Harpeth Middle School Band

10/09/2026

Dear HMS Band Parents/Guardians,

As we wrap up an incredible first quarter, I want to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude for your continued support, dedication, and encouragement. Our students have shown an exceptional work ethic during daily rehearsals, and their hard work is truly paying off.

A special shout-out goes to our 6th-grade band for their wonderful concert this past Tuesday! It was a fantastic milestone performance, and I am so proud of how well our newest musicians performed on stage. All of our students have demonstrated tremendous growth, focus, and musicality through their preparation and recent performances this quarter. Thank you for partnering with us to foster such a positive environment for music education.

Looking Ahead

Check the Calendar: Please review our band calendar for all upcoming events, rehearsals, and performance dates as we head into the next phase of the semester.

Stay Flexible: As schedules can occasionally shift, please keep an eye out for any future communications regarding updates or adjustments to the calendar.

Thank you again for everything you do for the Harpeth Middle School Band program. Have a wonderful and restful fall break!

Musically yours,

Christopher Vaughn

Director of Bands

Harpeth Middle School

[email protected]

615.952.2293

“Music is Life. That’s why our Hearts have beats”

09/25/2026

Dear HMS Band Parents/Guardians,

A few shout-outs today!

Thank you to our amazing HMS Band Parents/Guardians who worked concessions last night! It was a long night, but it was well worth it, given the money we have raised this year. Thank you to any parent who has worked in the concession stand. Your time has not gone unnoticed, and it has helped build our band program. We raised a lot of money this year, and it was thanks to our parent volunteers.

Yesterday, the HMS Band took pictures for the HMS yearbook. You will probably get information if you want a solo picture of your child with their instrument. We appreciate the media company taking pictures of the band students with their instruments, and we are excited to see what the group picture will be.

Shoutout to the HMS Band on Wednesday. Some of the bands had a sub, Mr. Hicks, and he has spoken highly of the students' behavior and work ethic. As I have told you, we have amazing students in our band program.

The HMS 7th and 8th Grade Band performed at the Pep Rally and brought the house down! Here are a few pictures and videos from today.

09/24/2026

HMS Band Concessions are tonight! Parents/Guardians, we might need alittle extra help for tonight because it is a double header. The first game starts at 5pm today. We will need parents there around 4pm. I will prep as much as I can around 250 so we can be ready. If you are parent who could help donate their time tonight, please contact me by 615.499.6702.

Thanks!

09/15/2026

Dear HMS Band Families,

First, I want to thank our 7th and 8th-grade band members for their fantastic performance at this past Thursday’s football game! I have heard many wonderful comments about their musicality and their positive attitude in the stands. I also want to extend a special thank you to Mrs. Buchanan and Coach Dallas for allowing us to perform and support our football team and cheerleaders.

Now that our first performance is behind us, we are entering Phase 2 of our band curriculum: preparing for our inaugural Fall Concert! While the HMS Band has never hosted a fall concert before, I know our students are ready to rise to the challenge and connect with our community. I am especially excited about this phase because the students helped select the music we will be performing.

An overview of Phase 2 for our band program is detailed below:

Phase 2: Curriculum & Focus

The Three "Ins": Focus on In Time, In Tone, and In Tune.

Major Scales: Concert Bb Major, Concert F Major, and Concert Eb Major.

Routine Warm-Ups:

Monday: Major Scales (5–7 mins) & Long Tones/Tuning

Tuesday: Airflow Studies

Wednesday: Articulation and Rhythm

Thursday: Flexibility & Range Studies

Friday: Run-Through Friday

Repertoire:

8th Grade Pieces: Fragile, Cyclone, BreakNeck!!, Mallet Maniacs, Thriller

7th Grade Pieces: Groovy 8, Valkyrie, Thriller

Important Reminders & Updates

Band Shirts: Mr. Vaughn will be collecting shirt sizes this week so we can place our order. As a reminder, the cost of one shirt for each student will be covered by the band account.

Practice Habits: Practicing at home remains crucial to our success! To help support this, I am implementing a 15-minute practice session at the end of class on Wednesdays, giving students dedicated time to practice and ask questions about challenging passages.

6th Grade Band: We are making great progress! The 6th-grade band is just about ready to learn their very first song, Hot Cross Buns.

Football Concessions: We have two home football games remaining and will need parent volunteers to help with concessions. Please reach out if you are available to assist.

Band of Blue: Congratulations to our 8th-grade HHS Band of Blue members on their first competition this past Saturday!

Thank you so much for your continued support of our music program. Let’s have an amazing week!

Warmly,

Christopher Vaughn

Director of Bands

Harpeth Middle School

[email protected]

615.952.2293

“Music is Life. That’s why our Hearts have beats”

09/15/2026

Good morning HMS Band Parents/Guardians,
I will be absent today due to illness. I will not have a sub today so students will be in the gym today. We will start working on our new music tomorrow.
Thank you

09/11/2026

Good morning HMS Band Parents,

I just wanted to say congratulations to our 7th and 8th grade band on their performance at the football game. The students did their best to cheer on our amazing football team last night, but even though things did not go in favor, our football fought hard till the last minute. Great job to our 7th and 8th grade band on the National Anthem and playing in the stands. A huge thank you to parents who helped donate drinks, getting the pizza, and working in the concession stand last night. We have an amazing program because of our dedicated parents and students! If you have any pictures or videos, please send them to myself ([email protected]) or Mrs. Kephart ([email protected]).

