TEXAS CITY – In honor of Black History Month, the Texas City Independent School District Fine Arts Department and TCISD’s Foundation for the Future will be hosting a Celebration of American Music: A Tribute to Black History on February 6, 2020, at 7 p.m. at Blocker Middle School, located at 1800 Ninth Avenue N. The concert is free and the community is encouraged to attend.
“We are fortunate that we have some amazing musicians that will be spending two days with our students,” said TCISD Fine Arts Director Mark Lyon. “Bringing these musicians into TCISD offers a chance for our students to directly learn from the best. Also, the fact that we have college professors coming, we can focus on college and career readiness for our students and give them immediate options.”
On Wednesday a total of four concerts will be held at Blocker Middle School for over 4,000 TCISD students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Clinics, group sessions and individual sessions with the professional musicians will be held with 150 students on Thursday with the event ending in a free concert that evening.
On these days students will have the opportunity to watch, learn from and perform with world-renown musicians such as Grammy winner Tony Lindsay, who was the lead singer for Santana for 25 years; Professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Central Florida Dan Miller on trumpet, Professor of Saxophone at the University of North Texas Brad Leali on alto sax, Grammy-nominated pianist Wally Minko, Professor of Jazz Guitar at the University of North Texas Davy Mooney on guitar, Director of Jazz Studies at Florida Gulf Coast University Brandon Robertson on bass, Trumpet Professor at College of the Mainland Sparky Koerner, Dean Artall on trumpet, Paul Gavin on Drums and TCISD’s own Mark Lyon on trombone.
This concert will help promote other TCISD programs and encourage students to get involved in school activities and show that school can be more than just a test.
“I want our students to understand that there are a ton of opportunities for success in the arts and I also want to create possibilities for them. We have five All-State band and choir students this year. Exposing them to these professional musicians could open up the door for scholarships and other opportunities.”
We encourage the community to come out and enjoy the free concert featuring music from the Motown era, traditional New Orleans music plus Santana on February 6 at 7 p.m. at Blocker Middle School. “It’s going to be a great night, so we are hoping to pack the auditorium,” said Lyon.
