The T.A. Howard Middle School Honor Band was selected as a finalist at the Texas Music Educators CCC Honor Band Competition held last month in San Antonio, Texas.
The Honor Band process begins each spring at the local level where individual schools submit a recording of their best performances to be adjudicated by an independent panel of five judges. From the local level, the top two performances are submitted to a regional competition following a similar adjudication format.
For T.A. Howard MS, the geographic area for the regional competition spans from Tarrant County to the Texas–New Mexico border. Howard MS was selected as one of the two finalists to advance to the final level of competition along with 13 other band programs from around the state. In the state competition, the Howard MS band placed 5th, the highest placement by any band in the history of the Mansfield ISD.
Students and directors worked throughout the spring semester in class, at home, and in after-school sectionals to perfect their difficult program. Along the way, the Howard band had all three of their bands receive Superior ratings at both UIL Concert and Sight-reading Contest and the Schlitterbahn Soundwaves Music Festival.
Directors Nathaniel Neugent and Meredith Keller are extremely pleased with the hard work put forth by their students and the distinction of being named a finalist in the State Honor Band competition. For both Neugent and Keller, this is their first year with the Mansfield ISD. Prior to accepting his position in Mansfield, Mr. Neugent previously worked in both the Carrollton-Farmers Branch and Lewisville school districts. Ms. Keller has completed her first year of teaching, having recently graduated from the Michigan State University.
CCC State Honor Band Results:
1. Byrd MS ( Duncanville ISD )
2. Hildebrandt IS ( Spring ISD )
3. Ft. Settlement MS ( Fort Bend ISD )
4. Cinco Ranch MS ( Katy ISD )
5. T.A. Howard MS ( Mansfield ISD )
6. Rice MS ( Plano ISD )
7. Bleyl MS ( Cy-Fair ISD )
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