Valleyfest - Saturday, October 11, Valley Stadium

The Royal Brigade will perform at 2:00 p.m. & 8:00 p.m.

Royal Brigade Itinerary - ValleyFest Itinerary

Volunteers are needed to help with equipment. Sign up here to help us out so that we can get all of our set pieces on the field. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Chad Friesleben.

Valleyfest is the largest local marching contest of the season featuring 34 bands from across Iowa. This contest runs as two separate competitions, meaning that bands do not qualify for their evening performance as they did with BOA. Instead, bands are free to sign up to perform and compete in one or both of the Day Show or Showdown contests. 

Royal Brigade Itinerary

• Royal Brigade Itinerary

• Students should plan to eat lunch before arriving at the school at 10:45 am, as their next opportunity to eat will be around 3:00.

• After our evening performance, students will tear down, before heading back into the stadium to watch bands until the evening awards.

• All students will eat dinner at the concession stands.

• We should get back to Northwest somewhere around 11:45 p.m.

Students need to remember to bring:

• Money for snacks & dinner

• Uniform clothes (black socks, tight fitting shorts, sleeveless shirt)

• Anything else they need for their instrument

ValleyFest & Showdown Itinerary

• The Royal Brigade will perform at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Ticket Information

Day Show only
$10 Adults / $5 Students (K-12)

Night Show only
$10 Adults / $5 Students (K-12)

Both Day and Night shows*

$15 Adults / $10 Students (K-12)

Children 5 and under – FREE

*Stadium will be cleared between Day and Night Shows

Find additional information on the Valley Bands Website and Facebook Page.

Designed to help students prepare for their upcoming auditions. This mock audition provides a valuable opportunity for student’s to gain experience, receive feedback, and refine their performance skills.

All auditioning students should have received their times for their mock audition on October 14. Actual audition times along with details for audition day will sent out early in the week of October 13.

Tuesday evening weekly rehearsals start Tuesday, August 26 and run through Tuesday, October 14 from 6-8:30 p.m.

The color guard rehearses weekly on Tuesdays from 6:00 to 8:00 pm until October 14 in the NW Multi-Purpose Room.

Percussion rehearses weekly on Tuesdays from 7:00 to 9:00 pm until October 14 in the South Band Room / Stadium.

In celebration of the marching band season, all members of the Royal Brigade are invited to attend an end of the year tailgate in the Northwest Commons at 4:00 p.m.

Dinner will be provided by the Northwest Band Parents Organization and end of season awards will be given to outstanding marchers and sections.

Volunteer Sign Up

Volunteers are needed to help with equipment, uniforms, color guard and raffle tickets. Sign up here

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Chad Friesleben.

Friday night schedule:

4:45 - Leadership team needs to be dressed and in the auditorium

5:15 - Dressed and on the practice field

6:45 - Pregame

7:00 - Game begins

After third quarter - Student’s dismissed

Don’t forget:

• Long black socks

• Close fitting shorts

• Sleeveless undershirt

IHSMA State Marching Contest - Waukee High School @ 12:45 p.m.

Mid-Iowa Marching Band Championships - Ankeny High School @ 7:15 p.m.

Royal Brigade - State/Mid-Iowa Itinerary

All winds and color guard students will meet at Northwest at 10:30 to dress and warm-up before busing to Waukee Stadium for the performance.

All percussion students (battery and frontline) will be responsible for meeting the trucks and staff at Waukee Middle School at 10:30. Those students can either be dropped off, or they can park at Waukee High School or in the surrounding neighborhood and walk to the Middle School.

The Royal Brigade will perform at 12:45 in Waukee Stadium.

Following the performance, all winds and guard will bus back to Northwest, and will be dismissed for the afternoon after they have changed out of uniform.

Percussionists will stay at Waukee to change and tear down their equipment before being dismissed.

All students will have time off for a late lunch/early dinner before meeting back at Northwest at 3:30.

We will perform at 7:15pm at Ankeny High School, and hope to be back to Northwest around midnight.

The Northwest Band Parents Board will meet on October 21 at 6:00 PM in the NWHS Seminar Room. All band parents are invited to join us!

Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Lab will rehearse weekly on Tuesday starting October 21 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

@Atlantic High School, All day

The Iowa All-State Music Festival is jointly sponsored and staffed by the IHSMA and IMEA to provide a state-wide selective festival for the instrumental and choral high school musicians of Iowa.

Northwest students who are auditioning for All State should refer to their ParentSquare message with details of the audition process.

Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Lab will rehearse weekly on Tuesday starting October 21 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Lab will rehearse weekly on Tuesday starting October 21 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Lab will rehearse weekly on Tuesday starting October 21 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

The Northwest Band Parents Board will meet on November 18 at 6:00 PM in the NWHS Seminar Room. All band parents are invited to join us!

Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Lab will rehearse weekly on Tuesday starting October 21 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Lab will rehearse weekly on Tuesday starting October 21 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Lab will rehearse weekly on Tuesday starting October 21 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

South Central Iowa Band Master’s Association (SCIBA) HS Honor Band Festival auditions. The concert will be held January 10, 2026at Ankeny HS.

Visit SCIBA’s website for additional information.

Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Lab will rehearse weekly on Tuesday starting October 21 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

More information to come.

The Northwest HS Jazz Bands will perform at the SCIBA Jazz Festival.

Performance times:

Northwest Jazz Lab will perform at TDB in the Waukee High School Auditorium

Northwest Jazz Orchestra will perform at TBD in the Waukee High School Auditorium

The band from Prairieview will perform at TBD in the Waukee High School Gym.

Admission: (CASH ONLY!)

$5 for adults

$3 for students

We hope you will all consider coming out to support our jazz bands.

SCIBA Schedule 2025

Visit SCIBA’s webpage for additional information.

Join us for an evening of music at the Holiday High School Band Concert, featuring performances by the talented musicians of Northwest High School.

The doors to the auditorium will open at 6:40 p.m. Call time for the students is at 6:15.

   •   When: Monday, December 15, at 7:00 PM

   •   Where: Northwest Auditorium

Admission is free, and all are welcome! Mark your calendar and join us for a night of music and cheer!

Concert Dress

We want to look as good as we sound, so please adhere to the following guidelines:

Dress for the concert is formal black and white. A black suit, white shirt, and a tie or a black dress is preferred. Black pants and a black long sleeve dress shirt with a tie is also acceptable. Dresses must cover the shoulders and go past the knee when seated.

Preferred concert attire

• Black suit with a white shirt and a tie and black dress shoes

• Black dress that extends beyond your knees when seated and covers your shoulders

Acceptable concert attire

• Black slacks with a black long sleeve collared dress shirt

Unacceptable concert attire

• White shirts without a jacket *** This is a change from past years

• White shoes

• White socks

• Short sleeved shirts 

• Jeans or leggings

• Torn or distressed clothing

• Sneakers or athletic shoes

• Short skirt that expose your knees when you sit

• Blouses or shirts that expose your shoulders

Winter Concert Decorating

The December band concert at Northwest is traditionally fun and festive, and we like to decorate the auditorium to match. We need a few parent volunteers to help decorate the afternoon of December 16th, so if you'd like to help, please sign up below. We are also looking for a few tree skirts in white, blue or silver - you can sign up below to loan those for the evening. If you have any other holiday decorations (non-religious) in those colors that you'd like to loan, we could use some on the front of the stage -  you can email nwbpopres@gmail.com to share if you'd like.

Holiday Concert Decorating Sign-up

The Northwest Band Parents Board will meet on December 16 at 6:00 PM in the NWHS Seminar Room. All band parents are invited to join us!

Jazz Orchestra and Jazz Lab will rehearse weekly on Tuesday starting October 21 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

Congratulations to the following students who were selected to perform in the SCIBA Honor Band!

Congratulations to the following students who were selected to perform in the SCIBA Honor Band on January 10!

Visit SCIBA’s website for additional information.

The Northwest Band Parents Board will meet on January 20 at 6:00 PM in the NWHS Seminar Room. All band parents are invited to join us!

Jazz Bands will perform at the Simpson Jazz Festival.

Northwest Jazz Lab will perform TBD

Northwest Jazz Orchestra will perform TBD

Band itinerary here.

Full performance schedules

Thursday Schedule

Friday Schedule

There is NO admission fee for family and friends.

You can find additional information on Simpson College Jazz Fest’s website.

More information to come.

Perry Prep Night is our in-house test run in preparation for Perry.

This year’s event will be held after school on Monday, February 2.

Each student who is participating in the Perry Band Olympics will be assigned a 10 minute time slot where they will come in and perform their solo or ensemble for a hired clinician.

For those of you who went through the All-State Mock Auditions, this process will be very similar. Students will perform and then receive feedback to help them prepare for Perry.

Students do not need to wear anything in particular for this event, and are only required to be here for their performance time. Students will not perform with their accompanist for this event.

Students are placed in ensembles according to their grades 9-12.

The event is held in Performing Arts Hall in the Harmon Fine Arts Center on the Drake campus.

