CANYON RIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL HONOR BAND

Performer Details

Performer Bio Synopsis

The Canyon Ridge Middle School Band Program strives to foster a lifelong love of music and to develop future supporters of the arts. The band program serves more than 380 students, with beginner enrollment typically around 150 students. Seventh and eighth grade students are enrolled in one of four performing bands: Honor Band, Symphonic Band, Concert Band, and Cadet Band. Sixth grade beginning band classes meet in a homogeneous setting throughout the day in nine different classes. All band classes meet every day for fifty-two minutes. To improve their individual skills and musicianship, all students in the CRMS Band program attend weekly sectional rehearsals and many students take private lessons through the LISD private lesson program. The private lesson teaching staff is an integral part of the band program. This teaching staff includes teachers who have completed at least one music degree, with several who have earned their master’s degree and/or a doctorate. Since the school opening in 2004, Canyon Ridge Middle School Bands have been consistent UIL Concert and Sight-reading Sweepstakes winners, and have been well-represented at Solo and Ensemble Contest, TMEA All-Region Band, and All-Region Orchestra. Under the direction of Amy Allison, Carter Matschek, and Joshua Muñoz, Canyon Ridge Middle School Bands have earned numerous honors and awards at festivals in Texas. The Honor Band placed tenth in the CC Texas State Honor Band Competition in 2006, fourth in Area D in the CCC Texas Honor Band Competition in 2010, and has been named a National Winner in the National Wind Band Honors through the Foundation for Music Education the past three years. Students in the band program are very active in other activities, including National Junior Honor Society, Robotics, Gateway, Destination Imagination, Student Council, Athletics, Drill Team, and Cheer.

CANYON RIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL HONOR BAND

Conductor's Bio

Amy Allison is currently in her seventeenth year of teaching and her fifteenth year in Leander ISD. Since the opening of the school in 2004, Ms. Allison has been the head band director at Canyon Ridge Middle School. Under her direction, the CRMS band program placed tenth in the CC Texas State Honor Band Competition in 2006, fourth in Area D in the CCC Texas Honor Band Competition in 2010, and has been named a National Winner in the National Wind Band Honors through the Foundation for Music Education the past three years. Throughout her teaching career, her bands have consistently received sweepstakes ratings at the Texas UIL Concert and Sight-reading Contest. Ms. Allison received her Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, where she performed as principal flutist with the SFA Wind Ensemble under the direction of Fred J. Allen and studied flute with Helen Blackburn. She performed as the piccolo player with the American Wind Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania before pursuing her career in teaching and is currently the piccolo player for the Cedar Park Winds. Ms. Allison’s professional affiliations include the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Band Masters Association, and Phi Beta Mu. She served as the Region 26 Middle School Coordinator from 2006-2009.