WTAMU Symphonic Band
(Canyon)—The music program at West Texas A&M University has every right to blow its own horn, especially after being invited again to perform at the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) annual convention in February 2008.
The invitation marks the 12th time the university’s Symphonic Band has been selected from a blind audition to perform at the TMEA event. It also puts the band in a league of its own as the only university band in the state of Texas to make a record number of TMEA appearances.
“The invitation to perform is really a nice honor,” Don Lefevre, associate professor of music and director of bands, said. “It’s what we work for, the opportunity to be on a stage performing in front of an audience like that makes it well worth the effort. It’s a thrill and an honor.”
The band will perform in the Lila Cockrell Theatre at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio during TMEA’s Feb. 13-16 annual gathering. The audience will be comprised of music educators from across the country as well as All-State choir and band students.
“Performing in front of that audience is our best recruitment tool,” Lefevre said. “Our music major numbers always go up after a TMEA performance.”
The appearances, which have become something of a tradition, started in 1968 when long-time director of bands Gary Garner directed the WTAMU band in its first TMEA performance. Garner went on to direct the band a total of 10 times at TMEA conventions, and when he retired in 2002, he said that first convention performance was his most memorable experience during his 39 years at the university.
“People didn’t know we had a band here,” he said. “And as a band we didn’t know what to expect, but it was a smashing success. We felt as if we’d hit a home run.”
And that success has continued. Groups invited to perform at the convention are only eligible to audition every four years, and so far, the WTAMU band has made the cut every eligible year. Blind auditions are based on CD’s sent in by auditioning groups, and three bands are selected each year to perform. A panel, chaired by the vice president of TMEA’s band division, listened to 12 audition recordings this year to make its three-band selection—WTAMU, Stephen F. Austin State University and Lamar University.
Lafevre directed the band in its last TMEA performance in 2004 and will direct the 75-member band in its 2008 appearance. The band is given a 45-minute performance time, and a highlight of the concert will be WTAMU Professor Emeritus Gary Garner guest conducting a premier performance of a composition by WTAMU Professor Emeritus Norman J. Nelson.
“Garner and Nelson set a work ethic for the band and music department that has lasted over the past 40 years, and that ethic has helped maintain a level of excellence at WTAMU,” Lafevre said. 