall (percussion and bigger brass instruments), go to the band hall first to get the instrument, and then go to the parking lot.

During camp, they will play games, practice with their section, start learning the marching show, learn football stand tunes, etc. They’ve got a full schedule every day, so missing 1 or 2 days at band camp puts students behind on learning.

Lunch, Snacks, Filled Water Jug, Marching Instrument

Wear clothing to stay cool. That means the following:

athletic shorts
t-shirts or tank tops
athletic running/walking shoes with good socks – no Vans, Converse or any flat soled shoes
sunscreen
a hat
sunglasses

Other items they must have every day are their water jug (ABBA supplies them) and a smartphone (fully charged) to learn the drill. Let a director know if having a smartphone at rehearsals is an issue.

Most students bring their lunch and eat inside and outside around the band hall area. Others go home if they live nearby.

Students may also walk to Hillcrest Baptist Church right behind Anderson off Steck for lunch. Hillcrest Church loves the Anderson Band! They open their gym so students can have a place to eat their lunch and cool off. Volunteers there will refill students’ water jugs with ice and water. On Wednesdays, they offer pizza and snacks for $1-2 each (cash only).

Check the schedule for end times. If your child is flamingo-ing that evening, the pick up time will be closer to 9pm. The pick-up location is at the band hall off of Cima Serena (the parking lot is one way, so make sure to enter only by Cima Serena & Mesa–do not enter the parking lot at the end near the band hall).

Important Summer Dates

Freshman Camp

July 24, 10-4pm

Registration Day

July 24, 5-7pm

Band Camp

July 27 – Aug 5 (8am – 4pm)
Aug 6 (5 – 8:30pm)
Aug 7 (8am – 4pm)
Aug 10 – 13 (5 – 8:30pm)
August 14 (5 – 9pm)

Flamingo Fundraiser Kick-Off

July 27

Midnight Madness

August 7

Registration Day

Registration day is Friday, July 24, 2025 from 5 – 7pm in the Anderson Cafeteria. We’ll get you started off right with all the information you need to help your student be successful in band!

In advance of Registration Day, you will turn in all required paperwork for the band, pay fair share and instrument fees, and have the opportunity to purchase game day meals and merchandise. You can complete any missing paperwork and you can find out how to volunteer and meet other parents who can help answer any questions you might have at the event. We conclude with a meeting for ALL parents and students/

PLEASE NOTE: If paying by check, bring more than 1 check. Fair share and instrument rentals fees go to Anderson HS Band (the school’s account), and merchandise and game day meals will be made out to ABBA.

Fair Share

Fair Share is the ‘band fees’ required for all band students enrolled in concert band, marching band, and dance guard. Fair share for your child this year covers but is not limited to: uniform fees, show shirt, competition meals, dance guard and band costuming, charter bus and school bus expenses for competitions, football game snacks and bottled waters, registration fees, marching show licensing… it’s a long list.

You can pay online via or by check made out to “Anderson Band” at Registration Day.

Pay Online

Parents should set up an account and add their “Family Member” (the student).

Go to the “Band Items” category and you should find 2 items.

Instrument Usage
*The Percussion fee is $50 for sticks/mallets/heads- choose “quantity 2” for fees here.
*Winds fee is $25 per instrument checked out. If you are marching brass, you will have two instruments/two fees- choose “quantity 2” for fees here.
Band Fair Share – you can pay all up front or break in to 2-4 payments.

I never paid it when I was in high school band. The amount of funding we receive from the district gets smaller and smaller each year. The district provides only about 25 percent of what we need to maintain a top-notch band program. We must fundraise the rest of it.

The students want to belong to a top-tier marching program and that requires music arrangers, props designers, visual designers, master class instructors, etc.

Anderson is in a very competitive district for many activities – sports, speech & debate, robotics – they all require time commitment and funds. Band is the largest student group so we must have a fair share to maintain our high level of excellence. However, please note that it is the policy of our band program to never deny participation if finances are an issue. Please speak to Mr. Nedley if payment is ever a problem. Anderson’s band staff works diligently to keep this cost low while providing a very fine musical experience (with quite a bit of variety) for our students.

Midnight Madness

Date TBD

During this annual Anderson tradition, our Trojan football team begins its first official practice of the season at 12:00 am (that’s right — midnight!). Each year we celebrate the beginning of the season with band, cheerleaders, and students (and some parents too!) in attendance. Band students will participate with a pizza party, games, and performance. Students are released shortly after midnight.

Instruments

All students are expected to provide their own equipment in some manner whether that is by owning, renting from a music store, or renting from the school. Below is our instrumentation for marching band.

Woodwinds: Flutes, clarinets, and alto saxophones are not provided. Bass clarinets and tenor and baritone saxophones are provided to specific students based on ensemble needs. Please speak with Mr. Nedley if providing your own instrument is an issue. If you play oboe or bassoon, please speak with a band director before making a choice for marching season.

Brass: Trumpets, mellophones (marching french horns), marching baritones (all trombone and euphonium players play this), and sousaphones (tubas) are provided, but there is a $25 user fee to help offset the cost of cleaning and maintenance.

Percussion: provided along with a $50 fee on top of fair share. This money goes toward mallets, sticks, and instrument maintenance. More details to be discussed at camps.

Dance Guard: provided along with a $25 fee on top of fair share. This money goes toward equipment purchasing and maintenance. There may be other equipment needed as directed by the guard staff.

Attendance

For the time being, assume that any Thursday night through Saturday in the fall might include band activities. These start with the first weekend of the school year and continue through the first or second weekend in November. Keep in mind that not every weekend will have a band event, so check the calendar. We will let students know which weekend they can attend ACL Fest once we have the competition schedule.

Each marching season, we have 1-2 Saturday practices. Please check the Band Calendar for the most up-to-date information.

Having all members in attendance is vital to the success of our program. This isn’t like a sports team where we can simply substitute a player. If a student must miss a rehearsal or even a performance, it affects other students around them. In a perfect world, everyone would be at everything. However, since we know emergencies pop up from time to time, any and all absences must be communicated with a director via the absence form in order to be considered excused.

Schedule during the school year

Schedule in 2024: We have two morning and two evening rehearsals each week. We do not exceed 8 hours of time outside of the school day per week. This is a UIL policy.

Mondays: 8-10:30 am, 5-8 pm
Wednesdays: 8-10:30 am, 5-7 pm (guard only)
Thursdays: 5-8 pm (move to Friday if we have Thursday game)

Always check the calendar in the Band App or have your student message a member in their section when in doubt!

BAND App and Social Media

Throughout the year we use an app called BAND to provide the most up-to-date information for our students and parents. Mr. Nedley publishes the Band Blast with information almost weekly during marching season and a few times a month during the spring. Our sections use it to communicate specific info such as section gatherings. We may also use it when the weather affects rehearsals or performances. Either way, all students and parents should download the app on their phones. After creating your account on the BAND website (please use your first and last name as your username), students and parents should join our main page, and parents can also join the parent page.

Our boosters maintain both a Facebook and Instagram page. Check them out!

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