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Fine Arts teachers and staff started out the year by focusing on setting goals for the programs they lead. Teachers were encouraged to think big. “What is the possible future I’m committed to creating for my students?” “How would I know this future is unfolding as I imagined?” “What measurable results in student performance would tell me this possible future is being fulfilled?” “If students achieved these goals, then what would be possible?” “Why are these goals important at this time?” “What would achieving these goals mean for my students?”
By focusing on the future we want to create for our students and ourselves, something amazing happens. We begin to make choices and take actions from the stance of the future possibility we have declared. President Kennedy’s promise to land a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth within the decade of the 1960’s is a poignant example of standing for a seemingly impossible future. In 1961, scientists had no idea how to send a man to the moon. In fact, some of the metal alloys necessary for space travel hadn’t even been invented when Mr. Kennedy stood before Congress to declare this future possibility.
Yet on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong fulfilled President Kennedy’s vision by taking “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” What an inspiring, historical example! Our futures are limited only by the extent of our imagination. I challenge you to imagine the most amazing artistic future for your students and your programs. Commit to “acting from” your vision; stand for your future possibility. Achieve the impossible!
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FBISD 2017 Fall Convocation was a huge success
thanks to all the participants from the many FBISD Fine Arts Departments. Special thanks to the FBISD Fine Arts students and teachers who gave of their time to help organize, rehearse and prepare all the details for such a large event. In FBISD
You Can’t Stop the Beat!
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October 9 - Men’s Choir Festival at 7 PM at Sugar Land Baptist Church, 16755 Southwest Freeway, Sugar Land, TX 77479
November 4 - Zone A Middle School One-Act Play Contest at Austin HS (tentative)
November 4 - Zone B Middle School One-Act Play Contest at Hightower HS
November 7 - Texas Renaissance Festival (Theatre)
November 11 - District Championship for Middle School One-Act Play at Dulles HS
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We are currently in year two of the FBISD and Alley Theatre's Arts Integration Network. Over the summer a cadre of FBISD elementary teachers trained and collaborated with the arts integration experts of the Alley Theatre Education and Community Engagement Department. Through this partnership, the FBISD Department of Fine Arts will deepen the level of mastery in arts integration strategies for our teachers and students. The AIN will receive additional training and coaching from an Alley Theatre teaching artist throughout the current school year, as well as participate in quarterly professional learning communities with the FBISD Department of Fine Arts.
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FBISD & Alley Theatre's AIN and Play Makers Camp held at Garcia MS
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The Fort Bend ISD Summer Band Camp was held at Garcia Middle School from June 25-29 this past summer and there were 199 students who attended the camp. Students from twelve of the FBISD Middle Schools and four middle schools outside of FBISD participated in the camp. The conductors for this year’s camp bands were Rory Davis, Director of Bands at Cinco Ranch Junior High in Katy ISD, John Morrison, Coordinator of Secondary Music in Cy-Fair ISD, and Susan Scarborough, retired Director of Bands at Doerre Middle School in Klein ISD.
Each day the students had the opportunity to work together in two full band rehearsals and refine their skills in smaller section rehearsals. Throughout the week, the students attended elective classes that included Introduction to Jazz Improvisation, Rhythm Games, Introduction to Marching, and Writing Music on the Computer. There were also enrichment assemblies where professional musicians from the Houston area performed for the students. The camp concluded on Friday with a Finale Concert of performances by the three camp bands, which was followed by a four-hour social activity at Main Event Entertainment.
Over the past five years, the FBISD Summer Band Camp has continued to grow each year with a large number of returning students. The tentative dates for next summer’s camp are June 24-29, 2018. We hope that your band students will consider attending this fun and educational opportunity provided by the FBISD Department of Fine Arts!
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FBISD Men's Choir Festival
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FBISD starts a new tradition on Monday, October 9, 2017! The inaugural FBISD Men’s Choir Festival held at Sugar Land Baptist Church will feature the Men’s Choirs from all 25 FBISD Secondary Schools in concert. Admission is free! This is a wonderful opportunity for all the male singers in Fort Bend ISD to join forces and raise their voices in song. This also provides the experience for Middle School Choir members to hear and interact with the High School Choir members. The combined MS Men’s Choir will be directed by Amy Moore, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, and the combined HS Men’s Choir will be directed by Gene Holkup, FBISD Assistant Director of Fine Arts. The two groups will combine for the finale, “A Tribute to the Armed Services”, honoring those who served in the Armed Forces. The concert will also feature performances by the
Men of Moores
,
directed by Jake Woodson,
from the University of Houston, Moores School of Music.
