Performer Details
Performer Bio Synopsis
The Spring Band has maintained a high level of performance for nearly 50 years.
The Spring High School Music Department has been recognized as a 2016 Grammy Signature School by the Grammy Foundation. The band program has received 5 invitations to perform at The Midwest Clinic since 2008. The Wind Ensemble placed 4th in the 2016 TMEA 6A Honor Band Competition and performed with several chamber ensembles as featured groups at the 2016 Music For All National Concert Festival in Indianapolis. These ensembles along with the Spring HS Chorale, Varsity Women’s Choir, and Jazz Ensemble are all frequent National Winners in the Choice Music Events Mark of Excellence call for tapes. The Spring Band has qualified to the UIL Texas State Marching Contest at every opportunity since 1992. In recent years, chamber ensembles have reached the semi-finals of the Fischoff National Chamber Competition, and placed as finalists at the Coltman Chamber competition in Austin, Texas. Students also participate in TMEA All-Region and All-State auditions, chamber music recitals, and occasional performances with the award winning Spring High School Choir. The Winter Guard has been a consistent WGI Regional Champion and was the 2014 WGI Scholastic Open World Champion. The concert bands are consistent UIL Sweepstakes and "best-in-class" winners at festivals in Texas, Florida, and Washington, DC. Since 1990, Spring has placed in the top 5 of the TMEA Honor Band competition (held every other year) on seven different occasions, most recently in 2016. The band received the prestigious Sudler Flag of Honor in 1994 from the John Philip Sousa Foundation. The marching band was UIL State Champion (a contest held in even-number years) in 1992 and 1994 and Bands of America Grand National Champion in 1993. An increasing number of Spring Band alumni have continued their music endeavors as undergraduate and graduate students at major universities including Houston, Rice, Miami, Northwestern, Michigan, Georgia, Texas A & M, Texas Tech, and Sam Houston State University. Throughout the years, many of the Spring ISD schools and facilities have been named in honor of the men and women who have contributed to the district’s growth and reputation for educational excellence. These include the Richard C. Crain Fine Arts Facility at Spring High School, the Philip K. Geiger Performing Arts Center at Westfield High School, Ralph Eickenroht Elementary School, and Gloria Marshall Elementary School. Today, Spring ISD continues to grow in an urban area of Harris County, located 20 miles north of downtown Houston. The Spring community is home to over 150,000 residents. There is no incorporated town or city within the district. Currently Spring ISD serves over 37,000 Pre-K through twelfth-grade students on 32 campuses.
Percussion Education in Spring ISD
The Spring ISD has been an innovator and leader in percussion education for several years. Percussion ensembles and marching percussion groups began to garner state and national recognition in the 1980s. The Westfield Percussion Ensemble, under the direction of Lamar Burkhalter, Gregg Rinehart, and Jason Hall performed at PASIC in 1989, 1992, 1994, and 2001. The Westfield Percussion Ensemble performed at the 2015 Midwest Clinic under the direction of Gregg Rinehart. In 2008 The Spring Percussion Ensemble performed at The Midwest Clinic under the direction of Rick Rodriguez. The Spring Percussion Group offers a variety of musical avenues for student participation including samba band, afro-cuban ensemble, jazz percussion ensemble, marimba band, chamber percussion ensembles, and a marching percussion program. Students at Spring High have had the privilege of attending master classes from educators and artists such as: Bob Becker, Sandip Burman, Fausto Cuevas III, Lalo Davila, Chris Deviney, Ralph Hardimon, Mike McIntosh, Butch Miles, Jeff Queen, Matthew Strauss, and She-e Wu.
Spring HS Percussion Ensemble
Conductor's Bio
JD Guzman is a two time Grammy award winning Signature School Educator who has served the Spring Independent School District for eighteen years as a master class lecturer, private instructor, and nine years as the Percussion and Jazz Director at Spring High School. Mr. Guzman in is also clinician/artist in jazz, salsa, rock, R&B, orchestral, and commercial music. Mr. Guzman has recorded for studios such as, Joey Records, Freddie Records, Blue Bamboo Music, Red Shack Studio, and Tierra Studios. He has had the opportunity to share the stage with such musicians as Wayne Bergeron, Bill Evans, John Faddis, Wynton Marsalis, Arturo Sandoval, Diane Schuur, Victor Wooten, and The Houston Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Guzman was also a member of the NFL’s Houston Texan Drumline, NBA’s Houston Rockets drum group “BIG BANG!” and the Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps, where he also worked as part of the instructional staff. Spring H.S. Jazz Band has placed 1st at both the 2012 Moores School Jazz Festival at the University of Houston and the Blinn College Jazz Festival. Mr. Guzman has been a guest conductor and performer and the Midwest Clinic in Chicago in 2003, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2017,2021, and 2022. The Spring Percussion Ensemble was named a National Winner in the of Excellence National Percussion Honors in 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2016. In 2016 the Spring Percussion Ensemble was selected to perform at the Music For All National Festival in Indianapolis Indiana. In 2017 the Spring Percussion Ensemble was selected to perform at The Western International Band Clinic in Seattle Washington. Students under his tutelage have earned chairs in TMEA All Region and All State Bands. He is an active member of Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, Jazz Educators Network, Texas Jazz Educators Association, Percussive Arts Society, and Minority Band Directors National Association. Mr. Guzman is an active clinician/performer for Innovative Percussion, Pearl Adams Corporation, and Sabian Cymbals.
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