RHS Bands

05/20/2024

Hey everyone! Happy graduation week! Here’s some announcements as we come to the end of the school year!

1. Our performing arts banquet is this Wednesday at 6pm! It will be at the high school in the commons. It is open to all immediate family of students and will include dinner with an awards ceremony to follow. Dinner will start at 6pm and awards will start at 6:30pm. Please consider coming to support our band students and all of their accomplishments this year!

2. Graduation is this Saturday at 10am! Our RHS Band will be playing music to honor our graduating seniors!

3. With the end of the school year quickly approaching, our band is working on graduation music as well as marching band music for our upcoming marching band season this fall! Make sure to keep an eye out for more updates on that this summer!

As always, thank you everyone for your continued support!! Hope you all have an amazing week!

05/19/2024

OMG GIVE HER ALL THE CONGRATULATIONS WHEN YOU SEE HER!!!!!

🎉🏆 Congratulations to Lilly Weisbrod! 🏆🎉

Lilly tied for first place and is now a 3A STATE CHAMPION in High Jump with an impressive jump of 5' 1.00"! 🌟🙌

Way to go, Lilly! We're so proud of you! 💪👏

05/15/2024

Please join the RHS Band Program in congratulating our very own Lilly Weisbrod on qualifying to compete in the high jump at the 2024 CHSAA State Track Meet!

Lilly is a sophomore trumpet player who comes from a family of musicians. She participates in the jazz ensemble and concert/marching band and has been doing great things as part of our program since she entered! She traveled with us to CMU for their Fall Best of the West event and was selected to the D8 JAS Honor Jazz Band each of these last two years.

Now, she gets to switch gears and show off her athleticism at the highest-level track meet in Colorado! We’re hoping for the best.

Congratulations Lilly, and good luck at the State Track Meet!

05/14/2024

Hey everyone! Here’s an update of some big things coming up as we approach the end of the school year!

1. Tonight is our end of year Spring Spectacular! Our RHS Concert Band and Jazz Ensemble will be performing the music we’ve been working on these last few months. The concert will be in the RHS Commons at 6:30. Please consider coming to support our band program and all the hard work our students have put into band over the year!

2. Next Wednesday will be our performing arts banquet! We are excited to celebrate all of our music and drama students with a dinner and an award ceremony to follow. Dinner will start at 6pm and awards will start at 6:30. It will be held in the RHS Commons and is open by RSVP to all immediate family members of performing arts students. We hope to see you there!

3. Speaking of awards…remind your students to fill out the lettering form if they haven’t yet! Details can be found on the Google classroom and the forms are due ASAP!

4. Next week is graduation!! It will be on May 25th at 10am and our RHS band will be playing music at the graduation to honor our seniors. We hope you'll join us in recognizing the truly remarkable Class of '24!

Hope everyone has an amazing week! Thank you all for your support to our band program!

05/08/2024

Hey everyone! Here’s some announcements to keep in mind as we head into May!

1. As mentioned a few weeks back, CU Boulder sent a woodwind quintet to visit our students on April 23rd. It sounds like it was an outstanding experience, and we’ve attached some photos and video of the event. Enjoy!

2. Next week we will be having our Spring Spectacular! It will feature performances from both the RHS Jazz and Concert Bands. It will be at 6:30pm in the Rifle High School commons on Tuesday, May 14th.

3. The performing arts banquet is coming up as well! It will be on Wednesday, May 22nd at 6pm. Dinner will be provided and awards will be given out afterwards to celebrate our amazing band, choir, and drama students! Awards will begin at 6:30pm. We are looking to collect numbers of those coming by this Thursday, so please make sure your student knows who all is planning to come and lets one of our directors know! All immediate family is invited!

4. And, crazy as it is, graduation is coming up!! It will be on Saturday, May 25th at 10am and our RHS Band will be playing music to celebrate our graduates!

Hope everyone is having a great week so far! Thank you all for your continued support!

