Parent/Guardian
Information Night

Wednesday, May 27th, 2026
Location: Emerald HS Lecture Hall

5:30PM-6:30PM for Marching Band and Color Guard
6:45PM-7:30PM for Honors Chamber Orchestra

Band and Orchestra winning after the Music in the Parks Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Festival!

Dear Incoming Emerald HS Music Families,

My name is Mr. Tran, and I am the music director for Emerald HS. It is a pleasure to welcome you to our new school and music program! Although we are new to the community, our students have shown exponential growth and we are about to embark on fun and high-caliber performances.

The purpose of this page and meeting is to provide you with information about our brief history, events for the school year, understand the funding levels for each program and opportunities for you to volunteer and engage with our program.

You will find information in regards to honors chamber orchestra and marching band (which includes info for ALL band and color guard students). We will not need a meeting for orchestra 1 and orchestra 2 as I will be able to cover everything during Back to School Night. Winter programs such as winter guard and winter percussion will have parent meetings in the end of the Fall season.

See you at Emerald!
Thank you,

Mr. Tran

Band and Orchestra on their way to Southern California!

History

The Music Department has travelled to many destinations which include Honolulu, Hawaii; Disneyland, Six Flags Magic Mountain, and Universal Studios; local parks such as Great America and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom; and Carnegie Hall / New York. These trips were essential to forming a positive culture within our band and orchestra.

You can see all of the awards here!
Next year, we have plans to have band travel across the Bay Area for marching band competitions and festivals. With a projected enrollment of 140, we are expected to compete as a 4A band with 5 performances lined up!
Honors Chamber Orchestra was invited to perform in Chicago in the 2027 ASTA National Orchestra Festival to perform on a national stage, which is a distinguished honor!

Orchestra winning after the Music in the Parks Universal Studios Festival!

Fair Share / Donations

PLEASE DO NOT DONATE THESE AMOUNTS NOW.

Since we are a new school, our site leaders and district collaborators have done an excellent job of getting us started. We were provided with high quality instruments and excellent equipment which allowed us to build our program. Like any music program, funding from these sources are limited and there are areas of need we need to fulfil on an annual basis. The vast majority of our competitions, staff, and programs are funded by parent donations. These donations are what we call "fair share" which helps us raise funds for the expenses and needs of our program. NO STUDENT WILL BE TURNED AWAY FROM OUR PROGRAM FOR THE INABILITY TO DONATE. The projected fair share contributions for each class are as follows:

Period 6: Orchestra 1/2: Philharmonic Orchestra
Donation: $150.00
- Staff and Clinicians
- Competition Fees (CMEA Festival)
- Sheet Music
- Software - MakeMusic
- Instrument Maintenance

Period 4: Honors Band 3: Jazz Ensemble
Donation: $850.00
- Jazz Staff and Clinicians
- Competition Fees (Folsom & Campana Big Bands Fees; No Combo)
- Sheet Music
- All marching band costs. (Please see below for marching band breakdown.)
  - Marching Band Staff (Caption heads and technicians)
  - Competition Fees (Please see calendar for 4 marching band competitions.)
  - Busses (Fairfield and Fresno)
  - Trucks (For 5 performances)
  - Uniform and Props
  - Equipment
  - Grub Club (Food for students for the competitions.)
  - Uniform Dry Clean
  - Gloves

Period 5: Honors Orchestra 3: Honors Chamber Orchestra
Donation: $2,500.00
- Staff and Clinicians
- Competition Fees (CMEA Festival and Sonoma State Festival)
- Bus for Sonoma State
- Sheet Music
- Instrument Maintenance
- The ASTA National Orchestra Festival Field Trip (2 night stay at the hotel, competition fee, etc.)

Period 7: Band 2 - Symphonic Band, Honors Band 3 - Honors Wind Ensemble, and Color Guard
Donation: $850.00
- Band Staff
- Competition Fees (CMEA Festival)
- Equipment
- Sheet Music
- All marching band costs.
  (Please see below for marching band breakdown.)
  - Marching Band Staff (Caption heads and technicians)
  - Competition Fees (Please see calendar for 4 marching band competitions.)
  - Busses (Fairfield and Fresno)
  - Trucks (For 5 performances)
  - Uniform and Props
  - Equipment
  - Grub Club (Food for students for the competitions.)
  - Uniform Dry Clean
  - Gloves

Band and Orchestra in Kualoa Ranch in Kaneohe, Hawaii!

