Bandmasters Review - September 2019

Texas Bandmasters Association Bandmasters Review • September 2019 27 2019 TBA Prestigious Honors Jim Melhart Music Industry Award Jim Melhart, owner of Melhart Music Center in McAllen, Texas, is celebrating the company’s 50th year in the music business. The company is a huge supporter of music education in South Texas. Jim got his start at his father’s Horn Shop, a music store in Corpus Christi. At the age of 18, Jim was the only band instrument repairman in Corpus Christi. In 1969, Jim went into business for himself. With only a $600 investment, he opened Melhart Music in Corpus Christi as a piano and organ store. His live music performances (drums) allowed his family to survive in the early business days. He found himself traveling to McAllen once a month to sell the pianos out of a van, prompting him to open a piano and organ store there. This store became the foundation for Melhart Music Center as a full line store and later a manufacturing facility. By the mid ‘80s, Jim’s manufacturing business was in full swing; he was sending containers of speaker cabinets around the world. Now out of the speaker business, Melhart Music Center designs and manufacturers over 250 products for school music programs. It has become the #1 band tower manufacturer in the U.S., including a custom 70-foot tower in Alabama. Jim holds ten patents in the music industry, with six still being active. Duncanville High School Exemplary High School Band David Brandon, Director For over forty years the Duncanville HS Band Program has been considered a model for many high school programs throughout the state of Texas and the U.S. The band program flourished under the leadership of Dr. Tom Shine (1980-2010), Brian Merrill (1983-2003), Jeff King (1988-2015) and David Brandon (1996-present). Duncanville ISD is the proud home to over 1,200 students from grades 6-12. All of these students end up at Duncanville HS which offers five large concert bands, marching band, applied music classes, AP Music Theory, Percussion Ensemble, and Winterguard. All bands are consistent recipients of first division ratings in concert and sight-reading assessments and have all won numerous “Best in Class” awards at festivals and contests. The DHS Wind Ensemble has been the TMEA Region 20 Honor Band every year since 1980 and has placed in the State Finals ten times, culminating in their selection as the 1998, 2004 and 2008 TMEA 5A Honor Band, making them the only band to win three 5A Honor Bands. Most recently, the band was the 2nd Runner Up in the 2019 6A Honor Band Competition. Over these years the Duncanville Marching Band has been awarded the “Sudler Shield of Honor”, has been the UIL State Champion in 1986, 1990 and 2002 and is the only large classification (5A/6A) band in Texas to advance to the State Marching Band Contest every year since 1988. Lindale Junior High School Exemplary Middle School Band Bene Davis, Director Located in the piney woods of Northeast Texas, Lindale Junior HS has an enrollment of 635 students in seventh and eighth grades. Lindale ISD is known for its academic excellence with a focus on college and career readiness. Lindale is one of those old-fashioned towns where the schools are the heart of the community. Band begins in the sixth grade at E. J. Moss Intermediate School with four periods of homogeneous, beginner classes. At Lindale Junior HS, the seventh and eighth grades bands perform three concerts each year, play at three LJH football games and pep rallies, are consistent first-division recipients at band festivals, as well as participate inUIL and TMEA events. This year, 72 students earned a chair in the TMEA All-Region Band and the LJH Band earned 300 first-division medals at the Region 21 MS Band Solo and Ensemble Contest. The Symphonic Band has earned 37 consecutive UIL Sweepstakes awards in Class CC and has been an ATSSB OPS first place winner and finalist several times. Along with their band activities, a majority of the LJH Band students are involved in many other activities on campus that include athletics, cheerleading, drama productions, Student Council, and UIL Academic Events. This year marks only the second time that both a high school band and their middle school feeder have both been TBA Exemplary Award Winners. (The Lindale HS Band was awarded in 2008.) Rick Ghinelli Lifetime Administrator Achievement Rick Ghinelli grew up in Michigan and later attended the University of Houston. He began his teaching career in the Spring ISD and remained there until he retired in 2013. Following his success as a band director and earning his Masters of Education in Administration from Sam Houston State University, he began a career in administration. While principal at Dueitt MS, Ghinelli was selected as a finalist in the MacGregor Medical Middle School Principal of the Year Competition. In 2000, Rick assumed the role of Director of Performing and Visual Arts for Spring ISD, a position he held until his retirement. During his term, the district’s fine arts programs gained notoriety for their excellent work and were frequent recipients of the highest honors in competition. He was named the Culture Shapers Administrator of the Year and awarded the Distinguished Alumnus in Music Education from the U of H Moores School of Music. Rick is currently completing his sixth year as the Educational Support Manager, Southwest Region, in the Division of Education for Conn-Selmer, Inc. As the Director of Music Administration Outreach, he was involved in assisting music program leaders across the country and he continues to provide support for teachers, staff and students through his work with the Music Administration Collaborative.