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On August 7th and 8th, 175 high school students and teachers from across Fort Bend ISD gathered at Baines Middle School to participate in the FBISD All-State Choir Camp. These singers took time from their summer break to begin—and for many, continue—working on the rigorous repertoire selected for the All-State audition process.
In spite of the difficult literature, the students were in high spirits over the course of the camp, working diligently on internalizing the musical details necessary to ensure them a spot in the Region 13 Honor Choir this November. They were able to work with teachers from around the district in a collaborative setting, where each teacher was able to share their particular expertise in music preparation. This experience was valuable in allowing the students to engage with various teaching styles and musical ideas.
After two-days of keeping their noses to the grindstone, the FBISD All-State Choir Camp culminated in a performance of the six mixed choir pieces: Movements 1-4 of Poulenc’s
Gloria
,
To Thee Cherubim and Seraphim
from Haydn’s
Te Deum in D Major
, and
I Am Loved
by Christopher H. Harris.
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First Colony MS TCDA Honor Choir Members
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In mid-March, middle school singers from all over Texas submit recorded examples of their singing for an opportunity to participate in the Texas Choral Director’s Association (TCDA) MS/JH Honor Choir. For the audition, students must submit unaltered recordings (no sound engineering) singing two things: a major scale, and “My Country ‘tis of Thee.” In order to be selected for the choir, a panel of judges ranks the recordings based on the following criteria: vocal technique, tone, pitch accuracy and musicality.
During the month of April, the judges spent endless hours narrowing the approximately 800 submissions down to a final 200 selected for the Honor Choir (50 sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses each.) TCDA allows each choir director to submit a maximum of 10 singers to ensure that they submit recordings of only their best singers. On April 26, the singers were chosen and audition results were posted. Mr. Tommy Trinh, Choir Director at First Colony Middle School, was extremely proud that four of his students Gaia Desai-Tymn, Shrey Jain, Clay Nielander, and Nathan Truong had earned a place in the prestigious Honor Choir.
These four young men learned seven difficult pieces in preparation for the TCDA Clinic and Convention, July 20-22nd in San Antonio, where they worked with Dr. Derrick Fox from University of Nebraska-Omaha. In order to learn the difficult repertoire, they met over the summer with their First Colony MS Choir Director, Mr. Tommy Trinh, and arranged practice sessions with each other to help them learn the music. When the convention arrived in July, the singers worked hard, rehearsed with the choir for three days, and put on a final performance at the close of the convention. Congratulations to these fine students and their Choir Directors, Mr. Tommy Trinh and Ms. Victoria Flores.
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Congratulations to all of our outstanding FBISD HS Choir Directors on a great showing at Region 13 TMEA District Choir Auditions. Every FBISD High School placed students in the choir to total 264 chairs out of 306 members of the choir—that’s 86% of the choir! The FBISD choir students made up from 81% to 95% of each section of the choir. We are so proud of our students and teachers. Congratulations!
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The Department of Fine Arts added a summer dance camp to the conclusion of the 2016-2017 school year. During dance camp, middle school students participated in classes taught by FBISD high school dance directors. Classes included: Hip Hop, Ballet, Lyrical, and Jazz. The camp concluded with a final public performance! Congratulations on a successful camp! A special thanks goes to Camp Director, Melissa Jones (WHS) and our Camp Teachers, Rebecca Belter (KHS) and Kara Thayer (CHS).
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During the 2017-2018 Fine Arts Mini-Conference, FBISD dance directors participated in a goal-setting workshop with master dance teacher, LaKeisha McGowen. Teachers also collaborated on curriculum and focused on program and classroom management.
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FBISD Middle School Orchestra Camp was held at Crockett Middle School from June 19-29, 2017. Over 100 students attended the camp taught by five of the District’s orchestra directors. The camp featured two performing ensembles and presented works by Dvorak, Ungar, and Rossini. During the camp, students enjoyed a variety of activities and games to promote teamwork and leadership. The camp concluded with energetic performances by
The Avengers Orchestra
and
The Justice League Orchestra
on Thursday, June 29, 2017.
