Marching Band and Color Guard

The Emerald High School Marching Band and Color Guard

The Emerald High School Marching Band and Color Guard is made up of 9th-12th graders at Emerald High School! We perform at competitions, rallies, sports games, and community events. Please see below for details.

Marching band fits a one semester program within 4 months. It runs from August (Band Camp before school starts) - November (Prior to Thanksgiving Break).

There are three major commitments for marching band:

Must be enrolled in a band class (see band options above)
Mandatory weekday/weekend rehearsals, and mandatory competitions/performances.
All of these items are tied to the student's grade in class.

CLICK HERE FOR THE MARCHING BAND CONTRACT

Please note this calendar shows the 7th period schedule and marching band schedule. Each event specifies the required group, but generally Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are for 7th period only (no jazz band only students since they are in period 4); Tuesday and Saturdays are for everyone in marching band (including jazz band students).

Captions

Winds

The winds program is taught by Mr. Tran and consists of the woodwinds and brass players.
Students must have their music packet which consists of the show music and parade march.
Students who play a band instrument and want to participate in guard:
1. In the Fall, students must choose either guard or the instrument they want to play. What they select will be their priority for that season. On priority days, students will be learning from a coach or instructor. On non-priority days, students will be in sectionals. Students will be able to do both. The rehearsal schedule is pending.
  1. For example, I play flute and participate in guard. I select guard as my primary. When my guard instructor is here, I will go with guard. When my guard instructor is not here, I will go with band while the rest of guard has individual practice time or sectionals.

Percussion

The percussion program is taught by a number of percussion instructors.
In the marching band, the percussion section has two components: Front Ensemble and Battery Percussion.
Percussion students will enroll in either band 2 and band 3 - depending on audition results.
Performing seasons:
1. Fall: August - November: Percussion students will perform with the marching band and in their concert class (e.g. symphonic band or wind ensemble).
2. Winter: November - April: See Winter Percussion tab.
3. Spring: April - May: Percussion students will be in pre-season training for the next school year.

Color Guard

Color Guard is under the direction of: Mr. O.
Email: higginbothamonel <at> dublinusd.org
Color Guard is a part of marching band (see details listed under the marching band section as all of that applies to color guard).
Color guard students will enroll in either band 2 and band 3 - depending on audition results. Band 2 will act as Junior Varsity Guard and Band 3 (HP) will act as Varsity Guard.
1. Notes
  1. Mr. Tran fully intends to write the curriculum for color guard and make it into a class. He hopes to have this complete by the next school year.
  2. Depending on the amount of students, the JV and Varsity may be combined.
Performing seasons:
1. Fall: August - November: Guard students will perform with the marching band.
2. Winter: November - April: See Winter Guard tab.
3. Spring: April - May: Guard students will be in pre-season training for the next school year.

Information

Fall 2025 Band Camp

Band Camp is required for everyone in band and color guard. Students who miss band camp will have an opportunity to catch up, but their progress must be exceptional as they are graded once school begins. We do not recommend you miss band camp.
Band Camp:
1. July 28th - August 1st, 2026 and August 4th - August 8th, 2026
2. 10AM-5PM (Lunch from 12:30-1:30)

Location: Emerald High School

Students in band 2 and band 3 are REQUIRED to participate in marching band. Students who want to do band, but not the marching component should enroll in band 1. Students in band 1 may opt to participate in marching band or not.
Emerald High School will have a parade band AND a field show band.
10th-11th graders may receive one semester of PE credit for one season of Marching Band.

