Parent/Guardian
Information Night

Tuesday, May 27th, 2025
Location: Emerald HS Lecture Hall

5:30PM-6:15PM for Marching Band (Everyone in band and Color Guard)
6:30PM-7:15PM for Honors Chamber Orchestra

Band and Orchestra winning after the Music in the Parks Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Festival!

Dear Incoming Emerald HS Music Families,

My name is Mr. Tran, and I am the music director for Emerald HS. It is a pleasure to welcome you to our new school and music program! Although we are new to the community, our students have shown exponential growth and we are about to embark on fun and high-caliber performances.

The purpose of this page and meeting is to provide you with information about our brief history, events for the 2025-2026 school year, understand the funding levels for each program and opportunities for you to volunteer and engage with our program.

You will find information in regards to honors chamber orchestra and marching band (which includes info for ALL band and color guard students). We will not need a meeting for orchestra 1 and orchestra 2 as I will be able to cover everything during Back to School Night. Winter programs such as winter guard and winter percussion will have parent meetings in the end of the Fall season.

See you on Tuesday, May 27th, 2025 at the Emerald HS Lecture Hall.

5:30PM-6:15PM for Marching Band (Everyone in Band and Color Guard)
6:30PM-7:15PM for Honors Chamber Orchestra

Thank you,

Mr. Tran

Band and Orchestra on their way to Southern California!

History

The Music Department has travelled to many destinations which include Honolulu, Hawaii; Disneyland, Six Flags Magic Mountain, and Universal Studios; and local parks such as Great America and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. These trips were essential to forming a positive culture within our band and orchestra.

You can see all of the awards here!
Next year, we have plans to have band travel across the Bay Area for marching band competitions and festivals. With a projected enrollment of 112, we are expected to compete as a 4A band with 5 performances lined up!
Honors Chamber Orchestra was invited to perform in the 2026 ASTA National Orchestra Festival to perform on a national stage, which is a distinguished honor! They also have a number of festivals and competitions across the Bay Area.

Orchestra winning after the Music in the Parks Universal Studios Festival!

Fair Share / Donations

PLEASE DO NOT DONATE THESE AMOUNTS NOW. WE ARE STILL CALCULATING. WE WILL FINALIZE BY JULY 2026!

Since we are a new school, our site leaders and district collaborators have done an excellent job of getting us started. We were provided with high quality instruments and excellent equipment which allowed us to build our program. Like any music program, funding from these sources are limited and there are areas of need we need to fulfil on an annual basis. The vast majority of our competitions, staff, and programs are funded by parent donations. These donations are what we call "fair share" which helps us raise funds for the expenses and needs of our program. NO STUDENT WILL BE TURNED AWAY FROM OUR PROGRAM FOR THE INABILITY TO DONATE. The projected donation amounts for each class are as follows:

Period 4: Honors Band 3: Jazz Ensemble
Donation: $750.00
- Jazz Staff and Clinicians
- Competition Fees (Folsom & Campana Big Bands Fees; No Combo)
- Sheet Music
- All marching band costs. (Please see below for marching band breakdown.)

Period 5: Honors Orchestra 3: Honors Chamber Orchestra
Donation: $1,000.00
- Staff and Clinicians
- Competition Fees (CMEA Festival and Sonoma State Festival)
- Bus for Sonoma State
- Sheet Music
- Instrument Maintenance
- The ASTA National Orchestra Festival Field Trip (2 night stay at the hotel, competition fee, etc.)

Period 6: Orchestra 1/2: Philharmonic Orchestra
Donation: $300.00
- Staff and Clinicians
- Competition Fees (CMEA Festival)
- Sheet Music
- Software - MakeMusic
- Instrument Maintenance

Period 7: Band 1 - Concert Band, Band 2 - Symphonic Band, and Honors Band 3 - Honors Wind Ensemble (This includes color guard.)
Donation: $800.00
- Band Staff
- Competition Fees (CMEA Festival)
- Equipment
- Sheet Music
- All marching band costs.
  (Please see below for marching band breakdown.)

Marching Band and Color Guard
Please note: The following list is for marching band which is already included in the period 4 and period 7 list. You can visit the marching band page to see everything we are doing this season!
- Marching Band Staff (Caption heads and technicians)
- Competition Fees (Please see calendar for 4 marching band competitions.)
- Busses (Fairfield and Fresno)
- Trucks (For 5 performances)
- Uniform and Props
- Equipment
- Grub Club (Food for students for the competitions.)
- Uniform Dry Clean
- Gloves

Winter Programs
These donations do NOT include Winter Percussion, Winter Guard, or Winter Drum Major
Trips are available here.

What if I'm in multiple music classes?
Students participating in multiple music classes have a different donation rate. These students will receive their donation rate from Mr. Tran.

Period 7: Band 1 - Concert Band (Students NOT participating in marching band.)
Donation: $300.00
- Band Staff
- Competition Fees
- Equipment
- Sheet Music
- (This will NOT include the items in the marching band list.)

Band and Orchestra in Kualoa Ranch in Kaneohe, Hawaii!

Upcoming Fundraisers and Volunteers!

We have a couple of upcoming fundraisers to assist us!

