I'm With the Band

Band will liven up streets of Alamo Heights

From mysanantonio.com and  North Central News

The Alamo Heights Band Association has announced a new fundraiser — “March Through Heights,” aimed at raising awareness and funds to help pay for burgeoning Alamo Heights High School band expenses.

The band plans to march through two designated areas of Alamo Heights from 1 to 4 p.m. Nov. 13 and perform “home concerts” in front yards.

“This is a fun opportunity for the Alamo Heights band to share its talents and will give the neighborhood a chance to support this amazing group of young people,” said Missy Kauffman, March Through Heights co-chairwoman, in a press release.

“And how cool is it to have a full marching band play in your front yard?”

Band students are selling the $50 home concerts to families who live along the route. The band will march through the Tuxedo/La Jara/Alamo Heights Boulevard triangle and Blue Bonnet Hills, streets between the high school and City Hall.

Band Director Paul Crockett has prepared a few top hits for the march, as well as the University of Texas fight song and the Texas A&M University Aggie war hymn.

Drum majors Luisa Rodriguez and Katie Wheeler said they're pumped up about this fundraiser.

“People come and watch the band in formation every Friday night,” Rodriguez said.

“This is a chance for us to loosen up and take our talents to the streets,” added Wheeler.

For more information on how to buy a home concert or make a tax-deductible donation, contact Kauffman at 618-7029 or event co-chair Lisa Marie Gomez at 438-2532.

 

Coming soon...March Through Heights!

You won't want to miss this exciting new event!  Click on the poster to see a printable,  full-size version.

USSBA Marching Competition Results

The Alamo Heights Marching Band had another day of success at their USSBA Marching Competition at Judson ISD. We received 1st Place in our classification as well as Best Music, Best Marching, Best Overall Effect and Best Percussion.

AND we were ranked 4th for the whole day in Overall Effect. This is in comparison to many 5A bands from Houston, Copperas Cove and the San Antonio area.

WAY TO GO BAND!!!

Hey Band! Congratulations!

At the USSBA Marching Showcase in New Braunfels last Saturday, Alamo Heights Band got 1st place in Music, Visual and Percussion in our classification. AND our Percussion scored 2nd Overall for the day; only 6 points behind the first place band!!  Many thanks to our Directors, students and parent volunteers who worked so hard to help reach this goal!

Reagan at AHHS--another great slideshow from Kens 5

 

See the entire slideshow  here 

Kens 5 Photos of Alamo Heights Band

 

 

For more of this great Kens 5 slideshow from the Clark at Alamo Heights game, click here 

Alamo Heights Band welcomes our new Directors

Paul Crockett has recently been appointed as Director of Bands for Alamo Heights High School. He is currently pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts in Wind Conducting at Michigan State University where he also completed his Master of Music degree in Wind Conducting. Prior to this appointment, he served as Associate Director of Bands at Westwood High School in Austin, TX where his responsibilities included conducting the Marching Band, Symphonic Band, Chamber Winds, Concert Band, and the Philharmonic Orchestra. He was also Conductor of the Austin Civic Wind Ensemble and was Associate Director at Bailey Middle School (Austin), Director of Bands at Tyler High School (Tyler) as well as Murchison Middle School in Austin, TX.

Mr. Crockett received his Bachelor of Music from Stephen F. Austin State University where he studied under John Whitwell, Director Emeritus at Michigan State University. He has participated in conducting seminars with Fredrick Fennell, Steve Davis, Michael Haithcock, Jerry Junkin, Kevin Sedatole, Richard Floyd, H. Robert Reynolds, Larry Rachleff and Mallory Thompson. 

Mr. Crockett has served the Texas Music Educators Association in numerous positions including Area D and State Honor Band Chair, Region XVIII and XXVI Band Division Chair and Region XXVI President. He continues to be an active member of the Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Music Adjudicators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, and the College Band Directors National Association.

