Hillside Association of Music Supporters - HAMS

08/08/2026

Thank you to Manchester School District's director of Fine Arts, Mr. Doyle for putting together an amazing week of Music and Jazz in Manchester! Students attended a FREE jazz camp with some amazingly talented professional instruction and inspirational performances all week. The Jazz camp culminated with a festival night performance on Hanover St. in front of The Palace Theatre featuring students from MSD including Hillside and Central students and teachers. Thank you to all the students, teachers, and professionals for their time, talents and their love of music that was shared and to everyone that helped to make the event possible.

Hillside Middle School
Central High Association of Music Parents & Supporters

08/06/2026

Something awesome is happening in Manchester this week - Manchester Music & Jazz Festival! Manchester students have had an amazing experience at the free jazz camp this week learning from some top jazz musicians around the country. They are performing in the Student Showcase beginning at 5 p.m. tomorrow - Friday, August 7 at the FREE Downtown Block Party on Hanover Street. Below is the student schedule for Friday. Also check out Lauren Sevian Live with Bedford Big Band tonight at 7 p.m. (Thursday, Aug. 6th) at the Rex.

Friday, August 7 (Hanover St Stage):

5:00 PM
Student Vocal Jazz Ensemble
Student Flex Band

6:30 PM
YellowHouse Blues Band

8:00 PM
Student Saxophone Ensemble
Student Big Band

8:45 PM
LadeeJazz

06/13/2026

Thank you to the Hillside Music teachers, parent volunteers, and all the music students that braved the hot weather to participate in the Blindfolded Obstacle Course. This event was a celebration of reaching our goals of 25,000 practice minutes in 5 days and we raised $5,108!! Thank you, students and families, for supporting this fundraiser, Hillside Music and the arts in our public schools!

Hillside Middle School

06/10/2026

Please vote for the HAMS Board for the 2026-27 school year! Additional candidates can be written in if they are not listed among those currently nominated. Voting ends 6-17-26. Thank you for your support of Hillside Music!

The following are the candidates who have been nominated to serve on the Hillside Association of Music Supporters Board for the 26-27 school year. Please vote for one of the following for each position or write in a candidate not listed. Voting ends 6/17/26.

05/31/2026

Thank you to everyone that helped to raise money to fund the Boston Pops trip yesterday! The show was How to Train Your Dragon – In Concert, at Symphony Hall, Boston. It featured the DreamWorks film, while the Boston Pops Orchestra performed John Powell’s Academy Award-nominated score live. It was a night to remember for the 7th and 8th grade Hillside music students. One thing that made it extra special is that Roric Cunningham, a 2019 graduate of Central High School was on stage performing. Cunningham has been a cellist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 2023. He took the time to pose for photos and gave a wave to the teachers and students in the crowd. An inspirational night, indeed. Please share any photos with us from the evening!

And thank you to the teachers and staff that planned for the event and spent their Saturday with the students for this memorable fieldtrip.

Hillside Middle School

05/25/2026

Thank you for the honor of performing in the Manchester Memorial Day Parade 2026. Thank you to all the teachers, students and parent volunteers! Most of all, thank you to all the men and woman that made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Hillside Middle School

05/24/2026

Memorial Day Parade Updates and Reminders:

Meeting time at Hillside is now 12:00 PM on Monday May 25; this will help to ensure that bussing will get us to our drop-off point in time.

We are in the first division of the parade; rally point is the intersection of Chestnut and Bridge Streets.

If you’ve volunteered to march with the band or drive the med-van, you may ride with us on the bus as it’s most likely the easiest arrangement. Van driver may follow the buses; thank you to all who signed up!

Ice cream treat, water and cooler donations; water and coolers may be dropped off before the parade. Due to limited freezer space we may want to wait until after the parade to deliver those (probably around 2:45 will be perfect).

Buses will pick the band up near the SNHU arena to return to Hillside.

All hair MUST be off the shoulders; no ponytails. Buns or tight up-braids are the move for a parade.

Students will need a ride for 3:00 PM to enjoy the rest of the Memorial Day holiday.

Should weather be a factor on Memorial Day; please wait to hear from the district or myself and I will communicate via email, Talking Points, Google Classroom, HAMS page, grapevine, etc.

05/20/2026

We need volunteers and donations for Monday's Memorial Day Parade Performance. Please see below and sign up if you can help! Thank you!!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F084CA4AF2DA7FB6-49779935-Hillside Middle School

The Memorial Day Parade is Monday, May 25, 2026. This is by far our biggest performance of the year as the entire city of Manchester is our audience as the Hillside “Marching Hawks” take to Elm Street to pay tribute to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. The band’s two select...

05/20/2026

The Memorial Day Parade is Monday, May 25, 2026. This is by far our biggest band performance of the year as the entire city of Manchester is our audience as the Hillside “Marching Hawks” take to Elm Street to pay tribute to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.
The band’s two selections are “Battle Hymn Of The Republic” and “Stars And Stripes Forever”. The students have been diligently preparing for the big day.

Schedule:
Report time in full uniform
12:30 PM - Hillside
Warm-Ups/Mini-Rehearsal
12:45-1:15 PM - Hillside
Board buses to parade
1:20 PM - Hillside
Arrive at parade route
1:30 PM - Hampshire Plaza
Parade steps off
2:00 PM - Elm Street.
Parade ends
2:45 PM- SNHU Arena/Lake Ave.
Board buses for return leg
2:55 PM - SNHU Arena/Lake Ave.
Return to Hillside
3:05 PM - Hillside

We are always looking for parade volunteers as well as water/ice cream donations. Sign up to help here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F084CA4AF2DA7FB6-49779935-hillside #/

Please be sure that students are hydrated and have a little bit of breakfast before the parade (nothing heavy!) so as to help the performance go smoothly.

05/20/2026

We did it!!! With one more day to go, we have crested over our 25,000 practice minutes goal - logging a combined 31,195 minutes! We are also 82% to our fundraising goal! Let's make this happen!! Thank you!