05/02/2024

In lieu of this week’s update, please enjoy our newsletter for the month of May! If you have any questions, let us know, and have a great week!

If you’d like a link to our newsletter in PDF form, feel free to follow it below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yMl_VhTxDd7HErzUMbnSHwm_XPBR10Mx/view?usp=drive_link

04/18/2024

Unfortunately, due to a family emergency, tomorrow morning's Jam Session for students interested in auditioning for the 24-25 Grizzly Groove has been canceled. So sorry for the short notice! If you or someone you know was interested in attending, please pass the word!

For anyone interested, tryout packets for this year will be available in the RHS front office.

04/16/2024

Hey everyone!!! Can you believe we’re halfway through April already? Here’s some announcements for you to keep in mind this next week!

1. Last Monday, the band was fortunate to receive some band help from Mr. Gary Ambrosier. A Western Slope native who taught at Glenwood HS for 4 years and in Grand Junction for more than 20, he led us through some sight reading music and gave us some great tips!

2. In addition, we also had the Brass Quintet from CU Boulder come and put on an amazing mini performance for the band. They also played along with the band as we looked at some new music we’re working on for the spring concert! It was a fun experience, and we have a few photos from that morning.

3. We had our first ever Spring Jazz Showcase last Thursday, and the jazz band had an incredible performance in the auditorium. A huge thank you to everyone who came to support our jazz band!

4. This Friday, the drumline will be having a jam session to start prep for drumline tryouts at the beginning of May. If your 8th grade percussionist is interested in trying out, have them come to RHS from 8-10 AM on Friday morning to receive the tryout material and get help learning some of it!

Thank you all for your continued support to our band program! Hope everyone has a great week!

04/09/2024

Hey everyone! Here’s a little update of what the band’s been up to!

1.) Last week on Wednesday, the band travelled to Battle Mountain High School to perform for CHSAA. Although it was an early morning, the band out on an amazing performance, receiving excellent scores both on the performance and in sight reading. We came back and had pizza to celebrate the awesome work these kids have put into our festival season!

2.) The jazz band will be having a performance this Thursday in the Rifle High School auditorium at 6:30pm. Look on our page for an event that has all the information. Please consider coming out to support our jazz band!

Hope everyone has a great week!

04/02/2024

In lieu of this week’s update, please enjoy our newsletter for the month of April! If you have any questions, let us know, and have a great week!

If you’d like a link to our newsletter in PDF form, feel free to follow it below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ji-R_ekFn2GvC2kuIbP6VKc5oF_ELJDV/view?usp=drive_link

03/19/2024

Hey everyone! Here’s some announcements to keep in mind as we head into spring break next week!

1. The band and choir’s recruitment at RMS went awesome last week! We had fun talking to and performing for the eighth graders and hope a lot of them will join many of the great electives that are offered at RHS next year!
2. The band and choir are having our spring concert, “Uniting Instruments and Voices”, this Wednesday, March 20th at 6:30pm at the high school! Save the date to come watch our amazing music program here at RHS perform as we prepare for our April contests!
3. The Wednesday (April 3rd) after spring break, the band will be traveling to Battle Mountain High School to compete for CHSAA! This is a great opportunity for the band to perform some of our music we’ve been working on and practice some sight reading as well! It’s an early call time of 5 am but we appreciate your efforts in advance to get your band student here to perform with us that day!

Hope everyone has an amazing week and spring break!

03/11/2024

Save the date for our upcoming combined concert with the RHS Choirs! We will be showcasing our spring contest music, and it’ll be a great way to support your local musicians. See you at 6:30 PM in the RHS Commons!

03/11/2024

Hey everyone! Here’s some announcements of things that are coming up in the next few weeks!

1. Unfortunately, due to the snow day last week, the band was unable to perform in the CBA Western Regionals this year. But the band is getting excited to perform at the CHSAA festival on April 3rd! More details to come!