Thank you!

09/07/2026

Good morning, HMS Band Parents,

FYI, I tried the mass text communication system, and due to having so many members in band, it is backlogged and not sending texts, so you did not get any text today. Might have to try a different alternative.

6th Grade Band Parents - I have asked your child to send a video of themselves playing their instrument to me, Mrs. Kephart ([email protected]), or Mrs. Morrow ([email protected]). It is just a fun assignment for students to get them to practice. We are going to hit the rehearsal process hard this week since we are in our third week of playing!

To our 8th grade HHS Band marchers, congrats on your first football game performance! I am so proud to see our 8th grade band musicians taking the opportunity to march and play with the high school band.

This is an exciting week for the HMS Band Program—we are officially in **performance week**!

The 7th and 8th Grade Band will have their first performance this Thursday at the HMS Football Game. The students have been working and rehearsing hard since August, and we are eager to showcase what they’ve learned. Our primary job is to support the HMS Football team and cheerleaders, and I know that with our added energy, the team will dominate this Thursday!

Here are a few important updates and reminders for the week:

Thursday Performance Schedule & Details

* **Attire:** Harpeth gear or school colors (this performance is a grade).

* **After School:** Students may stay after school on Thursday to ensure they arrive on time.

* **Dismissal:** **Students will NOT be dismissed from the stadium.** All students must return to the Band Room for final dismissal and parent pickup.

* **4:00 PM** – Pizza and drinks for dinner

* **5:15 PM** – Band arrival, instrument assembly, and attendance

* **5:30 PM** – Full band warm-up and tune-up (focusing on stand tunes and halftime music)

* **6:00 PM** – Move to the bleachers / field setup

* **6:15 PM** – Pre-game performance & National Anthem

* **6:30 PM** – Kickoff! (Play stand tunes during the first half)

* **7:30 PM (Approx.)** – Halftime performance

* **8:15 PM** – Return to the stands for third-quarter support and fourth-quarter cheers

* **8:45 PM** – Final game whistle / post-game wrap-up and packing up instruments

* **9:00 PM** – Dismissal and parent pickup from the Band Room

Parent Volunteers Needed

* **Concessions:** We desperately need parent volunteers to help with concessions this Thursday, as I will be busy conducting the students. If you can help, please sign up here:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040E4BA4A92AAAFD0-65042411-hmsband #/

* **Pizza Pickup:** We also need one parent volunteer to pick up the pre-game pizza from Bellevue Pizza Hut. You will need to come to Harpeth Middle School first to pick up the check before heading over. If you are available to help, please text Mr. Vaughn directly at **615-952-2293**.

Agenda for the week

6th Grade Band

Tuesday - Focus on Music Theory with Whole notes and whole rests

Wednesday - TEST on Number 1 or Number 5 Note

Thursday- Introducing new note Concert Bb

Friday - Section of the Week and Student of the Month!

7th/8th Grade Band

Tuesday - Focus on Pep Band Tunes and cheers for this Thursday

Wednesday - Focus on Star-Spangled Banner and performance for Thursday

Thursday - Performance Day!!!

Friday - Listening to new music for the semester

Here are our newly appointed HMS Band Leadership and Section Leaders

7th Grade Leadership and Section Leaders

Captain – Lila Mercier

Co-Captain – Rosalee Boggs

Percussion Captain – Ransom Osborne

Flute – Elsie Watts

Clarinet – Reagan McCord

Alto Saxophone – Noelle Lichety

Tenor Saxophone – Colin Sharp

Trumpet – Wallace Larkins

French Horn – Eli Puckett

Low Brass – Jakob Basham

8th Grade Leadership and Section Leaders

Captain – Maria Larios

Co-Captain – Kooper Burns

Percussion Captain – Daphne Paz

Flute – Brooklyn Thomas

Clarinet – Zoey King

Alto Saxophone – Cason Rumble

Tenor/Bari Saxophone – Ben Slot

Trumpet/French Horn – Marlie Liles

Low Brass – Rallston Edwards

Thank you all for your continued support, and let’s have a fantastic week!

Musically yours,

Christopher Vaughn

Director of Bands

Harpeth Middle School

[email protected]

615.952.2293

“Music is Life. That’s why our Hearts have beats”

Please review the available slots below and click on the button to sign up. Thank you!

08/25/2026

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that the Harpeth Middle School Band has been awarded a $1,800.00 grant from the Peter R. Marsh Foundation!
​This generous funding will be directly invested into building and expanding our band program, allowing us to enhance student experiences, provide better resources, and help our young musicians reach new heights.
​We are deeply grateful to the Peter R. Marsh Foundation for their incredible support of music education and our students. Thank you for believing in the power of music and helping us strike the right chord for the future!

08/22/2026

Dear HMS Band Parents,

As I have been feeling under the weather since this past Tuesday, I have decided to cancel the HMS Jazz Camp so I can rest and recover. I know this is the best course of action, especially after visiting the doctor yesterday. We will reschedule the event once the HMS Jazz Band roster is finalized following benchmark testing next week.

08/16/2026

Dear HMS Band Parents,
We are working on our vision for the year. When I asked the students, "If you could describe the HMS Band in three words, what would it be?", many shared incredible responses. This art is a representation of what the students believe our band program is. We received so many great words from our students!