March 4 th and Support the Carmel Band Program on National Marching Arts Day!
In honor of National Marching Arts Day, please consider donating to the Carmel Band Program! Your donation will be used to help fund the various facets of the band program and is tax deductible! As our students, alumni, and parents know, the Carmel Band Program strives to create a challenging musical environment that encourages excellence through high expectations, hard work, compassion, support and friendship. Each student is fostered by positive relationships with other students, staff and community members who are actively involved in the educational process.
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A History of Success
The Carmel Band Program has a long legacy of success, both at the state and national level. The band program serves almost 600 students with 6 concert bands, 4 jazz ensembles, marching band, pep band, chamber ensembles, indoor percussion ensemble, and 3 winter guards. Students in the band program also participate in the CHS Orchestra Program, as backup ensembles for the CHS Choir program and in the musical pit orchestra. The CHS private lesson program provides access to area professional instructors both during the school day and after school hours.
Carmel High School’s Wind Symphony 1 performed at the 2005 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic and has been selected as a 4-time featured ensemble in the Bands of America National Concert Band Festival. Wind Symphony 1 was also named the 1999, 2013, 2015 and 2017 Indiana State School Music Association State Concert Band Champion. Over the years, Carmel High School has had numerous performances at IMEA and all six concert bands have received only Gold ratings for over 35 years at ISSMA festivals.
The Carmel Marching Greyhounds have been a Bands of America Grand National Finalist 22 consecutive years dating back to 1996 and were named Bands of America Grand National Champions in 2005, 2012, 2016 and 2017. CHS is a 20 time Bands of America Regional Champion and were named the ISSMA State Champions in 1990, 2001, 2002 and 2012.
The Marching Greyhounds have performed in the Tournament of Roses Parade, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the London New Year’s Day Parade, the Fiesta Bowl, the Orange Bowl and have completed performance tours of Hawaii, New York City, Amsterdam, Vienna and Salzburg. In 2013, the Marching Greyhounds received the coveted Sudler Shield from the John Philip Sousa Foundation which is “an international award recognizing a high school marching band program of the highest quality.”
The Carmel High School Jazz Program consists of over 120 students participating in four full jazz ensembles and several jazz combos. The jazz ensembles perform at several regular season concerts at Carmel High School as well as area jazz festivals. CHS Jazz Ensemble 1 has been an honor band at both the Purdue Jazz Festival and the Ball State Jazz Festival. Professional jazz performers from the Indianapolis area are regularly brought in to teach clinics and give the students a “working musician” viewpoint of jazz music.
The CHS Winter Guards and Winter Drumline provide winter performance opportunities for guard and percussion students at IHSCGA, IPA, and WGI competitions. The CHS World Winter Guard is a 4 time WGI Scholastic World Champion and an 8 time IHSCGA State Champion. The World Guard has been a Scholastic World finalist each year since 2009 and have won numerous WGI Regional and Power Regional Championships. The Winter Drumline was the IPA Open Class Runner Up in both 2016 and 2017.