2. Tomorrow, the band will be going to Rifle Middle School with the choir to perform some of our marching band stand tunes and recruit the 8th graders to join our band program next year! We'll discuss band, choir, and the many electives available at RHS which help break up some of the academic monotony of the school day and turn our students into well-rounded future citizens! We're excited to see the 8th graders and get them pumped for high school.

3. Next week, the jazz band, concert band, and choir programs will have a combined concert to showcase some of the contest music we’ve been working on. That will be on Wednesday, March 20th at 6:30 PM in the RHS Commons. Hope to see you there!

Hope everyone has an amazing week! Thank you for all your support to our band program!

03/05/2024

In lieu of this week’s update, please enjoy our newsletter for the month of March! If you have any questions, let us know, and have a great week!

If you’d like a link to our newsletter in PDF form, feel free to follow it below:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15P-qjEJe3bD8zoNKaUwUZAmxc8Z0RRtx/view?usp=drive_link

02/27/2024

Hey everyone! Hope you’re enjoying these last few days of February! Here’s some announcements to keep in mind for the next few weeks.

1. The band is working hard to prepare music for our festival and competition season! Our first competition will be next Monday, March 4th in Palisade for the CBA Western Regionals. Please make sure your band student takes a look at the itinerary and comes dressed in concert attire. And parents are welcome to attend our performance! We will perform at 12:30pm at Palisade High School.

2. There is also a concert coming up that is combined with the choir students. That will be on Wednesday, March 20th and will preview some of our CHSAA music, a future festival we’ll be performing at.

Thank you for all your support to the band program! Hope everyone has a great week!

02/27/2024

🐻🏅 Exciting News! 🏅🐻

Join us in celebrating an outstanding achievement by our phenomenal Bear, Isaac Valencia! 🎉👏 Isaac secured an impressive 4th place at the 3A State Wrestling Tournament, showcasing incredible skill, dedication, and heart on the mat.

His hard work and perseverance have truly paid off, making us all proud! 🌟 Let's shower Isaac with applause and cheers for this remarkable accomplishment. 🎉👊 Go Bears! 🐻💪

02/20/2024

Hey everyone! Hope you guys all had a great last week! Here’s some announcements for the week ahead!

1. The music boosters program just hosted our annual Valentine’s Day dinner and concert fundraiser with performances from the jazz band and choir. The jazz band and choir students put on an amazing concert! And a big thank you to everyone who put that together and to all those who came to support us!

2. Several of our band students participated in solo and ensemble this last Friday. The students’ hard work these last few weeks definitely paid off and they got some awesome scores back, including Superior ratings (the highest possible!) for Addy Long, Divia Martinez-Pizarro, Saul Orona, and the duets of Aiden Harden/Harley Griffith and Evelyn Hinckley/Kat Santana! Congratulations!

3. Only a couple more weeks until the band performs at the CBA Western Regionals at Palisade, which will be on Monday, March 4th. The band students are working hard to prepare music for that and our other band festivals we have coming up. The itinerary for that event is attached to this post.

Hope everyone has a great week! Thank you all for your continued support!

02/13/2024

Happy Valentine’s week! As usual, we’re so thankful for all of your support. Here’s some announcements for the next few weeks!

1. We’ve got the Valentine’s Day dinner coming up this Thursday, February 15th! It will begin with a silent auction at 5:30, followed by dinner at 6, and then a performance with the RHS Jazz Band and choir students at 6:30. Tickets are no longer available for sale, but a HUGE thank you to everyone who bought tickets and is planning to come! See you Thursday!

2. Solo and ensemble is happening this Friday! Several students from our band will be performing, either as soloists or small ensembles, in front of judges throughout the day. Good luck to everyone who is performing that day!

3. The band will be performing at the CBA Western Regionals at Palisade High School, which will be on Monday, March 4th. More details to come!

Hope everyone has a great week!

02/06/2024

Happy February! Here's an update on what's going in the RHS Band world.

