Oswego HS Bands

2012 Marching Band Information

Mr. Schoenbach — Wed, 16 May 2012 03:01:52 +0000

The 2012 OHS Panther Field Show has been announced…we are doing “A Salute to Music Royalty”. These will be groups and artists like Michael Jackson (The King of Pop), Aretha Franklin (The Queen of Soul), and Elvis (The King of Rock). Marching Band packets for students intending on being in marching band for the 2012-2013 school year were due on Monday, May 14th.
For the OHS Drumline, your audition videos are due to be uploaded by Tuesday, May 22nd. Here is a video of Mr. Spevak giving you some pointers. OHS Drumline video

No theory for 2012-2013

Mr. Schoenbach — Tue, 01 May 2012 18:47:01 +0000

We were given some bad news this past week. Because of lack of enrollment, Music Theory and Music Theory AP will not be running for 2012-2013. We are hoping to offer them again in 2013-2014. If you are planning to study music at the college level in any capacity or if you would like to understand music at a deeper level, please let your counselor know that you are interested in signing up! Students who have taken it in the past have done very well on the AP test, and have ended up having a much easier time in the first year of college. Also, students who complete the class are able to hear the structure of music and write down what they hear with much greater ease. Students who have completed Music Theory 2 are close to being ready for the AP test. You may be able to review with a Directed Study and still be successful on the test. See Mr. Schoenbach for details.

Lyric Opera Trombone Section Invades OHS

Mr. Schoenbach — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:06:00 +0000

On Tuesday, the trombone section from the Lyric Opera (literally some of the best trombone players in the world), came to OHS to do a clinic/performance with the Wind Ensemble and Wind Symphony. They talked about life as a musician in the opera world, performed together and as soloists, and answered any and all questions the students posed to them. It was, without a doubt, one of the coolest things we’ve ever had here. Check some pics below, including one with our trombone section and their trombones:)

Also, over the weekend, the two top bands travelled to Hersey High School for the ChicagoLand Band Festival, along with many of the best bands in Illinois. The Wind Symphony got an excellent rating in their “Top Band” division, and the Wind Ensemble received a “Superior” rating in the “Second Tier Band” division. Great job everyone!!!

Tom Bough clinics Wind Symphony

Mr. Schoenbach — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:00:24 +0000

Thomas Bough, band director at Northern Illinois University, is working with the Wind Symphony today. He works with us every year because he believes is what we do, and the students are always very engaged in what he says.

OHS Music shines at OrlandoFest!

Mr. Schoenbach — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 23:52:52 +0000

On Saturday, March 24th, the Oswego High School music program competed in OrlandoFest on their Florida tour. When the dust settled, OHS was the most highly awarded school at the competition. The OHS Tour Choir received an Excellent rating and a second place silver medal in their division, and the Ambiance girl’s show choir received a Superior rating and a first place gold medal. The OHS Symphonic Winds won their division with a Superior rating and a gold medal in their division, and the OHS Jazz Ensemble won their division and were Grand Champions of the competition with a superior rating and a gold in their division.

In addition to the festival, the band and choir participated in clinics, the jazz band performed at Epcot Center, and the OHS Marching Panthers marched down main street in front of thousands of people. If you would like to see more pictures, please visit our trip blog at www.ohsmusictrip.blogspot.com

Trip Blog!!

Mr. Schoenbach — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:52:52 +0000

If you would like to follow the band on our trip to Orlando, come to our blog at by clicking here, or by going to our blog site at www.ohsmusictrip.blogspot.com.

More honors for Oswego band students

Mr. Schoenbach — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 04:25:25 +0000

On Tuesday, February 21st, several students travelled to Minooka High School to participate in the Suburban Prairie Conference Honor Band. These students were selected based on musical ability and scheduling. Congrats to Brittany Beard, Blanca Perez, Laura Dombkowski, Tom Mereness, Ross McWethy, Hannah Milner, Scott Eriksen, Brianna Bradley, John O’Shaughnessy, Zach Manzella, Sarah Frantik, Sydney Lloyd, Charles Morell, Lynn Hardy, Alex Athitakis, Samantha Ryba, Shelby Laney, Amanda Burk, Ellyn Cramer, Jessica Weise, Jonathan Norris, Rebecca Bensinger, Cameron Dosch, Robbie Weisshaar and David Mateyka. Laura Dombkowski was even selected as concertmaster of the freshman/sophomore band.
A few days before, several students were selected as outstanding soloists at the OHS Jazz Fest. They were: saxophonists Maddie Vogler, Dougan Smith, Abbey Kipper, Austin Flentge, Dan Thompson, trumpeter Billy Lueck, and drummer John O’Shaughnessy.

Tri-M Induction Ceremony

Mr. Schoenbach — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:08:24 +0000

On Thursday, March 1st, Oswego High School inducted it’s third class to the Tri-M Music Honors Society. This is an honors group, based on student academic achievement, musical prowess, and letters of recommendation from their teachers and the community. As part of the induction, students played in a recital, and some of the pieces were absolutely amazing. The band students inducted this year were: Anthony Ashner, Dominique Bauer, Rebecca Bensinger, Kayla Cherry, Tyler Davis, Lynn Hardy, Rachel Johnson, Abbey Kipper, Nick Langerveld, David Mateyka, Matt Memming, Dougan Smith, Jon Norris, Coltan Parker, Michelle Penley, Mary Watson, Jessica Weisse, and Sarah Young. Congrats to these fine students!!!

Jazz in full “swing”!

Mr. Schoenbach — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:02:07 +0000

Over the course of the last few weeks, The OHS has had a lot going on. It started with a trip to Glenbrook High School for the NorthShore JazzFest. This was our only “competition” of the season, and all the bands finished in the middle of the pack in their respective divisions. They also received some great clinics, with Jazz 1 receiving one by grammy award winning drummer Paul Wertico (shown below). The real treat of the day was seeing the Armed Forces All-Star Jazz Ensemble, who did an amazingly difficult program on one day’s rehearsal.

Next up was the annual NIU Jazz Ensmble invasion on February 1st. Dr. Ron Carter (picture below) did clinics with all three OHS jazz groups, and their big band did sectionals with the bands as well. In the evening, Oswego East joined our jazz bands to open the concert up, and Rich Moore (sax professor at NIU) sat in on a tune. Then, the NIU band kicked it off as only they can, with OHS alumni Justin Smith and Matt Todd playing with the band. Guest artist Steve Davis (trombone) lent his unique brand of cool playing to the night.

Last weekend, the Jazz 1 traveled to Evanston for their first appearance at the Evanston JazzFest. While their performance was not as strong as the warmup, they really touched the clinicians deeply, and the band received five outstanding soloist awards, more then any other group. *Maddie Vogler on alto sax, Mary Watson on vibes, Paul Frieh on bass, Michelle Penley on trumpet, and Dougan Smith on tenor sax) They also saw an amazing concert that combined jazz and classical, with the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, featuring Victor Goines (pictured below) on sax and clarinet.

OHS recognized as Quinlan and Fabish’s “School of the Month”!!!!

Mr. Schoenbach — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:11:37 +0000

For the first time, instrument company Quinlan and Fabish has recognized a “School of the Month”, and their first choice is Oswego High School!!! Visit their Montgomery store, and you will see a display of OHS Band memoribilia. Also, all this month, if you go to their store and tell them you are from Oswego High School, you will get 10% off of your bill…that goes for everything: music, supplies, new instruments, etc.