Rouse High School Honor Band

Performer Details

Performer Bio Synopsis

The Rouse Honor Band is the premier concert ensemble within the Rouse High School Band program. Students are selected through a rigorous audition process each spring and fall. Currently, the band has students from grades nine through twelve. Quality recruitment, retention, and teaching within all levels of the vertical team has allowed for all ensembles within our program to flourish and improve rapidly over the past several years. The program has grown considerably in the past two years, facilitating the need for an added fourth concert ensemble. Feeder schools within our vertical team include Stiles and Wiley Middle Schools. Both programs are very successful. Stiles performed at Midwest in 2015 and 2021. Some senior members of the 2020 ensemble that did not perform at Midwest due to the pandemic will now have the honor of performing at Midwest in December. The Wiley Wind Ensemble performed at the TMEA Convention in 2023 after being named "Texas Honor Band" in class 2C the year prior. They are also an invited ensemble at the 2024 Midwest Clinic! Students in the Rouse Honor Band represent a diverse population within our school and are very high academic and artistic achievers. Last year's ensemble had 27 region band members from one of the most competitive TMEA regions in the state. Additionally, ten students represented Rouse as a member of the TMEA All-State Band, and only two of these students were seniors. The Rouse Honor Band is a consistent UIL "superior" ensemble in both concert and sight reading/music literacy areas. In the spring of 2023, the Rouse Honor Band entered the class 5A TMEA Honor Band Process and advanced through region, area, and state levels of competition, earning 4th place in finals. As a program, our teaching philosophy is to grow each individual through our shared musical passion and journey. Key to our success is our culture piece: The Rouse Band Way. Our four guiding tenets are: 1) Demonstrate Character; 2) Come Prepared; 3) Participate with Enthusiasm; and 4) Support our Family.

Rouse High School Honor Band

Conductor's Bio

Ryan Johnstone is in his 19th year as a music educator and is currently Director of Bands at Rouse High School in Leander, Texas, a position he has held since 2020. Previously, he was an associate director at Rouse for four years. At Rouse, Mr. Johnstone conducts the Honor Band and serves as the music coordinator for the marching band. All concert ensembles under his direction at Rouse have earned straight superior ratings at UIL Concert and Sightreading Evaluations throughout his career. The Rouse Honor Band was awarded 4th place in the Class 5A TMEA Honor Band Competition in 2023. The Rouse Marching Band has been a BOA Austin Champion and was a finalist at the 2023 BOA San Antonio Super Regional, placing 6th overall, and winning the 3A Championship. Additionally, the Rouse Marching Band was awarded the silver medal in the Class 5A UIL State Marching Band Championships in 2021 and 2023. Prior to his positions at Rouse, Mr. Johnstone served as head band director at Canyon Vista and Aledo Middle Schools. Prior to his time as a middle school head director, he was an assistant director at Aledo High School and Eustace High School and Middle School for the first four years of his career. His bands at Canyon Vista and Aledo Middle were consistent superior award winners at UIL and invitational festivals. Top groups at each school also advanced to the Texas Music Educator Association’s State Honor Band Competition three times under his direction. Additionally, the Aledo Middle School Honor Winds were invited performers at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in December 2013. Mr. Johnstone was recipient of the “Texas Young Bandmaster of the Year” which he was awarded in 2012. In addition to his teaching at Rouse High School, Mr. Johnstone is active as a guest clinician and music education consultant for other public school music programs. He has also been a guest conductor/teacher for the Baylor University and TCU Summer Music Camps and has served on the brass staff for the Crossmen Drum Corps based in San Antonio, Texas. As an adjudicator, he’s served at events throughout Texas (UIL/TMEA) as well as Utah and Canada in both the marching and concert realms. His professional affiliations include membership in the Texas Music Educators' Association, Texas Bandmasters' Association, Texas Music Adjudicators’ Association, and Phi Beta Mu. Mr. Johnstone has previously served as a member of numerous UIL and TMAA committees in service to the profession. He has presented clinics and served on panel discussions at the Midwest Clinic, Texas Music Educators Association Convention, and the Texas Bandmasters Convention. Mr. Johnstone is a graduate of the Curtis Institute and Yale University. Mr. Johnstone is a resident of Liberty Hill, Texas where he lives with his wife Rachel and their two dogs, Rosie and Sophie. Rachel is also a music educator and is part of the Rouse cluster as a director at Wiley Middle School in Leander ISD.