Senior Recognition Night for Cody

Last night was Senior Recognition Night for Klein Oak Band, a night when the band program, and the school, recognize the contributions of the band seniors, who have been in the program for four years. Among the honorees was Cody, our percussionist, who started in pit as a freshman, then joined drum line as a sophomore and played bass drum for the final three years of his marching career.

Cody is going on to a Division III college with no football program, nor a marching band, so this was his final recognition for his marching career. He has one more marching contest - the BOA San Antonio super-regional this coming Saturday, and has a handful of football games left: one more regular season game, then the playoffs, so his marching career is truly winding down.

It was also the final Klein Oak senior recognition night for me and Carolyn, alas. So our time as band parents is winding down too.

Both our sons had truly wonderful experiences as members of Klein Oak Band. We are profoundly grateful that they were both able to participate in this excellent program.

And, we’ve said this before, and it is just as true now: we are very, very proud of the young man that Cody Needham has become. Some additional photos:

John P. Needham

Sunday, October 27, 2019

3PM Central Time

Spring, TX

Drum Line Rules!

Klein Oak Drum Line, October 10, 2019, Spring, TX

John P. Needham

Spring, TX

October 11, 2019

Seventeen

This young man is 17 years old today. It would be hard to express how proud Carolyn and I are of him. He works four days per week at a local sandwich shop, he gets great grades in school, he is a leader in Klein Oak Marching Band, he is kind, warm, gregarious, friendly. He is an excellent cook now and is (probably) destined for culinary school, and a life serving great meals to others.

Please join me in wishing Cody Ambrose Needham a very, very Happy Birthday.

(photo credit: Priscilla Shontz at Scatterlight Photos)

He has always had a big smile.

Happy Birthday Cody.

John P. Needham

Spring, TX

May 1, 2019

6:25AM

Klein Oak Wind Ensemble - Winter Concert

Last night the Klein Oak Wind Ensemble performed their annual Winter Convert, along with KOHS Jazz Band, the new KOHS Woodwinds Octet, Klein Oak’s Symphonic I band and local a middle-school’s (Krimmel) band. This is always a super-fun event and last night was no exception. Below are the videos of Wond Ensemble. I also have videos of Jazz Band and Woodwinds Octet, so if any parents want to see those, just let me know and I’ll share them with you.

Wind Ensemble started with Dream of the Silent Night:

KOHS Wind Ensemble, Dreams of the Silent Night, performed December 12, 2018

They continued with The Sussex Mummers Christmas Carol:

KOHS Wind Ensemble, The Sussex Mummers Christmas Carol, performed December 12, 2018

The ensemble closed with their traditional winter concert close: Sleigh Ride. Look for Cody whacking wood planks on this one, it is one of the most important parts of the whole piece, to be honest!

KOHS Wind Ensemble, Sleigh Ride, performed December 12, 2018

John P. Needham

December 13, 2018

Spring, TX

The 2018 Marching Season

So, yeah. I’ve been pretty much missing around here lately. That’s plainly obvious.

We’ve been busy with the kids, and marching band season. Plus, inertia. Entropy. Okay, laziness.

We’re mostly through the marching season: the Klein Oak Band has played all the football games so far, and there are a few more left before the playoffs, but generally the band does not march for playoff games. They’ve played in one marching contest so fat, and have another one tonight (Area UIL) and another contest Saturday (UIL again, assuming the band qualifies tonight). Then the big one in San Antonio: BOA (Bands of America).

As most know so far from Facebook, Twitter, and IG, we have two sons in Klein Oak Band: one, John Bailey, is a Drum Major, the other, Cody, is on Bass Drum 3. So here are a few images from the season so far.

Well, I think that catches us up, for now. I’ll try to do better, maintaining this website. No promises, except to promise to try.

John P. Needham

October 23, 2018

Spring, TX

Mariachi Band - Final 2017/2018 Concert

I am WAY behind in posting this, and I'm genuinely sorry about that! The Klein Oak Mariachi Band had their final concert of the 2017/18 school year back in May. It was really nice, held in the KOHS band hall, the ensemble members, their friends and families, a low-key, super-fun event.

Below are some videos of the show.

These talented and  motivated young musicians had a great year during the 2017/18 school year. Among other things, they were the first mariachi ensemble from from any Klein ISD school to qualify for, and participate in, the Texas State Mariachi Festival. 

