Texas Bandmasters Association
Bandmasters Review • September 2013
6
The 2013 TBA Convention/
Clinic was a smashing success
thanks to the efforts and proficiency
of several dedicated people. The
TBA staff and Executive Director
Mike Brashear spent
countless hours
organizing the clinic
offerings as well as
securing the financial
support from our
business partners
and exhibitors. So
much transpires
behind the scenes
in executing everything from
registration and meals to facilities
and concert events so the normal
attendee experiences nothing but
a smooth and seemingly picture-
perfect convention. For this, we
owe a great debt of gratitude to
our fulltime staff Robin Tovar and
Justin Young as well as our part-
timers Chuck Kuentz and Charlie
Munsell. Please take the time to let
them know that you appreciate their
enormous contribution.
I share a long-held belief that the
quality of the clinics and presenters
are what sets the TBA convention
apart as a leading professional
development showcase. Our 2013
convention was jam-packed with
remarkable musicians providing us
all with memorable presentations.
I want to express my gratitude to
each of our talented presenters
and performers for providing an
incomparable clinic experience for
our state and all of our members.
I would like to thank all of
my fellow board members and
Mike Brashear for
their diligence and
substantial support
in working together
and helping me fulfill
my responsibilities
to our association.
A personal thank
you to our current
president Richard
Herrera and past president Tom
Harrington for being available
and acting as respected sounding
boards many times throughout the
year. Our convention’s success was
truly a team effort.
I want to recognize the work of
Brian Merrill on the TBA Academy
and Frank Troyka on Student Day.
They both have magnanimously
invested their personal time and
creative resources to the benefit of
TBA, our members, and students
of Texas. I must lavishly thank
my wife, Heidi for her exceptional
work with spouses’ division.
Heidi and the spouses’ division
provided an elegant luncheon and
diverse activities for our spouses
and families. As mentioned above,
there are countless people that
are responsible for the enormous
undertaking in crafting our
convention. Words cannot express
my eternal appreciation for your
gift to our profession.
As you are into the start of a new
academic year, I would like to leave
you with a few thoughts that I hope
you will consider in your busy
schedule. I would propose that
the following message is probably
better suited when planning your
next year.
I encourage you to keep a weekly
or daily journal or a log of the
happenings in your professional
life. This could become an
invaluable reference and resource
in determining your long-term
success. This documentation can
help you evaluate yourself and
situation plus it can serve as a tool
in planning and organizing your
future goals and methods for self-
improvement. You can also use
this information to evaluate the
progress and development of your
students and conceivably offer your
ideas to enhance your student’s
musical experience. The main
objective of this exercise is to give
you an avenue to examine yourself
and your effectiveness as a teacher.
Let me illustrate this through an
example. We can all recall a time
in class when we called a student’s
attention to an intonation issue
and they were able to improve
purely because we directed their
awareness to the issue. We too
From the Board
Al fredo Vélez I I I , 2013 - 14 TBA Past President