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Time:

Thursday
December, 16, 2021
09:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Location:

375 E

Category

High School Band

Conductor

Conductor Thumb
Mark McGahey

Program

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Performer Details

Performer Bio Synopsis

Celebrating its 78th year this school year, the Keller High School Band is home to over 300 members. Our curriculum promotes individual and ensemble skills and provides extensive opportunities for performance in both areas. The Keller Varsity Marching Band has been awarded Grand Champion at many local competitions and has been a finalist at every Bands of America Regional, Super Regional, and Grand National Championships event they have attended since 2015. The Keller High School Marching Band has finished in the top 10 in the State at the UIL 6A State Marching Band Contest every year since 2014, was awarded the Sudler Shield by the John Philip Sousa Foundation in 2015 and was selected to march in the 2018 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The Keller High School Wind Ensemble is the premiere performing ensemble at KHS. All students in the ensemble perform solo literature, participate in the TMEA All-State process, and perform in chamber ensembles throughout the spring semester. While not required, nearly all students in the Wind Ensemble study privately with an applied faculty member, and many participate in ensembles outside school such as the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra and the Fort Worth Youth Symphony. This is Keller High School’s first appearance at The Midwest Clinic. The Wind Ensemble has been recognized as a National Winner in the Mark of Excellence Wind Band Competition eight times and was the 2000 TMEA 4A Honor Band.

Keller High School Wind Ensemble

Conductor's Bio

Mark McGahey is in his thirty-second year as a music educator. He has been Director of Bands at Keller High School in Keller, TX for twenty-four years. He also directed bands at South Grand Prairie High School in Grand Prairie, TX, and Shawnee High School in Shawnee, OK. Bands under his direction have enjoyed notable success, including while at Keller High School: UIL Sweepstakes Awards, “Best in Class” recognitions, seven-time National Winner of the Mark of Excellence National Wind Band Honors Contest, Bands of America Super Regional Finalist, First Runner-Up at the 1999 4A Texas State Marching Contest, and was named the 2000 4A State Honor Band in Texas. The Keller Band has been a participant at the Texas 6A UIL State Marching Contest in all eligible years from 2006 to 2018, and placed as a finalist three of those years. In 2015, the Keller High School Band was named a finalist at the prestigious Bands of America Grand National Championships, and a Sudler Shield of Excellence recipient. The Sudler Shield is an internationally recognized award for excellence in marching band, and Keller HS was one of two bands in the world that received this honor. In 2018, the Keller HS Band performed in front of a worldwide audience for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Mark is an active clinician and guest lecturer in many states including Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Florida and Illinois. He is an adjudicator nationwide, most notably with Drum Corps International & Bands of America. Mark has judged at DCI World Championships from 2013 to 2019, and recently adjudicated at the Bands of America Grand National Championships. Mark has been named Teacher of the Year at Keller High School in 2000 and 2015, and was also named a UIL Sponsor of Excellence recipient. His professional affiliations include Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, Phi Beta Mu Honorary Music Fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi, and Phi Mu Alpha. He is a Past-President for the Texas Music Adjudicators Association.

Additional Directors

Ryan Heath

Daniel Bloss

Zac Simons

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