It  would be hard to overstate how proud everyone is of these young musicians. For many of them, this was the final performance, as they have graduated and are moving on to college and other things. Those that remain are back-filling the ensemble and getting ready for another excellent year of mariachi music. We look forward to what the ensemble does in 2018/2018.

John Needham

Spring, TX

(posting from Chicago, IL)

June 26, 2018

Concerto Competition

I can't believe I neglected to post this. Apologies to Bailey for the delay. But...Bailey played in te Klein Oak HS Concerto Competition earlier this month. Below is his performance (a 6:47 video). 

I guess by now it won't surprise anyone to learn: we thought Bailey did great, we're very proud of his growth this year. He really has developed this skill in an amazing way. 

Anyway, here is the video - the hilarious part is when he introduced himself as "John Needham" which is generally how he is known at school, even though we still call him Bailey here at home:

Uploaded by John Needham on 2018-05-05.

John P. Needham

May 23, 2017

Spring, TX

Klein Oak Wind Ensemble Performs at Festival Hall

The Klein Oak Wind Ensemble performed at the Round Top Festival Institute on Friday, April 27th. What a fabulous facility, that was literally in the middle of nowhere, about an hour and a half west of Houston, TX, in Round Top (population: 90). This band of super-talented young musicians practiced for hours, and played really well.

The ensemble opened with Santa Fe Saga (10:46 video):

Klein Oak Wind Ensemble at the Round Top Festival Institute. April 27, 2018, under the direction of Todd Clearwater.

Then they played Academic Overture (11:07 video):

Klein Oak Wind Ensemble at the Round Top Festival Institute. April 27, 2018, under the direction of Todd Clearwater.

The ensemble closed with North Wind March (2:33 video):

Klein Oak Wind Ensemble at the Round Top Festival Institute. April 27, 2018, under the direction of Todd Clearwater.

All the parents, obviously, are very proud of these talented and dedicated young musicians. 

John P. Needham

Spring, TX

April 29, 2018

Marching Season Wrap-Up, 2017

Just a couple of images from the final football game of the 2017 season. With marching season winding down, and contests all in the rear-view mirror, and the final game the day after Thanksgiving in College Station, the number of band kids who showed up to play was pretty small. Bailey and Cody were both there. I got this image of them in the stands, Cody in the foreground on bass drum, Bailey behind him on trumpet.

Cody in front on bass drum, Bailey behind on trumpet

Cody had wrapped his drum sticks up in red tape so they looked like candy canes, and he also had our Elf on the Shelf, Bob, mounted on the top of his drum:

Cody on bass drum, accompanied by Bob The Elf.

Bob The Elf and Cody's drum sticks

One last picture of Bailey:

Bailey on trumpet

That's all for now.

John P. Needham

November 28, 2017

Spring, TX

Bangarang!

Please allow me this "proud band dad" moment.

Since the beginning of August, Bailey and Cody and the rest of Klein Oak High School's marching band have been practicing, working really hard, on the 2017 competition show. They practiced in heat, they practiced many mornings, may late nights, weekends, after school, at football games, in competitions. 

Cody is on bass-4 bass drum; Bailey plays trumpet.

This weekend, all their hard work paid off. The band participated in Bands of America super-regional competition in San Antonio. It was far and away their best show of the season. 

The competition at the super-regional is very steep; some 75 bands competed in prelims over two days, and only 114 made the finals Saturday night. Klein  Oak Band did not make the finals, unfortunately. But that doesn't not take away from their achievement. This year's show, called Bangarang, was terrific, and the kids performed spectacularly in the prelims.

Another of the band parents was able to record the show, and uploaded it to You Tubs. I am embedding the video below. Take a look at let me know what you think!

The show I'm not supposed to record...

We are very proud of our kids and all the band members; other parents I spoke with feel exactly the same way. These kids all worked so hard, for so many hours, over months, and for the show to come together this well, at this competition, was really special to see.

John P. Needham

November 5, 2017

Spring, TX

Klein Oak Masterworks Concert - May 22, 2017

Earlier this month, the top performers from Klein Oak's band, choir and orchestra performed their annual Masterworks performance. I recorded the whole concert, but many of the pieces are covered by copyright protections so I'm not posting those here (or to You Tube). 

Here are two pieces that I can post. First, the Klein Oak Wind Ensemble opened the concert with this piece, a stunning 14-minute piece that I know these young musicians worked so hard on. This is a 14-minute video and Bailey is performing on trumpet.

