Future Saints

Tradition - Dedication - Family

Expect to be challenged.

The Marching Saints are a highly competitive and successful corps-style marching band. Our concert ensembles strive to attain the highest ratings possible at Florida Bandmasters' Association festivals. The Sandalwood Shade indoor guard unit is one of the fastest advancing and highly rewarded units in the state, and is currently the only school sponsored competitive winter guard in Jacksonville. Rigorous rehearsals, performance, and competition schedules will demand that you manage your time effectively. You will be required to maintain a minimum GPA in order to participate in Sandalwood band and band-sponsored activities. Also, many of the Sandalwood band members are among the highest academic achievers at the school, enrolled in honors and advanced placement courses.

Expect to have fun!

Success feels great! We celebrate and enjoy a great deal of fellowship all year long. The Sandalwood band enjoys lock-ins, family Bar-B-Ques, birthdays, and football Friday tailgate parties. As a member of the Sandalwood band you will travel to games, performances and competitions. You will enjoy theme-parks and sight-seeing as part of our annual trips.

Make friends!

When you are in the Sandalwood Band, you are part of an extended family. In a today's high school environment where it is so easy to "get lost in the shuffle", you will have an extensive support network of friends. Our upper-classmen were all freshmen once, and you can count on them to help smooth your transition to high school life.

Be prepared to learn.

We have the most comprehensive instructional staff of any high school band in the region, with individual clinicians for each of instrument sections. The Sandalwood staff members bring a broad range of performance and education experience to the program, which affords each member of the band with additional opportunities to learn and develop. Also, Sandalwood is required to perform literature in the most difficult band classification at FBA festivals, which exposes our members to the very best in musical literature. As an added bonus our marching band show music and drill writers are among the best in the business. Finally, our director, Ms. Rose, is a highly sought after adjudicator and clinician in her own right - and has built her programs based solidly in the fundamentals of music education.

Carry on the Tradition!

Sandalwood band alumni are currently performing with the World Champion Concord Blue Devils (DCI), The Purdue University All-American Marching Band, The Florida State University Marching Chiefs, and several other collegiate band programs and drum & bugle corps. While many go on to study music at the next level, many more are successful students and professionals in a wide-range of fields from meteorology to engineering. What they learned in the Sandalwood band program helped them grow through opportunities in teamwork, leadership, accountability, and a commitment to excellence. You could be next!

Questions? Issues?