From the students' very first note to their final concert, the middle school years can be tricky to navigate. This clinic will explore the necessity of setting goals that will seamlessly bridge the gap between each milestone in their middle school band career.
Corey Graves
- Biographical Information
Corey LaMon Graves is in his eleventh year of teaching and has
been with the Roma Independent School District since 2010. Mr. Graves received
his Bachelor of Music Education degree as a summa cum laude graduate from
Stephen F. Austin State University (2007) and earned a Master of Music in
Euphonium Performance from The Ohio State University as a graduate fellow
(2008). Mr. Graves is a Bill and Melinda Gates Millennium Scholar and the Texas
Music Educators Association Region 15 Middle School Band Coordinator. Bands
under his direction have consistently received superior sweepstakes ratings at
UIL Concert and Sightreading Contest, and have also earned high levels of
recognition on the state, national, and international stage. The Roma Middle
School Symphonic Winds has been a consistent state finalist in the TMEA Honor
Band Contest, being most recently named the 2020 TMEA CC Honor Band. The
Symphonic Winds were also selected to perform at the 2016 Midwest International
Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, Illinois, and chosen as a 2019 Rio Grande
Valley Program of Distinction. Mr. Graves was chosen as Roma ISD’s 2013
Secondary Teacher of the Year and was selected as the Phi Beta Mu Texas Young
Bandmaster of the Year for 2017. He is an active clinician, adjudicator, guest
euphoniumist, and a member of the Texas Music Educators Association, Texas
Bandmasters Association, Texas Music Adjudicators Association, the UIL PML
Committee, and Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society. Mr. Graves credits
his passion for music to his mother, Brenda M. Moore (who is affectionately
known as “Mama Graves” by his students), his drive for success to his
grandmother, Mrs. Vergie Graves, and his love of education to an incredible
list of music educators across the country.
Robert Tyrome Herrings, III is in his sixteenth year of teaching and has been teaching at Artie Henry Middle School in Leander ISD since 2004. Prior to coming to Leander ISD, he was the Director of Bands at Rockdale Junior High in Rockdale, Texas.
In 2003, Mr. Herrings received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he studied under Michael Haithcock, Jeff Grogan, Dr. Kevin Sedatole and Barry Hopper.
Mr. Herrings conducts the Honors Band, and assists with the Symphonic Band and Concert Band at HMS. He also teaches beginning clarinet, saxophone and trumpet. Mr. Herrings’ bands have consistently received UIL Sweepstakes ratings, Best In Class, and Overall Outstanding Band honors at festivals around the state. From 2009-2018, the program has earned distinction as a National Wind Band Honors Class AA winner and performed at the Western International Band Clinic in 2008 and 2013. The program was named the 2010, 2014 and 2018 TMEA Class CCC Honor Band and selected to perform at the 2010, 2012 and 2016 Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. In 2014, the HMS Percussion Ensemble was selected to perform at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. Mr. Herrings was named the Phi Beta Mu Outstanding Young Bandmaster of the Year in 2011. The HMS program is a recipient of the John Philip Sousa Foundation Sudler Silver Cup Award, the Outstanding Band Program Award by the American School Band Director’s Association, and the 2018 Texas Bandmasters Association Exemplary Middle School Band Award winner.
An active clinician and adjudicator, Mr. Herrings is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association and the Texas Music Adjudicators Association. Mr. Herrings also serves as the TMEA Region 32 Middle School Band Chair, as well as the Region 32 TBA representative. He is honored to be a member of Phi Beta Mu and a mentor to new-to-profession teachers at Henry Middle School.