Next is the Klein Oak Choir. This is a four-minute+ video.

That's all I'm going to share from this night, since I am pretty sure the next five pieces that were performed, jointly, by the Wind Ensemble, the Choir and the Orchestra, are all covered by copyright protection held by the composer. 

The concert was genuinely amazing, these young performers worked for months to perfect these pieces and they all did a fabulous job.

John P. Needham

May 29, 2017

1:25PM

Spring, TX

Region Band Concert - December 10, 2016

As many already know from my excessive social media sharing, our 15YO high-school sophomore, Bailey, was awarded a chair in the wind ensemble in the Region 9 (Texas) band. (This was following two rounds of Region Band auditions.)

Last Friday night they had a three hour practice, followed by 8+ hours on Saturday. Aftter just that practice, the band had a concert last Saturday night. I'm not sure I can adequately express how proud we were of Bailey - and of his bandmates here. They learned these five songs in just a few hours of practice, then played a concert at Klein Forest High School. 

The band performed under the direction of Richard Floyd, in his 53rd year of music direction, and who is currently the director of the Austin Symphonic Band.

The first piece they played was This Broad Earth by Steven Bryant (4:47 video):

The 2016 Region Band (Region 9) Wind Ensemble, conducted by Richard Floyd. "This Broad Earth" by Steven Bryant. Performed December 10, 2016 at Klein Forest High School.

Then Mr. Floyd spoke for a few minutes (2:58):

The 2016 Region Band (Region 9) Wind Ensemble, conducted by Richard Floyd. This is comments by the conductor Richard Floyd. Performed December 10, 2016 at Klein Forest High School.

The next piece was Sleep, by Eric Whitacre (4:51):

The 2016 Region Band (Region 9) Wind Ensemble, conducted by Richard Floyd. "Sleep" by Eric Whitacre. Performed December 10, 2016 at Klein Forest High School.

Then the band played Dancing on Water, by Frank Ticheli (8:57). This was a piece Bailey really enjoyed learning and playing.

The 2016 Region Band (Region 9) Wind Ensemble, conducted by Richard Floyd. "Dancing on Water" by Frank Ticheli. Performed December 10, 2016 at Klein Forest High School.

Then the band played a set from Leonard Bernstein (and other composers, 4:27):

The 2016 Region Band (Region 9) Wind Ensemble, conducted by Richard Floyd. "The Bernstein Set" Bernstein/Krance & Bernstein/Sweeney. Performed December 10, 2016 at Klein Forest High School.

They closed with a song called Zing by Scott McAllister (6:06):

The 2016 Region Band (Region 9) Wind Ensemble, conducted by Richard Floyd. "Zing" by Scott McAllister. Performed December 10, 2016 at Klein Forest High School.

John P. Needham

Spring, TX

December 13, 2016

6:06AM

Klein Oak Band - Winter Concerts, December 6, 2016

Cody (freshman) is in Concert Band this year. Here is one of the pieces that the Concert Band played at the winter concert. (This is the only piece Cody played in.) Cody on percussion.

Hypnotic Fireflies, performed by Klein Oak Concert Band, December 6, 2016.

Bailey (sophomore) is in Klein Oak's Wind Ensemble. Here is their set from the winter concert. The set includes two songs - A Holiday Rhapsody, and Sleigh Ride - and between the song is the band director Mr. Clearwater's comments, and the student recognition. (Students were recognized for Region Band auditions, for getting a chair in Region Band, and for qualifying for the Area Band auditions.)

Both pieces, A Holiday Rhapsody and Sleigh Ride, along with Mr. Clearwater's comments and the student recognition.

John P. Needham

December 8, 2016

6:20AM

Spring, TX

Etudes - December 2016

I shared this over the weekend, but for the sake of posterity: Bailey played trumpet in the Texas Region 9 band auditions on Saturday. He advanced. Definitely worth noting that the top-two trumpeters in Region 9 are from the same school as Bailey. We've said all along that the kids here are getting an exceptional education, especially a fine arts education, at Klein Oak. This is further evidence of that. Mr. Clearwater and his team? Really outstanding.

Region Band Audition Results

For Klein Oak (HS) band, Bailey had to record the three etudes that were used to judge the auditions. Since he had to do that anyway, I figured it would be worth it to preserve them on You Tube. So, below, here are the three etudes, as performed by Bailey. He did great.