Canyon Ridge Middle School Honor Band

Performer Details

Performer Bio Synopsis

The Canyon Ridge Middle School Band Program strives to foster a lifelong love of music and to develop future supporters of the arts. The band program serves 317 students, with beginner enrollment typically around 140 students. Seventh and eighth grade students are enrolled in one of four performing bands; sixth grade beginning band classes meet in a homogeneous setting throughout the day in nine different classes. Amy Allison has been the Head Band Director since the school’s opening in 2004. Since that time the band program has been named the Texas Bandmasters Association Exemplary Middle School Band Program for 2021, performed as a TMEA Invited Band in 2021, received the Sudler Cup in 2017, performed at The Midwest Clinic in 2014, placed as a semi finalist in the Texas Honor Band for CCC Bands in 2022, and placed 7th in the Texas Honor Band for CC Bands in 2006. The Honor Band has been named a National Winner in the National Wind Band Honors several times and has earned consistent sweepstakes ratings at UIL over the years. The band is well represented at Solo and Ensemble Contest, TMEA All-Region Band, and TMEA All-Region Orchestra.

Canyon Ridge Middle School Honor Band

Conductor's Bio

Amy Allison-Rivera is in her 27th year of teaching and her 25th year in Leander ISD in the Austin, TX area. Since the opening of the school in 2004, Mrs. Allison-Rivera has been the head band director at Canyon Ridge Middle School. Under her direction the CRMS Band Program has had great success. The CRMS Band Program was named the Texas Bandmasters Association Exemplary Middle School Band Program of the Year in 2021 and was awarded the Silver Sudler Cup from the John Philip Sousa Foundation in December of 2017. The CRMS Honor Band was an Invited Band performing at the 2021 Texas Music Educators Association Convention and performed at The Midwest Clinic in Chicago in December of 2014. Ms. Allison-Rivera brought the Honor Band to the TBA Convention in 2015 to give a demonstration clinic on rehearsal strategies and practice techniques, and again in 2023 to give a clinic on the new sight reading procedure for the state of Texas. The band program has reached the state level of the Honor Band competition twice and has been named a National Winner in the National Wind Band Honors through the Foundation for Music Education for the past several years. Throughout her teaching career, her bands have consistently received sweepstakes ratings at the Texas UIL Concert and Sight-reading Contest. Before her time at Canyon Ridge, Mrs. Allison-Rivera taught at Cedar Park Middle School, Leander Middle School, and at DeSoto West Junior High and was selected as the First Year Teacher of the Year for DeSoto ISD in 1998. Mrs. Allison-Rivera received her Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Stephen F. Austin State University. She performed as the piccolo player with the American Wind Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania before pursuing her career in teaching and is currently the piccolo player for the Cedar Park Winds. Mrs. Allison-Rivera is a regular clinician throughout the state of Texas and is the conductor of the 7th Grade Honors Band at the Stephen F. Austin State University every summer. She was inducted into Phi Beta Mu, the International Bandmasters Fraternity, in 2011, and served as the Region 26 Middle School Coordinator from 2006-2009. She has served on the PML committee and the sightreading committee for UIL and conducted the PBM Reading Band on grade 1s at TBA in 2024. She has presented at the TBA Academy twice. Amy lives in Cedar Park, Texas, with her husband, Bert, and their dogs, Winston and Winnie.

Additional Directors

Tristan Rivera

Steve Myers