A&M-Commerce Alums Represent Well at Band and Orchestra Conference

The North Forney Percussion Ensemble directed by alum Jim Gist

Several Texas A&M University-Commerce alumni represented their alma mater well at the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference. The Midwest Clinic is the world’s largest instrumental music education conference, drawing approximately 17,000 attendees annually to Chicago from all fifty states and as many as forty countries. In this year's clinic, four A&M-Commerce percussion alumni performed or led a group during the conference, including:

  • Jim Gist – Director of the North Forney High School Percussion Ensemble
  • Colin Crouch – Performed with the North Forney ensemble as a substitute player
  • Andrew Lynge – Guest soloist as part of the Epoch Percussion Quartet, performing on the Dallas Winds showcase concert
  • Dan Moore – Guest artist performing with the Wakeland High School Percussion Ensemble from Frisco, Texas

Gist said this of their performance, “It was a tremendous honor and an incredible experience to be one of three percussion ensembles in the world selected to perform at The Midwest Clinic. Our mission as a percussion ensemble is ‘a relentless pursuit of excellence,' so accomplishing this goal was reflective of that drive and determination we have as a group. I could not be more proud of our students. It is my hope that the success they have experienced in percussion will inspire them to achieve great things in the next phase of their lives.”

(Pictured, the North Forney High School Percussion Ensemble under the direction of A&M-Commerce alumnus Jim Gist.)