Upcoming Fundraisers and Volunteers!

We have a couple of upcoming fundraisers to assist us!

Sign up to volunteer and sell fireworks! The more slots we take, the higher our donation!
Donate your used items! Need to clean out the house over summer? Have a student going away to college and they have too much stuff? Save it, bag it, bring it! Bring them to us in August! We will get a donation based on the weight of these items. The drop off dates are August 4th-7th 5:30PM-6:00PM. If you can not drop it off during this time frame, please email Mr. Tran to schedule a drop off prior the drop off dates - not after!
Click here for items you can donate!
Join the board! We need a team of enthusiastic parents/guardians who can bring the vision of a world-class music education to life at Emerald HS.
Volunteer! We have a number of positions and needs. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Mrs. Mehr. We are in NEED of volunteers to assist and lend a hand.
Follow us on Social Media! The shares and likes of our posts allow our story to be heard outside our circles and this helps us reach more people! Links are at the bottom of the page.

Orchestra at the Spring Concert!

FAQs

What happens if we do not reach our funding goals?
Realistically, we would need to start cutting opportunities to ensure we remain within our budget.
What can I do to help?
Our programs are taking a leap this upcoming year. We need parents/guardians on our booster board to assist with logistics and fundraising. Mr. Tran can not do this by himself.
Are these donations eligible for "company/corporate match?"
YES! These are donations made to our Emerald High Music Boosters. You can find more information about them here: https://www.emeraldmusicboosters.org/
Please note that funds sometimes take 4 months to reach us, so the early you can match, the better!
What do we wear to concerts?
All black!

What do these donations cover?

The music department operates very much like a business. We have transportation needs, specialized staff, and various fees we need to provide in order to participate in events. These operational items are funded by donations on an annual basis. Funding does not come from the district nor the site level. Many local and successful schools have systems like this for their students in place. To provide a world-class experience for our students, these items are essential. Below is a short list of common operational items the music department procures.

Bus and Transportation

The average cost of a charter bus is $3,000 per day, per bus.
Busses are not cheap. We have found that the yellow school busses are slightly cheaper but does not have the necessary storage space we need to transport our equipment.
Mr. Tran books busses when an event is farther or when we deem it is more economical to do so.
When we have the opportunity to carpool, we normally will.
All busses require School Pupil Activity Bus (SPAB) certified drivers which is an added safety net for our students.
We normally need 2 adult chaperones per bus (Mr. Tran is always on bus 1.)

Truck Rentals

Trucks normally cost $300 per day, per truck.
The farther we go, the more expensive it is. This includes the rental fee, insurance, mileage, and gas.
Trucks are NEEDED for every competition that uses percussion equipment.
Our equipment is large and can not fit under the bus nor in cars.
We also have a high quantity of large equipment.
This is generally 5 Marching Band performances and 5 Winter Percussion performances.
Volunteers drive the truck and need more adults to help load/unload equipment.

Music Department Staff

No, NOT Mr. Jasper Tran!
The music department employs coaches, specialists, and speakers to enhance our program.
For example, a violin specialist will come in to work with our violin students (photo above). Mr. Choi works with the Oakland Youth Symphony Orchestra, a prestigious ensemble.
For example, we will have a battery technician work with our specialized percussion students.
For example, we will have clinicians come into work with Honors Chamber Orchestra to ensure we sound our best before going to Nationals.
Without this specialized staff, our program would remain stagnant.

Things you don't think about!

Competition Fees - We need to pay these in order to participate.
Membership Fees - We need this in order to register for competitions.
Repair Items - Our equipment requires regular maintenance. Mr. Tran will often to go the hardware store to buy items needed to maintain or repair equipment.
Batteries - So our electronics can continue to work.
Specialized equipment for each class.
Cables for audio technology.
Costumes for programs.
The designer floor (pictured above).
Gas for the generator (when we are out at marching band competitions).
Music Block - The patch students receive are paid for by the music department.
Awards we give to students.
Additional sheet music we want to play.

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