About
The Hopkins Instrumental Music Program includes four levels of Band classes, two levels of Jazz classes, two levels of Orchestra classes, and a Full Orchestra.
These classes are:
- Beginning Band
- Concert Band
- Symphonic Band
- Wind Ensemble
- Jazz Workshop
- Jazz Ensemble
- Intermediate Orchestra
- Advanced Orchestra
- Full Orchestra
All ensembles at Hopkins perform at least twice a year on-campus, and benefit from many other performance opportunities such as Jazz Festivals, Band Festivals, Orchestra Festivals, joint concerts with other schools, assemblies at elementary schools, and other on-campus events. Please visit our Calendar page to view our future performance dates as well as other important dates.
The California Music Educators Association (CMEA) selects only the best ensembles to perform at the California All-State Band and Orchestra Festival. One selection criterion is that a group must have received a Superior Rating at a CMEA-sanctioned festival during the previous season. For the recent years that the festival was established (2013 to 2019), Hopkins’ two flagship ensembles — Wind Ensemble and Advanced Orchestra — had earned Unanimous Superior ratings every single year that this All-State Festival was held. See here for a complete list of Awards that each Hopkins ensemble has received since 2006.
The presence of Hopkins students in honor bands and orchestras has always been remarkable. In 2020, Hopkins was represented by:
- 5 students at the CMEA Bay Section Conference Junior High Honor Groups
- 23 students at the Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) Junior High School Honor Band
- 50 students at the Northern California Band Association (NCBA) All-Northern California Junior High School Honor Band (the most of any school)
- 18 students at the All-State Junior High School Honor Orchestra (the most of any school in Northern California), selected strictly by the California Orchestra Directors Association (CODA)
- 23 students at the All-State Junior High School Honor Band (the most of any school in Northern California), selected strictly by the California Band Directors Association (CBDA)
This group of 41 students was the largest of any school of any kind recognized at the state level!
In the Spring of 2013, the community donated a gift for the Hopkins Instrumental Music Program — the commissioning of two pieces of music — to honor the success of the instrumental music groups of the school and to benefit its future music students. The first commissioned piece, entitled Miraj, was composed by Richard Meyer for string orchestra. In March 2015, Hopkins Advanced Orchestra, conducted by the composer himself, presented the world premiere of the piece at Ohlone College, Fremont. This was the first time in recent history that an original piece of music has been written by a guest composer for any school ensemble in Fremont! The second commissioned piece Ancient Runes, composed by Dr. Andrew Boysen, Jr., for Hopkins Wind Ensemble, premiered in May 2016. Another commissioned piece for Hopkins Wind Ensemble, …in the silence of the canyon by Dr. Jack Stamp, made its debut in May 2019.