Fall 2025 Rehearsal Schedule

Fall Marching Band Schedule
MONDAY (3:40PM - 4:40PM)
Alternating Class Schedule: Band 1/2 meets one week then Band 3 meets the next. [No period 4 jazz band students meet on Mondays unless they are in 7th period.]
TUESDAY (3:40PM - 6:40PM) FULL MARCHING BAND
Rehearsal Breakdown
3:40PM - 4:00PM Physical Warm Up and Stretches
4:00PM - 6:00PM Block w/Staff
6:00PM - 6:40PM Full Ensemble
WEDNESDAY (3:40PM - 4:40PM)
Rehearsal for everyone in 7th period. Every week.
THURSDAY (3:00PM - 4:00PM)
Alternating Section Schedule: Woodwinds meets one week then Brass meets the next. (Percussion/Guard TBA)
[No period 4 jazz band students meet on Mondays unless they are in 7th period.]
SATURDAY (10:00AM - 4:00PM) FULL MARCHING BAND
Rehearsal Breakdown
10:00AM - 10:30AM Physical Warm Up and Stretches
10:30AM - 12:30PM Block #1
12:30PM - 01:30PM Lunch
01:30PM - 03:30PM Block #2
03:30PM - 4:00PM Full Ensemble

Football Games

September 19th, 2025
3:25-4:30 Break
4:30-5:30 Warm Up
5:30-7:45 Game
September 26th, 2025
TBA
October 10th, 2025
3:25-4:30 Break
4:30-5:30 Warm Up
5:30-7:45 Game

Competitions & Performances

Competition Days: Please reserve the entire day because we will spend the morning rehearsing and then the competitions normally end late in the evening, and we need to account for transportation time.
October 25, 2025
FOOTHILL HS COMPETITION
Pleasanton, CA
Parade and Field Show
Carpool - No busses.
November 1, 2025
IRISH GUARD INVITATIONAL
Dublin, CA
Field Show Only
Carpool - No busses.
November 15, 2025
RODRIGUEZ HS COMPETITION
Fairfield, CA
Parade, Concert, Jazz, and Field Show
Busses Provided
November 20, 2025
FRIENDS AND FAMILY
AMADOR VALLEY HS
Field Show Only
Evening Only (Est. 4:30PM)
Carpool - No busses.
November 22, 2025
WBA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Fresno, CA
Field Show Only
Busses Provided

Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]

Can I do sports and 7th period band/marching band at the same time?
Although we encourage students to participate in extracurricular and sports, we ask students to keep absences to a minimum. Sports or activities should not conflict with class. Students will not sign up for two or more sports that conflict with 7th period times. All absences, no matter the excuse, will result in the lowering of the participation grade.
Can I be excused from marching band?
Marching band is the core component for band at Emerald High School. All students in a level 2 and 3 band class must take marching band. Marching band is only optional for students in band 1. All absences, no matter the excuse, will result in the lowering of the participation grade.
Are rehearsals required?
Yes, they are tied to student's grades. All absences, no matter the excuse, will result in the lowering of the participation grade.
Can I make up points when I miss rehearsal?
All absences will result in the lowering of their participation grade, no matter what the excuse is. Students will not be able to receive full credit for missing class, performances, and/or events. Only partial credit of up to 50% can be made up. All absences, no matter the excuse, will result in the lowering of the participation grade.
Can I make a schedule if I have conflicts?
Yes, you can meet with Mr. Tran to discuss how conflicts can be worked out, if they can be. All absences will result in the lowering of the participation grade.
Is band camp part of the grade?
No, it is not. However, it is very beneficial for the students to attend all of band camp.
Can EHS students participate in Dublin High's program?
No. Students who want to participate in the Irish Guard at Dublin High School must submit a transfer request to DHS to participate in their programs.
What if I can not attend band camp?
We encourage students to make every effort to attend as much band camp as possible. We know some events have already been make prior. Please do not ask the director for make up work for band camp. It is the student's responsibility to contact their section leader/captain to get caught up before the first week of school. The grading period does not begin until the first day of school.

How many people are in marching band?
By the numbers (as of 5/24/25)!
40 - Woodwinds
25 - Brass
24 - Percussion
15 - Color Guard
03 - Drum Major: Field Conductors
02 - Audio/Sound Engineers
06 - Operations
115 - Total
What class does this put us in?
We will compete in 2 circuits: WBA and NCBA. The following are field show classifications.
The Western Band Association has the following classifications which places us in 4A.
1A 60 or less
2A 61-80
3A 81-110
4A 111-140
5A 141 or more
The Northern California Band Association has the following classifications which places us in 4A.
1A 1-50
2A 51-70
3A 71-90
4A 91-120
5A 121-150
6A/Open 150+

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