The Mac Band Marching Grizzlies is one of the most high profile and public facing organizations in McMinnville High School. The marching band performs at home football games, marching band festivals, and various parades. The marching band competition season begins with band camp in August and runs through finals at the end of October.
Band Camp
Band camp is a two week intense practice and preparation period for the marching band and color guard to learn the program for the upcoming fall marching season. For new members, we will teach you the basics for marching including; how to march, refining the work of the body, commands, and terminology. For returning members we refresh our knowledge. For everyone, we unify our look and sound for the coming year.
Band Camp is also the time that we receive a lot of instruction and rehearsal time for our fall show. Ideas of drill, choreography, and music are all covered. The Color Guard also begins to work on both fundamental skills and their choreography for the fall show. When the camp is complete, a substantial piece of the show will be taught.
Who will be instructing me?
McMinnville’s Band Director is Bobby Rathbone, but the job of coordinating all the moving parts requires a few more staff members to make sure everything is in place. The MacBand has other instructors, called caption heads or techs, who aid in this instruction for groups like percussion, guard, and in the instruction of choreography. The Band also uses the knowledge of student leadership through positions such as drum majors and section leaders.
What should I bring to camp?
Band Camp days are longer, so plan accordingly and bring all needed things for the day. This will include:
- Instrument (in working order) and anything you need to play it ( i.e. Sticks, reeds, valve oil, etc.)
- A 1” 3-Ring Binder with about 50 sheet protectors in it for your music and your marching drill.
- A Passport/Badge holder (found at this address: https://tinyurl.com/2aatj63c).You will place your dot sheet in this so that it isn’t lost or ruined in rain. You should wear this around your neck for every rehearsal once we start setting drill.
- A Large Container of water. A refillable water bottle is highly recommended. We will be outside much of the day and water is essential. (reminder that soda/energy drinks/coffee actually have the opposite effect and should not be used for rehydration).
- A hearty lunch. We will take lunch at noon each day so if your parents/guardians want to bring you lunch, they should schedule delivery for that time. We only take an hour, so leaving campus is probably not possible.
- Sunscreen! Our field has little shade. Apply liberally in the morning and reapply often through the day.
- A hat! Most people get sunburned on top of their head, through their hair. Wear a hat to avoid this.
- Sunglasses!
- A beach towel. We do a few things on the ground. You’ll want a towel so you don’t have itchy grass on you for the rest of the day.
What should I wear?
- Comfortable, light, loose clothes for moving. T-Shirts and shorts are fine, but do remember to put sunscreen on any place that is exposed to the sun.
- It is recommended that you put your hair up in a pony tail to let heat off your neck and shoulders (do remember to sunscreen those areas).
- Good arch-supportive shoes with socks. Tennis shoes are recommended.
Not recommended: Flip-Flops, boots, sandals, shower shoes, heels, UGGs. These have the potential to cause injury to your ankle so we won’t let you march in them.
I would also not recommend chucks, or toe shoes as they fail the arch test.
For a list of recommended shoes, go to this link (https://www.dci.org/2025-
recommended-shoe-list-for-marching-musicians/)
- Marching Band Camp Dates
- ď‚· August 4-8
- ď‚· August 11-15
- ď‚· We will have a Parent Showcase on August 15 th at 6pm.
- Camp Schedule
- ď‚· 8:30am-9:00am: Staff and student officer check in.
- ď‚· 9am-12 noon: Morning Block
- ď‚· 12 Noon-1pm: Lunch
- ď‚· 1pm-4pm: Afternoon Block
- ď‚· 4pm-5:30pm: Dinner (Students should be able to leave campus to eat dinner at home).
- ď‚· 5:30pm-8:30pm: Evening Block
- ď‚· 8:30pm-9:00pm: Section of the Day clean up.
Marching Band Rehearsal Schedules Post Band Camp
Starting the week after band camp (Aug. 18 th ), the band will begin practicing Tuesday and Thursday Nights. Practices will run from 6pm-9pm.
Calendar
See the Calendar page or click here.
Marching Band Shoes
All new members (or members whose shoes need replacement) should acquire a pair of Dinkles Edge Marching Shoe in Black. They can be ordered at BandShoppe (https://tinyurl.com/mt8fvhxx) or BandShoesOnline (https://tinyurl.com/5n9x4jjv)
You will need to order now, as you will need your shoes by our first football game
on Sept. 26.
Parent Volunteers
Remember parents that you will need to go to the Volunteer page on the District Website (https://tinyurl.com/8k2azf4d) and do the application before you are cleared to do any volunteering with the band this year. Please make sure to do it early!
Marching Band Fees
All Registering students will need to make a $50.00 Deposit to reserve your space for the season. This will be applied to your overall fee of $350.00.
Students will need to pay the remainder by the beginning of band camp, or work out a payment plan with the Boosters.
The overall show this year is expected to cost roughly $35,000, which breaks down to roughly $700 per student. Since we are only asking for $350 from families, we are expecting that marching band students will participate in several fundraisers through he fall with the band boosters to raise their remaining $350.00.
Students who are in need of financial assistance may fill out this form (https://tinyurl.com/s7w74xh4). It is expected that students that request financial aid help with every fundraiser as part of receiving aid.
This seems like a lot of work
It is! It is also a lot of fun. Many students look forward to band camp every year. We get fun from the satisfaction of a job well done with our friends and fellow musicians. The bonds that people get through music and band stay with you through your whole life.