BRENT SMITH
DIRECTOR OF BANDS FINE ARTS COORDINATOR BRENT.SMITH@BISDMAIL.NET 817-245-0367 |
Brent Smith is the Director of Bands and Fine Arts Coordinator for the Centennial High School cluster in Burleson, Texas. His responsibilities include conducting the Wind Ensemble, Indoor Winds, and the Marching Band, as well as overseeing all aspects of the Centennial Band cluster. Mr. Smith also serves as the administrator for the cluster's band, choir, dance, and theater programs. He oversees student instruction, curriculum development and implementation, and provides professional development for the Fine Arts faculty.
Mr. Smith holds a Bachelor degree in Music Education from Baylor University, and is currently completing a Masters degree in Educational Administration from Lamar University. While at Baylor, Mr. Smith worked as a marching band staff member for the Golden Wave Band, where he was a technician for music and marching rehearsals, manager of bowl game trips and equipment, and communication liaison to high school students. In addition to his time at Baylor, he played third trumpet for the Waco Symphony Orchestra and had an established private lesson studio in the Waco area. He studied trumpet with Wiff Rudd and Mark Schubert, and conducting with Dr. Eric Wilson and Dr. Isaiah Odajima. Prior to his appointment at Centennial High School, Mr. Smith served as the Director of Bands for Corsicana High School in Corsicana, Texas and as the Assistant Director of Bands for J.J. Pearce High School in Richardson, Texas. Bands under his direction have consistently received superior ratings in University Interscholastic League competition for Concert and Sight-Reading performances as well as marching contests. His professional affiliations include the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Bandmasters Association, and the National Association for Music Education. Mr. Smith now lives in Fort Worth, Texas with his wife, Abby, and their dog, Coda. |
ANDREW KLEIN
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF BANDS AKLEIN@BISDMAIL.NET 817-245-0366 |
Andrew Klein is the Associate Band Director at Burleson Centennial High School. He conducts the Wind Symphony, teaches the AP Music Theory class, and assists with the Spartan Regiment, Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and the percussion program.
Prior to returning to CHS he served as the assistant band director and percussion director at Kerr Middle School. Before teaching in Burleson ISD, Mr. Klein was the assistant band director and percussion director at Temple High School. His bands have consistently earned sweepstakes at UIL Concert and Sight-Reading and his students have consistently earned college credit from the AP Music Theory exam. Mr. Klein earned his Bachelors degree in Music Education from Ball State University in Muncie, IN and Master of Music degree in Instrumental Conducting from Oklahoma State University. His professional affiliations include: Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, and the Percussive Arts Society. |
Elise Tolbert
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF BANDS ELISEHEGARLINDLOFF@BISDMAIL.NET 817-245-0369 |
Elise Tolbert is the Assistant Band Director at Burleson Centennial High School. She is the visual instructor of the Spartan Regiment, teaches AP Music Theory, assists with the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and feeder middle school programs. prior to joining the Spartan Regiment staff, she served as Assistant Band Director at Kerr Middle School. Mrs. Tolbert holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of North Texas. Her professional affiliations include the Texas Music Educators Association and the Texas Bandmasters Association.
Mrs. Tolbert comes to the Spartan Regiment with a drum corps background, having marched with the Blue Knights for 1 year, and the Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps for 3 years. During her education, she marched both military and corps styles. As part of her University of North Texas music experience, she marched with the Green Brigade Marching Band, played cornet, trumpet, and flugelhorn as part of the Brass Band, was part of the chamber ensemble, 8 o'clock jazz band, and Wind Ensemble. She taught trumpet private lessons and helped prepare students for All-Region, UIL contests, and marching contests in her time at Huntsville ISD and Leander ISD. Mrs. Tolbert currently resides with her husband in North Texas and are expecting their first baby! |
RICHARD KEARNS
DIRECTOR OF PERCUSSION RICHARD.KEARNS@BISDMAIL.NET |
Richard Kearns serves as Percussion Director at Burleson Centennial High School, as well as a designer and clinician for many ensembles in both Indoor and Outdoor Arenas.
The Burleson Centennial Percussion Program has established itself as one of the top World Class Ensembles in the county, with multiple Top 10 Finalist appearances at the WGI (Winterguard International) World Championships, as well as being named the 2017 WGI PSO World Champions. Prior to his time at Centennial, Richard was the Percussion Director at Azle High School (Azle, TX), where the Percussion Section won numerous awards and Championships in the NTCA and TCGC Indoor Circuits, as well as multiple successful appearance at the WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio. Richard was also the Percussion Director at Palestine High School from 2008-2011, as well as the Battery Coordinator at Tyler Jr. College. Upon joining the Palestine Band Staff, the PHS Percussion Program received numerous awards in the TCGC & NTCA Indoor Circuits, Lonestar & Plano Drumline Competitions. In 2011, the Palestine Indoor Drumline was the TCGC Open Class Champion. His Instructional contributions for TJC helped lead the group to their WGI PIO World Championship in 2008, promotion to WFI World Class, and becoming consecutive Finalists at the WGI World Championships. Richard's passion within the activity also goes well beyond just teaching percussion. His abilities as a conceptual and visual designer for Marching Band and Indoor Drumline have turned out many crowd-pleasing productions, including the 2016 WGI PIO Gold Medalists, Vigilantes Indoor Percussion (TX), 2017 PSO Gold Medalists, Burleson Centennial High School (TX), and the 2022 PSO Gold Medalists, Sherwood High School (OR). Richard serves on the WGI Advisory Board, as well as the NTCA (North Texas Colorguard Association) Executive Board. Richard was selected by WGI as one of the top designers from around the world to be part of WGI's 1on1 consultation program. Ensembles from across the country use this platform to receive online feedback and guidance on how to improve their percussion program throughout the year. Richard currently resides in Burleson, Texas with his wife Stacie and Daughters Sam & Lennon. When he is not teaching, you can usually find him on the golf course. He is a proud endorser of Innovative Percussion, Pearl/Adams, Remo Drumheads, and Zildjian Cymbals. |
VICTOR MOONEY
DIRECTOR OF COLOR GUARD VICTOR.MOONEY@BISDMAIL.NET |
Victor Mooney is the Color Guard Director for Centennial High School, and is a long-standing and active member of the color guard community. He is a marching band and winter guard adjudicator in the southeast as well as Texas. He comes to us from South Carolina, where he programmed and taught many successful programs. His groups have collectively won 13 Marching Band State Championships and 2 Bands of America Regional Championships.
As a winter guard director, he has earned numerous championships in the Carolina Indoor Performance Association. During his time in CIPA, he served on the Executive Board and has served as the Circuit President. Mr. Mooney's hard work and dedication were recognized by being the very first inductee into the CIPA Hall of Fame. He began his WGI Career as the founding director of Infiniti Winter Guard, South Carolina's first Independent Winter Guard. Under his direction, Infiniti Winter Guard was the first group from South Carolina to compete in the WGI World Championships. In 2000, Infiniti was the first group from South Carolina to win a World Championship title. He also served as the Co-Director for The Cast Winterguard, 2017 WGI Independent A Silver Medalist. In 2009, Mr. Mooney became the Guard Caption Head for the Atlanta CV All-Age Drum Corps from Atlanta, GA. After his first year as the guard caption head, the distinction of Conceptual Designer was added to his title. For the last 10 years, Mr. Mooney has built an award winning color guard at Atlanta CV, which won the DCA H Color Guard Award at the 2017 DCA World Championships. Mr. Mooney is very excited and happy to call Centennial and Texas his home. |