Texas Bandmasters Association
Bandmasters Review • September 2013
4
Friends! It is not possible to
measure my enthusiasm for the
opportunity to serve you on the
Board of Directors for TBA. I
have always been a fan of the
Texas Bandmasters
Association as a pro-
fessional teacher
training organiza-
tion, but equally as
enthusiastic about
the opportunity the
organization pro-
vides to network
and reconnect with
colleagues and
friends at its annual meeting.
The bar for the TBA convention
keeps climbing year after year and
one thing is for sure, Fred and Heidi
Vélez put on a great convention for
us this past July. The concept of
the shared convention space and
relationship with TODA and TCDA
is a win-win situation for us all.
We can’t thank our TBA Executive
Director Mike Brashear and his
wife Priscilla enough for seeing to
it that the shared convention was
such a success and still maintained
our unique TBA “feel”.
Having just completed eight
years as the TMEA Region Band
Chairman for my region, I
completely understand what it
means to serve our profession.
Many great opportunities and fond
relationships were built during that
time and my respect for our state’s
musical leaders Richard Floyd with
UIL, Robert Floyd with TMEA,
and Mike Brashear with TBA, is
only amplified now with this most
recent opportunity.
It was only when I truly became
more
involved
in the service side
of our profession
that I began to
understand what
our organizations
really did for our
profession. Yes,
I actually started
reading
the
S o u t h w e s t e r n
Musician, The Leaguer,
and the
Bandmasters Review
publications.
Who knew that those could be
so helpful to us as teachers. My
hope is that if you are reading
this, you might be inspired to
find a colleague that doesn’t know
about the wealth of information,
answers to questions, and simple
resources for teaching found in
these publications and share that
knowledge you have about our state
musical organizations’ publications.
One aspect you cannot escape
in our profession is San Antonio.
Many of your vehicles can plot an
auto pilot course to San Antonio for
the many events that city has hosted
for our profession. The thing I can
tell you about that drive for me
personally is that each year, the drive
to San Antonio gets shorter and the
drive home gets longer. Honestly, the
enthusiasm for reconnecting with
colleagues in San Antonio and then
the return to our normal routines is
what likely fuels those differences in
travel perception. I am certain that
I can’t be the only person that feels
this way.
TBA has proven year after year to
be a great venue for providing that
kick-start to everyone’s school year.
Now when I say kick-start, I refer
mostly to the direct application of
professional training at a time where
things can be put into motion just in
time for the start of school. It might
be a beginner instrument “how
to” clinic or maybe a curriculum
“model” panel discussion.
Generally shared at a time in the
summer when discussions with
colleagues or administrators before
school starts allows for meaningful
implementation of new strategies or
change in your programs. Who can
argue that dialogue with colleagues
outside of the classroom can’t
be included in our professional
development? We know that the
great clinics provide for a wealth
of information but the exhibit
floor is no stranger to professional
development either. I walked into
a conversation on the exhibit floor
between Peter Zaffos from Westlake
HS and Brian Eisemann from The
Woodlands HS on techniques used
to evaluate efficient wind instrument
embouchures. I listened in for about
ten minutes and certainly took away
some things to implement right
away at my own school. What a
From the Board
John Morrison, 2013 - 14 TBA Sergeant - at - Arms