Lorraine Kubala: Conventions to feature El Paso music educators Education Process Help

Posted on July 21 2011 by Cody Stones

Lorraine Kubala: Conventions to feature El Paso music educators

The summer music conventions will soon be under way, and several El Paso-area music educators will be clinicians or presenters at them. The conventions are a good chance for directors in all disciplines to get re-energized for the coming school year, to pick up tips on new products and teaching methods, and to meet with other educators in their instrumental fields. The three conventions, one each for Texas band, orchestra and choir directors, will take place next week in San Antonio, with the orchestra and choral meetings happening simultaneously.

All three conventions will feature clinics, concerts, workshops and an exhibition hall with music, instruments and loads of ways for groups to travel and raise money. First up is the Texas MUSICAL NOTES
Following El Paso area marching bands.
Bandmasters Association convention July 24-27. The convention will host close to 5,000 band directors and feature special days for high-school students and booster organizations. Toward the end of the band convention will be the combined meetings of the Texas Orchestra Directors Association and the Texas Choral Directors Association, which will meet July 27- 30.

Several El Pasoans will be featured at the Bandmasters Association convention. Helping to organize the convention is the association’s secretary Bruce Beach, of Franklin High School. Cassie Hammond, of Hanks High School, and Ruben Gutierrez, on the faculty at El Paso Community College, will present the clinics for the All-State jazz band audition music for, respectively, bass trombone and piano. UTEP faculty member Steve Haddad will present the clinic for the euphonium etudes for the All-State concert bands. Haddad was also on the etude selection committee for this year’s audition pieces.

Three more El Paso educators will be featured in workshops at the convention. Barbara and Rick Lambrecht will present “Guiding Your Band Through a Transition Year” on Monday. On Tuesday, Kenny Capshaw, director at Coronado High School, will talk about “A Fresh Approach to Scales and Fundamentals.”

Capshaw’s clinic will feature several El Paso band students and directors, dubbed the “Desert Rats” in the workshop literature, to serve as a demonstration group for the workshop.

Besides presenting his clinic, the convention will also be important to Capshaw in another respect. During an awards ceremony on the opening night of the convention, Capshaw will be honored with the Texas Bandmaster Association’s 2011 Meritorious Achievement Award, which acknowledges his outstanding career as a band director, his many contributions to his students and his service to the band profession.

This award comes on the heels of similar recognition for Capshaw from the Sousa Foundation last December. The foundation awarded the Bandworld Legion of Honor Distinction to Capshaw at the Midwest Band Clinic. Recipients of this award have taught for at least 15 years, maintained a very high quality concert band program and contributed significantly to the profession through dedication to bands and band music.

Both awards honor Capshaw;s outstanding work with the Coronado Band over many years.

Finally, for all the drum corps fans, the convention will partner with Drum Corps International to host the Southwestern Regional Championships on Saturday in the Alamodome. This championship will feature most of the top world-class corps of the season.

A smaller contest will be held this evening in Odessa, which features Denver’s Blue Knights, noteable for the large number of El Pasoans who perform with this group. The Blue Knights will also be featured in Saturday’s contest in San Antonio.

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