 

Jordan Garza is a native of San Antonio, Texas, having graduated from Judson High School where he was a member of the 2005 Texas Music Educators Association 5A All-State Band.  He recently graduated from Texas State University with a degree in Music Education specializing in percussion.  

During his time ast Texas State University, Jordan was the section leader of the Bobcat Drum Line for two years, which included the second place PASIC Drum Line in 2008.  Jordan has also been the Principal Percussionist of the Texas State University Wind Ensemble for six consecutive semesters.  Jordan has been a consistent soloist with the University Percussion Ensemble and he was the 2nd place winner of the Texas State Concerto Competition in 2007 and 2008.

Mr. Garza coes to Alamo Heights from Cedar Park High School in the Leander ISD where he was the Percussion Specialist.  His ensembles won several championships including Lonestar Percussion Festival:  Overall 1st Place, Best Front Ensemble, Best Snare Line, Best Overall Score;  USSBA Championships:  Best Percussion, 1st Place;  Plano Drum Line Competition:  3rd Place, Best Tenor Line, Best Cymbal Line.   

Jordan has been playing percussion for 14 years and still continues his playing as a successful music educator, performer and clinician.  His professional affiliations include the Texas Music Educators Association, Percussive Arts Society, Association of Texas Professional Educators and the Texas Classroom Teachers Association.

 

Alamo Heights at the Battle of Flowers Band Festival

Photo from San Antonio Express-News by Billy Calzada

AH Band UIL Contest Results

Alamo Heights Bands performed wonderfully well at the UIL Concert and Sightreading Contests again this year.  

Our Junior School Honors Band and Symphonic Winds received Sweepstakes trophies.  The Junior School Symphonic Band received a superior rating in Sightreading.

The High School Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band both received Sweepstakes trophies.
The High School Concert Band receive a superior rating for the concert performance.

Congratulations to them and to all of our fantastic Band Directors!

 

 

Alamo Heights Band students are safe after tsunami

By Jennifer R. Lloyd

From the San Antonio Express-News

The Alamo Heights High School band in Hawaii on a field trip is riding out the tsunami on the upper floors of the Outrigger Reef on the Beach hotel along Waikiki Beach in Honolulu.

Dick Smith, Alamo Heights' director of Human Resources and Communication, said district staff spoke with the band's director at about 8:30 a.m. CT, after the initial tsunami hit, and determined that the band students and chaperones are in a safe place and doing well.

Cindy Mikel, the band's director, said she moved the 53 students into rooms with the 12 chaperones at about 1:45 a.m. Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time. The rooms are on the 15th, 16th and 17th floors. The students were allowed to return to their own rooms at about 5 a.m. HAST, or 9 a.m. CT.

Mikel said she first learned of the tsunami warning around dinner time last night. She bought about 200 bottles of waters and snacks so the students would have provisions. During the night, Mikel and others were able to watch the beach from their balconies.

“There was never a wall of water,” Mikel said. “What was interesting is we can see the ocean out of our balconies and I watched it almost the whole time. The water would recede and you could see the reef and the sand and it would come in right up next to the hotel.”

The band left San Antonio for Hawaii on Wednesday and Mikel said the band is scheduled to perform Sunday as guests of the Royal Hawaiian Band. They are scheduled to return Tuesday and, at this point, they do not anticipate returning early.

“I would think transportation is going to be clogged for a couple of days there and I think they'll probably stay at the hotel,” Smith said. “I don't have any indication that they'll come back early.”

Mikel said the band was supposed to spend today at a beach location called Secret Island on the northeast side of the island of Oahu, but she was unsure whether the beach would be open. If it is not, the students will spend a free day in the Waikiki Beach area.

Mikel, who is in her fifth year as band director, said the group had been to Hawaii a number of times, most recently four years ago.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Alamo-Heights-students-in-Hawaii-are-safe-after-1075573.php#ixzz1GJqGRsME

 

Watch interview on KSAT 12 with  Ms. Mikel in Hawaii during tsunami warning

AH Band on KSAT