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Summer Theatre Camp was a blast! Students from all over the district came together at Ridge Point High School to participate in hands-on experiences with theatre teachers and three special guest directors from around the state. Our students came in tired, but eager, and left each day chatty and excited to return. In one beautiful week, our technicians learned how to program lights, dabbled in stage make-up, designed sound, built model sets, and ran tech for the performances. Actors, on the other hand, not only performed in five different plays, but before rehearsals each day, they received a variety of workshops in creating tableaus, dancing, yoga, vocal strategies, musical theatre, improvisation, and viewpoints. The collaboration and comradery among the students, guest directors, workshop artists, and FBISD theatre teachers made this camp a smash hit! It is our hope that these students take what they learned and share it with their own theatre troupes. We hope to see many more teachers and students alike next summer!
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Clements High School's
Honk!
being awarded as Best Musical
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The third annual Jerry Baber Awards were, once again, a great success! Austin High School’s
Metamorphoses
and Clements High School’s
Honk!
took home the top honors of Best Fall Show and Best Musical, respectively. The awards show featured performances from all eleven high schools as well presentations from state Thespian officers, Bush High School’s award winning UIL cast, and former students of Mr. Baber. Please make sure to join us on May 26, 2018, as we continue to celebrate all theatre students and their amazing talents! Please go to the
Baber Awards website
for updated information.
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2017 International Thespian Festival
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Elam Blackwell (left) chosen as an International Thespian Officer for the 2017-2018 International Thespian Society
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This past summer, theatre students from Austin, Clements, Dulles, Kempner, Travis, and Ridge Point High School traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska to take part in a week-long festival filled with workshops, performances, competitions, college auditions, and scholarship auditions. Although this is an annual trip, students are able to experience new activities and classes every summer. They leave the experience more informed and energized to continue improving their craft. This year, the district was extremely fortunate to gain an International Thespian Officer, Elam Blackwell (KHS). Elam was one of a handful of students chosen by a committee to lead the International Thespian Society for the 2017-2018 school year.
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Middle School One- Act Play Contests
The community is invited to come out and enjoy Fort Bend ISD theatre students as they compete in the annual
Middle School Theatre
One-Act Play contests on Saturday, November 4. Hosted by the District’s Department of Fine Arts, the contests will feature 40-minute theatrical performances, in both Zone A and Zone B, by students representing each of the District’s 14 middle schools.
Zone A Contest
- Austin High School Auditorium (tentative)
Start Time – 9:00 a.m.
Participating middle schools (in order of performance): Garcia, Missouri City, Hodges Bend, Dulles, First Colony, Fort Settlement, and Sartartia.
Awards Ceremony – 5:00 p.m.
Zone B Contest
- Hightower High School Auditorium
Start Time – 9:00 a.m.
Participating middle schools (in order of performance): Bowie, Baines, Quail Valley, Crockett, Lake Olympia, Sugar Land, and McAuliffe.
Awards Ceremony – 5:00 p.m.
At the conclusion of each zone competition, the top three schools will advance to the District One-Act Play Finals to be held on Saturday, November 11 at Dulles High School. The competition will begin at 9:00 a.m. and the order of performance will be made available after the November 4 Zone contests. The awards ceremony will be held at 4:00 p.m. following the performances.
Come and support the efforts of the talented thespians in FBISD’s middle school theatre programs. The events are free.
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Fine Arts Mini-Conference: Improvisation with Colin David
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FBISD theatre teachers participated in a performance-based professional development session during the 2017-2018 Fine Arts Mini-Conference. The workshop was conducted by Colin David and focused on theatre improvisation training. Teachers actively participated in warm-up exercises, improvisation scenes, and a unit that focused on power, choice, and responsibility.
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Summer School Visual Arts
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This summer, students from many high schools within the district took art to heart. Under the supervision of David Orlin (summer school principal), Amy Lucchesi (EHS art teacher) taught her students that everyone is a true artist! Students attended two sessions in twenty-four days to achieve one year of high school fine arts credit. These young artists worked six hours a day on their art. Their accomplishments were displayed and shared with students and staff at the end of the second session. Students created a gallery board of their best work and displayed it during the end of summer school art exhibit.
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The Fort Bend ISD Summer Art Camp 2017 was a great success! Students from across the district participated in a fun-filled week-long art camp at Garcia Middle School. Projects included watercolor designs, portraits, mixed media art pieces, and altered books. During the week, campers learned important tips from famous local artists and art suppliers. The last day of Art Camp involved campers competing for prizes and receiving special awards with a ceremony.
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Mini Conference for Art Educators of FBISD
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The 2017-2018 Fine Arts Mini-Conference included hands-on experience by the art educators. Teachers concentrated on merging math with art, creative problem solving, composition, balance and FUN!
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Phillip Taylor
281-634-0140
phillip.taylor@fortbendisd.com
Volume 3
Issue 1
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