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Time:

Wednesday
December, 21, 2022
05:30 PM - 06:30 PM

Location:

375 E

Category

High School Concert Band

Conductor

Conductor Thumb
Kerry Taylor

Program

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Performer Details

Performer Bio Synopsis

The Wind Ensemble is the Band Department's premier concert organization and is composed of the top wind musicians at Westlake High School. Membership is by individual audition in the Fall Semester and is based, primarily, upon the Honor Band audition materials.. The Wind Ensemble performs significant wind band literature, featuring original works, chamber, orchestral, and keyboard transcriptions. ? The Wind Ensemble meets during the Fall and Spring Semesters. The ensemble performs at the Holiday Concert, Winter Concert, Pre-UIL, UIL Contest, and Spring Concert. The Wind Ensemble travels at least once a year to perform in various venues across the United States. This elite group has performed 3 previous times at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, IL, the 2006 American Bandmasters Association Convention in Dallas, TX, 4 times at Carnegie Hall in New York City, NY, and is frequently invited to perform for various occasions within the community and state. It was also the first high school band invited to perform at the bi-annual WASBE Conference in Cincinnati, OH in 2009.

Westlake High School Wind Ensemble

Conductor's Bio

Kerry Taylor currently serves as Director of Bands and Fine Arts Director of Eanes-Westlake ISD. Mr. Taylor is in his 41st year as a band director in the Texas public schools. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education Degree and a Master of Music Degree, both from the University of Texas at Austin. Under Mr. Taylor's direction, the Westlake Band has won or placed highly in numerous concert band and marching festivals, including 34th consecutive UIL Sweepstakes Awards. The Westlake Wind Ensemble has previously performed twice at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, four times in Carnegie Hall and once each for the American Bandmasters Association and the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles. In 1999, the John Philip Sousa Foundation presented the Westlake Band with the “Sudler Flag of Honor” for excellence in concert band and in 2011 the “Sudler Shield” for marching band excellence. The Westlake Chaparral Marching Band has performed twice (2003 and 2017) in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena and will perform a third time on January 1, 2024. In 2017, the Westlake program was recognized by Phi Beta Mu International Band Fraternity as a “Program of Distinction.” The Texas Bandmasters Association recognized the band as the 2022 “Exemplary High School Program.” Mr. Taylor is active as a clinician and adjudicator in Texas and across the US. He is the President of the American Bandmasters Association and a Past-President of the Texas Music Educators Association. He has been recognized by the University Interscholastic League with the Sponsor of Excellence Award, the John Philip Sousa Foundation as a Legion of Honor Laureate and the Texas Bandmasters Association with the Meritorious Achievement Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music Education. He and his wife Valerie, a long-time educator in Eanes ISD and a current PhD candidate in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Texas, are the proud parents of two sons; Brian, a DMA candidate at Michigan State University and Sean, a Design Architect who lives with his wife Sarah in Austin.

Additional Directors

Taylor LaPrairie

John Pearson

Tyler Sammons

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