The room was dedicated during the Urbana High School Bands 100th Anniversary Celebration on April 20, 2024. URBANA HIGH SCHOOL BANDS WILL SOON CELEBRATE 100 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE
Once under the guest baton of John Phillip Sousa, the Urbana High School Band Program began in 1924 and is making room to prepare for the next century of excellence. Located near the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, UHS Bands have enjoyed a unique relationship with University of Illinois Bands, the first public collegiate band program in the world and birthplace of the American school band movement. Over the years, the national award-winning program has grown to include two concert bands, a marching band with color guard, a big-band style jazz ensemble, a brass choir, woodwind choir, and a percussion ensemble. The UHS Band Program, an integral part of the extraordinary fine arts programs in the Urbana School District #116, has a long-standing reputation of providing quality music education to all students regardless of income or ability. GOALS OF THE ROOM TO GROW CAMPAIGN
Along with seed money through an Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund grant, the Friends of Urbana Bands Room to Grow Committee, a group of dedicated community volunteers, has launched a fundraising campaign to raise $100,000 in private matching funds to complete a much-needed band room expansion, the first in nearly fifty years. The goals of the Room to Grow fundraising campaign are ambitious yet attainable:
• Expand and improve rehearsal space to provide a sustainable environment for our current and growing band programs.
• Preserve and protect valuable instruments and equipment through the expansion of appropriate storage space.
• Optimize sound quality through the installation of state-of-the art acoustical tiles.
•Create functional access to the football field through the installation of an interior ramp and expanded entry doors. INVEST IN THE NEXT CENTURY OF EXCELLENCE FOR UHS BANDS
The UHS Band Program has transformed the lives of thousands of students and families for nearly a century. Now is the perfect time to partner, support, and invest in this project and position the UHS Band Program to thrive and serve our students into the next 100 years. Thank you for supporting UHS Bands!