1. This past weekend a group of 8 RHS band students went to Carbondale to perform in the Jazz Aspen Snowmass honor band. This was a huge honor, a great weekend of hanging out, and they all performed great!

2. Only 10 days until our annual Valentine’s Day dinner and music fundraiser! The money raised goes to help the RHS music department. The event will be held on Thursday, February 15th at RHS beginning with a silent auction at 5:30. Dinner will start at 6 and there will be a performance with the RHS Jazz Band and Choir students at 6:30. Tickets are available for purchase online using our QR code. A ticket for dinner and performance is $30, and a ticket for just the performance is $10. Make sure to come support our music department!

3. The All Rifle Concert will be this Wednesday (TOMORROW NIGHT) at 6pm at the high school! This is a cool opportunity for music students from several schools in the community to collaborate and perform some of the music we’re working on! It will feature students from Graham Mesa, Highland, Wamsley, RMS, and RHS.

Hope everyone has an amazing week! Thank you for your continued support of our music program!

02/01/2024

Hey everyone! Here’s some announcements to keep in mind as we go into this next month!

1. Another big congrats to the kids who made it into the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Honor Band!!! The students who made it are: Conner E., Harley G., Aiden H., Connor H., James H., Oliver M., Matthew R., and Lilly W. They will be performing this weekend up in Carbondale.

2. There will also be an upcoming opportunity for several band students who are interested in performing in solos and small groups called Solo and Ensemble. That will be on Friday, February 16th. More details to come!

3. The RHS music department is hosting their annual Valentine’s Day dinner and music fundraiser! The event will be held on Thursday, February 15th at RHS beginning with a silent auction at 5:30. Dinner will start at 6 and there will be a performance with the RHS Jazz Band and Choir students at 6:30. Tickets are available for purchase online using our QR code. A ticket for dinner and performance is $30, and a ticket for just the performance is $10. Make sure to come support our music department!

4. The All Rifle Concert is coming up! This is a cool opportunity for music students from several schools in the community to collaborate and perform some of the music we’re working on! It will be on Wednesday, February 7th at 6pm at RHS, featuring students from Graham Mesa, Highland, Wamsley, RMS, and RHS. Hope to see you there! 

Hope everyone has a great week! Thank you for your continued support!

01/25/2024

Sublime. Awe-inspiring. Majestic.

All words that describe the performance today at CMEA 2024 by the RHS Varsity Choir, conducted by Daryl Gingrich and accompanied by Anna Bagley. Their performance elevated the art form and showcased the incredible talents of a huge group of amazing, multi-talented musicians, from athletes and actors to academics and altruists and everything in between. Reminders that music makes us all better, from the performers to the audience.

Congratulations to the RHS Varsity Choir!!!

01/10/2024

It’s a little late, but please enjoy our January newsletter! Let us know if you have any questions, have a great Wednesday, and good luck to all our students in their Finals!

01/09/2024

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all had a great break! With the new year, here are some upcoming announcements for the band.

1. We’ve had many honor band opportunities for the band students to audition for and recently 8 of our students made the JAS Honor Jazz bands! Please join us in congratulating Aiden Harden, Harley Griffith, Janyra Escobar Marin, Lilly Weisbrod, Conner Enlow, Oliver Maness, Connor Hays, and Matthew Rhine!

2. The music program at RHS is having our annual Valentine’s Day dinner and concert fundraiser! We will be serving tacos and the band and choir students will be having a performance. It will be on Thursday, February 15th starting at 5:30. Tickets are available for purchase online or with the QR code. Tickets for dinner and the concert are $30 and tickets for just the performance are $10. Please consider coming to support our music program! 

3. The basketball season is in full swing and the Grizzly Groove drumline will be performing at home varsity games! Make sure to come and keep an eye (or should we say an ear 😜)out for the drumline! 

4. We have some students who haven’t yet paid back their money for the candy bar fundraiser and for senior banners. Please make sure to get that money turned in asap! 

5. Finally, our January newsletter will be coming out soon. Be on the lookout!

Hope everyone has a great week!