Schedule:

• Rehearsal from TBD

• Clinics from TBD

• Concert with Drake Jazz I at 7:00 pm in the Performing Arts Hall of the Harmon Fine Arts Center.

Find additional information here.

The All-Iowa Concert Band festival is held on Monday, February 19 at Johnston High School. Both bands will perform.

The Concert Band will perform at TBD.

The Wind Symphony at TBD.

Because of the performance schedule, the Concert Band and Wind Symphony will be traveling separately.

Find the event itinerary here.

Admission is free for this event if you would like to make the drive out to Johnston to support the bands! Find the event website here.

Concert Dress

We want to look as good as we sound, so please adhere to the following guidelines:

Preferred concert attire

• Black suit with a white shirt and a tie and black dress shoes

• Black dress that extends beyond your knees when seated and covers your shoulders

Acceptable concert attire

• Black slacks with a black long sleeve collared dress shirt

Unacceptable concert attire

• White shirts without a jacket *** This is a change from past years

• White shoes

• White socks

• Short sleeved shirts 

• Jeans or leggings

• Torn or distressed clothing

• Sneakers or athletic shoes

• Short skirt that expose your knees when you sit

• Blouses or shirts that expose your shoulders

Please note that in order to improve the uniformity of the ensemble, white shirts are no longer allowed without a jacket.

The Northwest Band Parents Board will meet on February 17 at 6:00 PM in the NWHS Seminar Room. All band parents are invited to join us!

The Perry Band Olympics solo and ensemble contests.

More information will be sent out to participating students and their families through a separate ParentSquare group.

This is an all day event.

Our winter band concert is coming up on Monday, February 23 at 7:00 with the 9th grade band from Trailridge. The auditorium will be a little more full than normal, so please plan accordingly. Also, please help us make the Trailridge families feel welcome. We are excited to have them all at the high school with us next year!

The Northwest Band Parents Board will meet on March 3 at 6:00 PM in the NWHS Seminar Room. All band parents are invited to join us!

We are hosting our annual Northwest Blue Note Jazz Festival on Saturday, March 6th.

It's going to be an exciting day with 45 bands performing in three centers around the building. This festival will be an opportunity for us to support jazz music, bring in some great clinicians, and raise money for the band parent organization - which will benefit all of our band students. 

Please visit the Blue Note Jazz Festival page for detailed information.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

We have lots of volunteer opportunities available! (Jazz students will have specific jobs assigned to them, so these students should not sign up.)

If you would like to sign up to help, click the link below:

Northwest Blue Note Jazz Festival Volunteer Sign-up

Non-band students can also sign up and earn Silver Cord hours.

Thank you for your help!

This is the fourth annual Northwest Blue Note Jazz Festival! Our festival has grown substantially this year and will feature 45 bands performing throughout the day for ten clinicians in five competitive classes.

Not only will this be a great event, but it will also be a strong fundraiser for our program.

Doors open at TBD

Schedule / Performance times:

TBD - Jazz Lab - Auditorium
TBD -Jazz Orchestra - Auditorium

Full Schedule here.

Ticket Information:

Click here to purchase event tickets.

Volunteers are needed to help make this a successful event.
Sign up here.

Non-band students can also sign up and earn Silver Cord hours.

Thank you in advance for your help!

The Northwest Jazz Showcase will highlight the musical talents of all NWHS Jazz bands, ranging from 7th grade and up. Join us for a spectacular evening celebrating the incredible journey of budding jazz musicians contributing to the vibrant musical community at Northwest High School.

This concert is open to the public and free of charge. Doors will open at 6:45 pm, so come early and enjoy an unforgettable night of jazz performances.

Come out and listen to the Jazz Orchestra at Des Moines’ coolest jazz venue!

The Northwest Jazz Orchestra will once again perform at Noce Jazz Club. Located at 1326 Walnut downtown, Noce is one of the finest jazz venues in the Midwest.

Join the Wind Symphony and Northwest Singers as we present a joint concert, highlighting differences in colors and affect as both groups perform different versions of the same melodies. It is sure to be a fun concert, and a great opportunity to see both sides of our music department performing side by side. The concert is on Friday, March 27 at 7:00 in the auditorium. Call time for the Wind Symphony is 7:00 p.m. Hope to see you there!

This is the 2026 IIMA State Championships!

This event features Indoor Drumlines and Colorguards from around central Iowa. It is being held at Waukee High School as a joint effort between the Waukee and Northwest Band programs.