Sign up to volunteer and sell fireworks! The more slots we take, the higher our donation! Take note of the "extra credit" section near the end of the form. (Also note the formatting of the times is not in chronological order.)
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904044DABAB22A5FE3-56484034-dpie#/
- Every year, Mr. Tran stays in an RV on-site to provide security for the booth. This raises additional funds for our program. If anyone else is interested in staying nightly to provide security in addition to help set up and close the booth, please let Mr. Tran know immediately. This would be the evenings between June 28th - July 4th (approx. 8PM-8AM). This is not something found in the sign up link above.
Donate your used items! Need to clean out the house over summer? Have a student going away to college and they have too much stuff? Save it, bag it, bring it! Bring them to us in August! We will get a donation based on the weight of these items. The drop off dates are August 4th-7th 5:30PM-6:00PM. If you can not drop it off during this time frame, please email Mr. Tran to schedule a drop off prior the drop off dates - not after!
Click here for items you can donate!
Join the board! We need a team of enthusiastic parents/guardians who can bring the vision of a world-class music education to life at Emerald HS.
Volunteer! We have a number of positions and needs. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Mr. Tran. We are in NEED of volunteers to assist and lend a hand.
Follow us on Social Media! The shares and likes of our posts allow our story to be heard outside our circles and this helps us reach more people! Links are at the bottom of the page.

Band and Orchestra in Honolulu, Hawaii!

Pre-Season Events

These events for for marching band band (everyone in band and color guard) and Honors Chamber Orchestra. [Students would have received a Google Calendar invite so it's clear when they are needed.]

Percussion and Rhythm Section
May 19th, 20th, and 23rd: 3:30PM-5:00PM
Emerald HS Music Room
Color Guard
May 23rd: 4:00PM-5:30PM
Student Union
Winds and Percussion
(Everyone in marching band except color guard.)
May 27th: 3:45PM-5:15PM (Parent meeting after at 5:30PM)
Emerald HS Music Room
Honors Chamber Orchestra
Wednesday, May 28th 2:30PM - 4:30PM
Emerald HS Music Room
All level 3 / honors music classes will have summer work.
We will have FREE brass classes over the summer to assist those with the transition from one instrument to a brass instrument. See link below for calendar.
Marching band members, please make sure you reserve the dates for band camp! Click here for full marching band information.

Orchestra at the Spring Concert!

FAQs

What happens if we do not reach our funding goals?
Realistically, we would need to start cutting opportunities to ensure we remain within our budget.
What can I do to help?
Our programs are taking a leap this upcoming year. We need parents/guardians on our booster board to assist with logistics and fundraising. Mr. Tran can not do this by himself.
Are these donations eligible for "company/corporate match?"
YES! These are donations made to our Emerald High Music Boosters. You can find more information about them here: https://www.emeraldmusicboosters.org/
Please note that funds take 4 months to reach us, so the early you can match, the better!
What do we wear to concerts?
All black!

What do these donations cover?

The music department operates very much like a business. We have transportation needs, specialized staff, and various fees we need to provide in order to participate in events. These operational items are funded by donations on an annual basis. Funding does not come from the district nor the site level. Many local and successful schools have systems like this for their students in place. To provide a world-class experience for our students, these items are essential. Below is a short list of common operational items the music department procures.

Bus and Transportation

The average cost of a charter bus is $3,000 per day, per bus.
Busses are not cheap. We have found that the yellow school busses are slightly cheaper but does not have the necessary storage space we need to transport our equipment.
Mr. Tran books busses when an event is farther or when we deem it is more economical to do so.
When we have the opportunity to carpool, we normally will.
All busses require School Pupil Activity Bus (SPAB) certified drivers which is an added safety net for our students.
We normally need 2 adult chaperones per bus (Mr. Tran is always on bus 1.)

Truck Rentals

Trucks normally cost $300 per day, per truck.
The farther we go, the more expensive it is. This includes the rental fee, insurance, mileage, and gas.
Trucks are NEEDED for every competition that uses percussion equipment.
Our equipment is large and can not fit under the bus nor in cars.
We also have a high quantity of large equipment.
This is generally 5 Marching Band performances and 5 Winter Percussion performances.
Volunteers drive the truck and need more adults to help load/unload equipment.

Music Department Staff

No, NOT Mr. Jasper Tran!
The music department employs coaches, specialists, and speakers to enhance our program.
For example, a violin specialist will come in to work with our violin students (photo above). Mr. Choi works with the Oakland Youth Symphony Orchestra, a prestigious ensemble.
For example, we will have a battery technician work with our specialized percussion students.
For example, we will have clinicians come into work with Honors Chamber Orchestra to ensure we sound our best before going to Nationals.
Without this specialized staff, our program would remain stagnant.

Things you don't think about!

Competition Fees - We need to pay these in order to participate.
Membership Fees - We need this in order to register for competitions.
Repair Items - Our equipment requires regular maintenance. Mr. Tran will often to go the hardware store to buy items needed to maintain or repair equipment.
Batteries - So our electronics can continue to work.
Specialized equipment for each class.
Cables for audio technology.
Costumes for programs.
The designer floor (pictured above).
Gas for the generator (when we are out at marching band competitions).
Music Block - The patch students receive are paid for by the music department.
Awards we give to students.
Additional sheet music we want to play.

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