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Time:

Wednesday
December, 15, 2021
01:30 PM - 02:30 PM

Location:

W 190

Category

High School Chamber Ensemble

Conductor

Conductor Thumb
Aaron Vogel

Program

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Performer Details

Performer Bio Synopsis

Our Band program is known collectively as the “Pride of the West” and currently includes over 180 students. Our mission is “excellence everywhere.” We believe strongly in the development of our individual student musicians through concert and chamber music. Our ensembles have been invited to perform at the 2021 Midwest Clinic with our Saxophone Quartet, the 2014 Midwest Clinic with our Woodwind Choir and Saxophone Orchestra, as a Featured Band at the 2019 Music for All National Concert Band Festival, and 11 times at the Arizona Music Educators Association Conference. The Band is a five-time recipient of the Arizona Band and Orchestra Director’s "William E. Richardson Program of Distinction Award", recognizing superior achievement in all areas of the Band program. All Band students participate in our Marching Band, which has consistently qualified for the ABODA State Marching Band Championships and concluded the 2019 competitive season as the ABODA Division 1 Arizona State Marching Band Champions and the AzMBA State Champions in Class 4A. Our Marching Band was a 2007 Tournament of Roses Parade participant, represented Arizona at the 56th Presidential Inaugural Parade for President Obama, performed at the 2015 NFL Super Bowl XLIX, and represented the USS Arizona at the 70th and 75th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Our Varsity Winter Guard is a seven-time WGAZ State Champion and were Semi-Finalists in Scholastic Open Class at the 2019 WGI World Championships. Our students have had numerous individual achievements at the State and National Level including student representation in the Music For All Honor Band of America, the National Association for Music Education All-National Concert Band and the U.S. Army All-American Marching Band.

Mountain Ridge High School Saxophone Quartet

Conductor's Bio

Aaron Vogel is currently entering his 20th year of teaching and serves as the Director of Bands at Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale, Arizona. He is the 2021 recipient of the O.M. Hartsell Excellence in Teaching Award from the Arizona Music Educators Association. Recent honors at Mountain Ridge include the 2021 Citation of Excellence Award from the National Band Association, the Saxophone Quartet’s invitation to the 2021 The Midwest Clinic in Chicago, IL, the Wind Ensemble’s performance at the 2020 Arizona Music Educators Conference, and their performance as a Featured Band at the 2019 Music for All National Concert Band Festival in Indianapolis, IN. The Mountain Ridge Pride of the West Marching Band has consistently qualified for the ABODA State Marching Band Championships and concluded the 2019 competitive season as the ABODA Division 1 Arizona State Marching Band Champions and the AzMBA State Champions in Class 4A. In 2017-18 and 2018-19 the Mountain Ridge Band Program received the ABODA “William E. Richardson Program of Distinction Award” recognizing superior achievement in all areas of the program. Prior to his appointment at Mountain Ridge, Mr. Vogel was the Director of Bands at Westwood High School in Mesa, Arizona, and taught in public schools in Colorado and North Carolina. Ensembles under his direction received multiple accolades for excellence in performance including consistent Superior and Superior with Distinction ratings at Area and State Festivals, the National Programs of Excellence Blue Ribbon Award from the National Band Association, and three Colorado State Marching Band Championships in 2013, 2012 and 2009. Featured performances include the Music for All National Concert Band Festival (twice), the Taoyuan, Taiwan International Band Festival, the Colorado Music Educators Conference (twice), and the Western International Band Clinic. Mr. Vogel has been actively involved in the state and national levels of the marching activity and currently serves as a Board Member for the Arizona Marching Band Association. He has also served on the instructional staff for The Cadets, The Cavaliers and the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps. As a performer, he was an original cast member in the Tony and Emmy award-winning production of Blast! in London’s West End and a marching member of the Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps. Mr. Vogel received a Bachelor of Music in Music Education magna cum laude from Ithaca College, and a Masters in Music Education and Wind Conducting from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he studied conducting with Allan McMurray and was a Graduate Teaching Assistant. Mr. Vogel lives in Phoenix with his wife Becky, daughter Abigail and son Aiden. He is a native of Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

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