Concert Band

This is a traditional concert band and is composed primarily of Sophomores. This group will prepare for a Winter and a Spring concert. They will also perform at MSBOA Band Festival.

Jazz Band

This group of students forms a big band style Jazz Band. They perform two concerts at Stevenson - one in January and one in the Spring. They will also perform at MSBOA Band Festival. The Jazz Band has been invited in the past to perform at the Ford Detroit International Jazz Festival during the Labor Day weekend.

Marching Band

This group is the largest, usually more than 170 strong. They perform at all home football games. They march in the Homecoming parade and in the Sterling Heights Memorial Day Parade on alternating years. The band competes at Harper Woods Band-a-Rama and the UCS Band-a-Rama in preparation for the MSBOA Marching Band festival.

The Marching Band at Stevenson normally has a band camp each summer in July. It is broken down in two parts, home camp which is usually three days long and is held at Stevenson and away camp which is held at Central Michigan University. The band leaves on a Monday morning and returns home on Saturday afternoon of the same week. Transportation is provided by UCS busses.

For 2005, Home camp was July 20, 21, 22. Away camp was July 25 - 30. Click here for the diary from this camp.

For 2005, the show music was "Jekyll and Hyde". The cost was $350 which included the following:

1. Lodging in a CMU Residence Hall
2. All meals
3. Transportation by UCS busses - departs from and returns to Stevenson High
4. Music for the show and the cost of writing the drill
5. Beverage and fruit breaks
6. Instructors for the various sections
7. Theme T shirt
8. Memory Video
9. Pizza party and dance

The away camp begins on Monday at Stevenson where students, luggage, instruments and equipment are loaded on trucks and school busses. The group stops for an early lunch along the way. The remainder of the meals are provided in the cafeteria of the dormitory. Once at CMU, students unload and move to the rooms in a dormitory. After supper in the dorm on Monday, the group goes to the practice field to begin learning the basics of marching.

Normally the routine is similar for Tuesday through Friday. Learn the drill on the field from 8:00 am until Noon. An hour to eat lunch. An hour for sectionals and another hour for indoor music practice as a group. Next, there is free time until dinner. After dinner, the group will go to the field from 6:00 until 9:00 to learn more of the drill.

A dance is planned for Thursday night and a special group activity happens on Friday night at the field after the practice.

On Saturday, the students pack up and clean their rooms. There may be an hour of practice on the field. The camp finishes with a performance by the students. Parents who would like to watch this show are welcome. It usually is planned to occur around 11:00 am. Students can then ride the busses home or can return home with their parents if they desire.

Orchestra

The orchestra performs two concerts a year, a holiday concert and a spring concert. They too participate in the MSBOA Orchestra Festival.

Percussion Ensemble

The newest group at Stevenson is the Percussion Ensemble. They will perform at a concert in January as well as the Spring concert. This group is not only composed of percussionists, but also students who normally play other instruments. They use both traditional and non-traditional percussion instruments.

Symphonic Band

This is a traditional concert band and is composed primarily of Juniors and Seniors. This group will prepare for a Winter and a Spring concert. They will also perform at MSBOA Band Festival.

Winter Guard

The Winter Guard has been in place for several years. It consists of more than 28 students most of whom form the color guard during the marching season. During the winter, they learn and perform a routine that is performed indoors. It is adjudicated and they are scored against other winter guard groups. The winter guard instructor is Deanna Belloli. Their schedule can be found at the Michigan Color Guard Circuit web page: http://www.mcgc.net