Embedded Files
The music program at Southeast Polk has over 180 students participate every year at the high school level, across 6 different bands, and prides itself on being inclusive to all students.
The Southeast Polk Band Program excels in developing well-rounded musicians through comprehensive instruction and performance opportunities in marching band, wind ensemble, symphonic band, and jazz band. With a focus on musical excellence, discipline, and teamwork, Southeast Polk Band program fosters leadership, dedication, and a lifelong appreciation for music.
Band Update 2/7/2026
Band Update 2/7/2026
Hello Band Families,
Welcome to February! Holy Cow, the fun never stops! See below for LOTS of important information and updates!
BAND BOOSTER UPDATES
NEXT BAND BOOSTER MEETING
Please consider attending our next Band Booster meeting, Thursday, March 5th at 6:30pm! Meetings take place in High School band room s122 and are open to all, regardless of whether you are a regular attender, or interested in checking it out. Students even receive letter points for attending!
MATTRESS FUNDRAISER
Thank you to everyone who came out and supported us by purchasing a mattress and/or accessories this past weekend!. There was a steady flow of people throughout the day! Our sale brought in approximately $7500!
BAND WEBSITE REFRESH
The social media committee has been doing a bunch of work to update the look & functionality of our band website. Check it out here: https://sepbands.southeastpolk.org/home
CONCERT ENSEMBLE UPDATES
SOUTHEAST POLK WIND ENSEMBLE & MADRID JOINT CONCERT (2/10)
If you have a student in the Wind Ensemble, we have an added performance on our calendar on Tuesday, February 10th. Madrid High School’s concert band will be joining us for a combined performance that evening.
Students will begin rehearsing during the Wind Ensemble’s 6th period class through the afternoon. They will dine together in the commons and the concert will begin at 7:00pm. Here is the livestream link for those who are unable to attend in person! We hope to see a great turnout!
THE GUY BLAIR ALL-IOWA CONCERT BAND FESTIVAL (2/16)
Both the Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble will be performing at this concert band festival on Monday, February 16th at Johnston High School. See the itinerary for our performance times. We are in need of a few parent chaperones for this trip. Please consider signing up to volunteer: HERE
Please consider coming to our performances.They are free to the public and we need our parents to be there supporting us! You make us perform better!!
2026 Guy Blair All-Iowa Concert Band Festival Itinerary
SOUTHEAST POLK WIND ENSEMBLE AUDITIONS for 2026-27
Audition materials will be available to students interested in auditioning for next year’s Wind Ensemble early the first week of March. 10-11 auditions will take place on Thursday, April 2nd. Interested current 9th grade students will audition on Friday, April 3rd.
SOLO & ENSEMBLE UPDATE
Solo & Ensemble Festival is coming up on Tuesday, February 24th. We are in need of parent volunteers. Please consider signing up to assist here: 2026 Solo & Ensemble Volunteer Sign-up
Accompanist rehearsals will begin next week: 2026 Accompanist Schedule (two tabs). A huge thank you to our accompanists Lisa Vroom and Vicky Anderson for their work with our students to help them prepare for this night of performances. As a reminder, each student should plan to pay their accompanist $20 directly, to compensate them for their time & effort (the band program covers an additional $20/student).
Participating students will perform for friends, family & an adjudicator. Audience members are welcome and encouraged to attend & support as many performances as they can! Students should arrive 20-30 minutes ahead of their performance time to warm-up and prepare.
TENTATIVE Solo & Ensemble Performance Schedule
CENTER 1 (Woodwinds)
CENTER 2 (Brass)
CENTER 3 (Percussion)
Location: Choir Room (s124)
Location: Auditorium
Location: Band Room (s122)
Warm up: S123
Warm up: Small Practice Rooms
Warm up: Large Practice Room
Adjudicator: Katie Stessman
Adjudicator: Steve Day
Adjudicator: Jonathan Sharp
MARCHING BAND UPDATES
2026 MARCHING RAMS CALENDAR
The 2026 Marching Rams Calendar is now available! While we don’t anticipate major changes to the schedule, please keep in mind that this calendar is still tentative and subject to change. 2026 Marching Rams Calendar
2026 MARCHING RAMS DRUM MAJORS
Congratulations to the 2026 Marching Rams Drum Majors: Sierra Carter, Natalie McCulley, Avis Sinwell, & Brody Walker!
17 students went through this rigorous audition process and we couldn’t be more proud of each and every one. Job well done to all students that went through this process!
2026 MARCHING RAMS LEADERSHIP AUDITIONS
Leadership applications will be available on 3/6. All applications will be due by the end of day, 3/26.
2026 MARCHING RAMS - INCOMING FRESHMAN AUDITIONS
Any 8th graders interested in participating in the 2026 Marching Rams will need to audition. Materials will be available on or before February 16th. Auditions will take place on March 24th and 25th. Any students currently in 9-11th grade do NOT need to audition, even if they’ve never participated in marching band before. Reach out to a director with any questions.
HONOR BAND UPDATES
IOWA STATE HONOR BAND (2/6-2/7)
Congrats to the following 10-12 students for acceptance into the ISU Cyclone Honor Band:
Cardinal Band: Brett Bergman, tuba; Jameson Mauss, euphonium, Tabitha Mauss, oboe
Gold Band: Emily Wall, flute; Isaac Bianchi, percussion
JAZZ BAND UPDATES
SEP JAZZFEST (2/14)
The SEP JazzFest needs YOU!
On Saturday, February 14th, we host 52 jazz bands from around the state at one of the premier jazz festivals in the state. We need your help to make this day a success! There are lots of opportunities to get involved and we need BOTH students AND parents to make this day a success. Consider volunteering by signing up below:
Friday, 2/13 (after school) - JazzFest setup: SIGN UP HERE
Saturday, 2/14 (multiple shifts) - Band hosts & tear-down: SIGN UP HERE
Saturday, 2/14 (multiple shifts) - Concessions, door monitoring, etc: SIGN UP HERE
TALLCORN JAZZ FESTIVAL (2/20)
Jazz One and Two will both be performing at the Tallcorn Jazz Festival hosted at the University of Northern Iowa on Friday, February 20.
The itinerary and performance times can be found here: 2026 Tallcorn Jazz Festival
NOTE: Jazz One performance time has changed. Jazz One will now perform at 2:30pm.
GENERAL UPDATES
REMIND CODES:
Please take a moment to make sure you and your student are enrolled on Remind in each class that your child participates in. To enroll, text the code below to 81010:
Pep Band: @25seppep
Show Choir Band: @shchb25
Jazz One: @25sepjazz1
Jazz Two: @25sepjazz2
Symphonic Band: @sepsb25
Wind Ensemble: @sepwe25
SEP BAND APPAREL STORE
Check out the store for all of your SEP Band apparel needs! https://www.515creativedesigns.com/collections/sep-marching-rams
AMAZON WISH LIST
If you’d like to help the band program in tangible ways, please check out our wish list. It is constantly changing and evolving.
UPCOMING IMPORTANT DATES
2/6-2/7 - Iowa State University Honor Band
2/10 - Wind Ensemble & Madrid Joint Concert
2/20 - Tallcorn Jazz Festival (UNI)
2/23 - All-State Jazz Audition Videos Due
2/24 - SEPHS Solo & Ensemble Festival
3/3 - HS Band Concert
3/5 - Band Booster Meeting
3/6 - HS Jazz Band Clinics (Jazz One & Two)
Go Rams!
Mrs. Jacqui Meunier (jacquelyn.meunier@southeastpolk.org)
Mr. Gabriel Schott (gabriel.schott@southeastpolk.org)
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