Event Schedule

I&E (solos and duets) early-afternoon
Full performances mid-afternoon & evening

Location
Waukee High School
555 SE University Ave.
Waukee, IA 50263

Spectator Tickets

$20 - General Admission
$15 - Students/ Ages 65+
Children 5 and Under - FREE

Volunteer

We need your help to make to make this event happen! If you are available to volunteer to help this event happen, please click on the following link to sign up. Waukee Winter Showcase Volunteer Sign-Up

Visit IIMA’s website for additional information and tickets here.

The Iowa Jazz Championships, held on Tuesday, April 7 at Stephens Auditorium on the Iowa State campus, features the best fifteen 4A bands from across Iowa. The Northwest Jazz Orchestra will perform at TBD. We would love to have your support in Ames on that Tuesday afternoon. A full schedule for the day can be found at the Iowa Jazz Championships website.

Find additional information on Iowa Jazz Championship’s website here.

Percussion and Color Guard rehearsals will be held weekly on Thursdays from April 16 to May 21 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

Percussion will rehearse in Northwest Band Room

Color Guard will rehearse in the Northwest Multi-Purpose Room

The Northwest Band Parents Board will meet on April 21 at 6:00 PM in the NWHS Seminar Room. All band parents are invited to join us!

Percussion and Color Guard rehearsals will be held weekly on Thursdays from April 16 to May 21 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

Percussion will rehearse in Northwest Band Room

Color Guard will rehearse in the Northwest Multi-Purpose Room

More information to come.

Percussion and Color Guard rehearsals will be held weekly on Thursdays from April 16 to May 21 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

Percussion will rehearse in Northwest Band Room

Color Guard will rehearse in the Northwest Multi-Purpose Room

Friday, May 1 is the Northwest Jazz Show!

Held at 7:00 p.m. in the Northwest Auditorium, this jazz extravaganza will feature both Jazz Lab and Jazz Orchestra along with a variety of student led small ensembles.

It is a great night and a fantastic way to wrap up the year.

We hope to see you there!

Our end of the year band concert will be held on Monday, May 4 at 7:00 p.m. with the 9th grade band from Trailridge. The auditorium will be a little more full than normal, so please plan accordingly. Also, please help us make the Trailridge families feel welcome. We are excited to have them all at the high school with us next year!

Percussion and Color Guard rehearsals will be held weekly on Thursdays from April 16 to May 21 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

Percussion will rehearse in Northwest Band Room

Color Guard will rehearse in the Northwest Multi-Purpose Room

More information to come.

More information to come.

The Northwest Band Parents Board will meet on May 12 at 6:00 PM in the NWHS Seminar Room. All band parents are invited to join us!

Percussion and Color Guard rehearsals will be held weekly on Thursdays from April 16 to May 21 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

Percussion will rehearse in Northwest Band Room

Color Guard will rehearse in the Northwest Multi-Purpose Room

Percussion and Color Guard rehearsals/Auditions will be held weekly on Thursdays from April 16 to May 21 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.

Percussion will rehearse in Northwest Band Room

Color Guard will rehearse in the Northwest Multi-Purpose Room

Graduation (Sophomores and Juniors Only)

Commencement is coming up this Sunday! The entire sophomore and junior band class will be performing before and after the ceremony. All sophomores and juniors should meet in the band room at TBD dressed in nice looking formal clothes - not our traditional tuxes and gowns. We will bus down to Wells Fargo together and then return to Northwest sometime around TBD p.m. The full schedule for the afternoon is as follows:

• TBD

On Tuesday evening, May 19, we will be honoring the musical accomplishments of our senior band students by hosting a Senior Class Recital. The recital, which should last approximately 30 minutes, will begin at 5:00 pm and will feature several of our seniors performing solos and ensembles that showcase their musician growth and achievements. Please plan to attend this great event as our seniors prepare for the next phase of their lives. 

Students and parents are cordially invited to join us in celebrating the achievements of the Northwest High School bands for the 2025-26 academic year. This special event will include the presentation of band awards, an end-of-year slideshow, and special recognition for the Class of 2026 seniors. You won't want to miss it!

Oh the places you’ve been!

One of the highlights of our Awards Night is the end of the year slideshow - and we need your band pictures from the year to make it happen. Pictures from band camp? Great! Pictures from Ireland? Wonderful! Pictures from Perry or a jazz band trip? Fantastic!

Send them to nwbandphotos@gmail.com. Make sure to go through your pictures first before submitting your favorites. If we get too many from each person, we can not include them all - and it would make the video really long if we did. So pick your best and send them in. Think quality over quantity!ntity!