Texas Bandmasters Association
Bandmasters Review • December 2015
2
From the Board
Jeff King, 2015 - 16 TBA President Elect
My wife Leslie and I recently moved to another house in
Duncanville, a whole 2.2 miles away. Just like our previous
two houses that we owned, we planted a Shumard Red Oak
tree when we moved in. For us, planting a tree seemed like
the right thing to do to establish a home. The Shumard Red
Oak is considered one of the biggest species of oak trees.
When I drive by our previous houses, I find myself staring
at how big and beautiful that these trees have become. I
guess I am kind of a “tree guy”.
Outside the capital building in Sacramento, CA, there
is a 40-acre park filled with gardens, including 1140 trees
representing over 200 types of trees. Obviously, this is
a pretty cool place to visit for a “tree guy”. It was here
that I saw my first Sequoia tree. What an amazing tree.
The metaphors one can draw from the Sequoia are too
numerous to include in this article, but I would like to
touch on one that relates to our profession.
The Sequoia tree is an extremely well balanced tree
that relies on a complex intertwining of roots with other
trees. They can survive in less than three feet of soil
by spreading their roots far from the tree, up to 300
feet. Much like our profession, I cannot imagine my
past, present or future without the help
and support of so many people. My
personal support system has come from
students, parents, educators, colleagues,
family, friends, administrators, and
other musicians across Texas and the
U.S. Early on in my career, I learned
to ask questions and seek out the best
people for information and guidance.
The most successful band directors that
I know are always willing to share their
knowledge. Their knowledge came
from other great teachers and people;
so our “root” system is endless.
Just like the Sequoia’s root system,
our Texas Music Education System has numerous “roots”
that begin with our professional organizations such as
UIL, TMEA, TMAA and TBA. Having attended many state
conventions across the U.S.,
I can tell you that Texas is
the leader in music education
and this is due in large
part to these professional
organizations. The support system and structure of these
organizations provide us the opportunity and foundation
to become the best teachers that we can be.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines support system
as:
A network of personal or professional contacts available
to a person for practical or emotional support.
Even before I became a TBA board member, one of my
favorite events to attend at TBA was the annual business
luncheon. Not only did I get a free lunch, but I enjoyed
listening to the Bandmaster of the Year speech. Hearing
the TBA Bandmaster of the Year speak always inspired me
and made me realize how many great band directors there
are across the State of Texas that I did not know. In the
past five years, I have also enjoyed attending the ceremony
of band directors being inducted into the Phi Beta Mu
Texas Bandmasters Hall of Fame.
org/pbmhalloffame.php
Getting to know the history of
some of the great band directors in our
profession is both inspirational and
essential for our continued growth. I
encourage you all to attend these events
and find out from these highly esteemed
band directors what they know and find
out more about their support system.
In addition to moving in August,
I accepted a position as Director of
Fine Arts & Enrichment for the Irving
ISD. In this position, I am responsible
for band, choir, orchestra, elementary
music, mariachi, visual arts, theater
arts, dance, cheerleading and physical
education, grades K-12. Talk about a
big “root” system.
In the past four months, I have been involved with
all of the above areas. I have had the opportunity to see
Texas is the leader in
music education and
this is due in large part
to these professional
organizations [UIL,
TMEA, TMAA, TBA]. The
support system and
structure of these
organizations provide
us the opportunity and
foundation to become
the best teachers
that we can be.