01/04/2024

If you haven’t already heard, the RHS Music program will be hosting a Valentine’s Day Dinner and Fundraiser on Feb. 15th! This is a great way to support the amazing musicians at Rifle High School while also being treated to a delicious taco bar and a dinner show. This flyer has a QR code to get your digital tickets. We also accept table sponsorships and donations for our silent auction, which was a huge success last year. Hurry and reserve your spot to support the best and hardest-working musicians in the area!

12/20/2023

On Monday, Dec. 11, the RHS Jazz Ensemble traveled to Grand River Health Care Center to play some Christmas tunes for a wonderful audience. The kids got to spread some Christmas cheer, and the lovely people at the Care Center were an incredible audience and super grateful for our performance! We hope to be able to return many times over the coming months and years—enjoy some pictures!

12/12/2023

Hope everyone has had a great week! As we approach winter break, here are some last minute announcements to keep in mind!

1. Several of our band students went to Best of the West this last weekend at CMU and got a chance to audition and be placed in bands with guest directors! It’s a cool opportunity that band students are offered every year to learn some new music and new skills on their instruments! And meet some fellow band students in the area too! The kids had a blast and performed incredibly this past Saturday, and with MUCH effort, Mr. Ishee was able to get a photo of everyone together!

2. The band will be having their concert (combined with the choir) at 6:30pm this Wednesday, December 13th in the RHS Commons. Make sure to come and support our band kids and all the hard work they’ve put into learning this music!

3. The jazz band will also be performing some Christmas songs  at some of the elementary schools this week! They just played at the veteran’s home today. It’s a great opportunity for the community to see our band program!

Hope everyone has a great week! Hope to see you at the concert!

12/04/2023

In lieu of our weekly update, please welcome the first ever RHS Band monthly Newsletter! We hope to get one of these out each month updating you on important dates, congratulating our students on their incredible achievements, and generally keeping you updated in a more visually-appealing way. Thanks for your support, and reach out if you have any questions!

11/28/2023

Hey everyone! Hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving Break! Here’s some announcements to keep in mind this week!

1) The football team just competed in the CHSAA 2A State Championship this last Saturday that the band traveled to! Even though we didn’t come away with the win, the football team still had an amazing season and the Marching Bears had an amazing season as well supporting our football team!

2) If you ordered Butterbraids, they will be on the way in the next few weeks! Be on the lookout for those!

3) With the shift into concert season for the band, we will be having our winter concert Wednesday, December 13th. It will be combined with the choir. More details to come!

4) The first edition of the band newsletter will also be coming out soon! It will attempt to provide upcoming dates, highlight the accomplishments of our fine band students, and give a more visual method of information. Hope you enjoy it!

Hope everyone has an awesome week!!

11/27/2023

From the normal and fun to the weird and silly, enjoy these pics of the RHS band kids at their best (and most artistic)!

11/14/2023

Hey everyone! We’ve got some exciting stuff coming up with the band!

1) We will be hosting the semi-finals for football playoffs this Saturday at 1pm! Itinerary is attached above. It will be the last time this year to come watch your Marching Bears, so make sure to come support the band and the football team!

2) We are also looking for a meal sponsor for this game. Please contact Ishee via remind or at [email protected] if interested.

3) Over this last week, the band has had some awesome performances! We performed at the annual Veteran’s day assembly to honor our local Veterans last Thursday. We also cheered on the football team at their playoff game last weekend! It’s been an awesome season for them as well as cheer and dance, so make sure to come support everyone this Saturday at the game!!!

4) This week is also the last week to buy Butterbraids! Please get in touch with an RHS musician if you are interested in buying any.

5) The band will also be having our annual Bandsgiving this Wednesday (set up around 5:30, dinner at 6!). This is a great opportunity for the band kids to come together and hang out with some great food! Please make sure that your band student knows about it and signs up to bring some food if possible!

Hope everyone has an awesome week! Thank you!