News

Read about the history of the The Bands of CTJ Foundation and our mission in Jarrett Lipman's article "Engage Parents as Partners" on the Yamaha Music website. 

Read the Article

On February 20, 2023, The Bands of Claudia Taylor Johnson Foundation celebrated the accomplishments of Johnson's 8 TMEA All-State Band members, 2 TMEA All-State Orchestra members and 3 TMEA All-State Choir members for 2023. A recognition dinner sponsored by the Foundation was held at Fogo de Chao downtown and each of the 13 All-State students was presented with a commemorative jacket paid for by the Foundation.

The All-State students spent several days downtown rehearsing and performing with band, orchestra and choir members from all over Texas. The All-State concerts are some of the very best in the country, and the opportunity to participate in the experience serves as a terrific motivator for our band members to improve on their instruments.

We are so proud of these students and look forward to seeing what they will achieve in the future.

2023 All-State Concert Band Members:

• Sophie Haussmann - Eb Clarinet
• Jaxson Hover - Contra-Bass
• Vivian Medina - Bass Clarinet

2023 All-State Symphonic Band Members:

• Alex Caro - Tuba
• Anne Haussmann - Flute
• Lauren Zagrzecki - Piccolo
  

2023 All-State Jazz Ensemble 1 Members:

• Brandon Barron - Trumpet
• Maddox Myane - Tenor Saxophone

2023 All-State Philharmonic Orchestra Members:

• Kaitlyn Lien - Violin 

2023 All-State Sinfonietta Orchestra Members:

• Avelyn Lee - Violin

2023 All-State Mixed Choir Members:

• Charles Serrano - Tenor

2023 All-State Treble Choir Members:

• Isabella Mora - Alto
• Ella Packard - Alto

The Bands of Claudia Taylor Johnson Foundation recently contributed $3,000.00 to the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation to help with the purchase of instruments for schools with low-income circumstances who may not be able to purchase new instruments on their own. The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation aims to support schools with new instruments so that all children will have access to music education and the joy of learning to make music. The Bands of Claudia Taylor Johnson Foundation was created to support the band programs at Johnson High School, Tejeda Middle School, and “Tex” Hill Middle School, but also to raise awareness in general of the impact music education has on students.

Over the last few years, the Bands of CTJ Foundation has worked to support a variety of projects in the Johnson Cluster including trips to the Midwest Clinic, new instrument purchases, scholarships for students, and gifts for graduating seniors. The Foundation recognizes the power of music education and the impact it has on shaping the future of young students in schools. In that spirit, alumni students and parents worked together to fundraise the $3,000.00 donation to support the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation’s amazing philanthropic mission. We encourage our community to continue to give towards this worthy cause.

From the MHOPUS Website:

The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation was inspired by the acclaimed motion picture Mr. Holland’s Opus, the story of the profound effect a dedicated music teacher had on generations of students. Michael Kamen, who wrote the score for the film, started the foundation in 1996 as his commitment to the future of music education. The Foundation donates high-quality musical instruments to deserving, under-funded music programs, and provides an array of support services to school districts. By increasing the school’s inventory of quality, playable instruments, music teachers are given the tools they need to deliver a quality music education to students who want to learn. In collaboration with committed school districts, the Foundation’s investments are strategically placed as part of a K–12 district-wide plan to achieve positive and lasting results. 

The CTJ Winter Guard will head to Dallas for the WGI Power Regional on Saturday March 19^th.

This will be CTJ’s first return to the Dallas Power Regional since 2018, when they performed their production of “Lady Bird”.

As a Power Regional, the competition is a two-day event with both a prelims on Saturday and a finals event on Sunday. The competition will be held at Coppell High School and be scored by a national judging panel.

The CTJ team is excited to head back to the Dallas Power Regional and will be competing against 13 other Texas programs in the “Scholastic Open” class of WGI, including programs that they compete against as part of the BOA marching season.  Other Winter Guards in attendance will include Marcus, Coppell, and James Bowie High School programs.

CTJ will compete in prelims on Saturday at 8:14 p.m. and a finals performance between 1:35 and 3:05 p.m. on Sunday.

For those that cannot attend in person, this show will be live streamed on FloMarching.com here: https://www.flomarching.com/events/7246110-2022-wgi-guard-dallas-regional

Foundation Support

The Bands of CTJ Foundation was proud to provide financial support to the CTJ Winter Guard for the 2022 season. 

A donation of $6,200 was provided to the Winter Guard to support their trip to the WGI Vegas regional this season. Although the regional was cancelled, the extra funds went a long way to decrease the yearly student fees for members who also attended BOA Grant Nationals during the marching season.

In addition to the $6,200 in funding, the Foundation provided $1,800 worth of hotel rooms in Coppell for this weekend’s Dallas WGI Regional.

During the weekend of May 14th through 16th, the Bands of Claudia Taylor Johnson Foundation celebrated the accomplishments of our 15 2020-2021 TMEA All-State Band members. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, TMEA was unable to host its annual clinic and concert in February. Traditionally, our All-State students spend several days downtown rehearsing and performing with band members from all over Texas. The All-State concerts are some of the very best in the country, and the opportunity to participate in the experience serves as a terrific motivator for our band members to improve on their instruments.

This year’s All-State class pursued excellence knowing that the process would not culminate in a clinic or performance, but still add a tremendous amount to our program. The ultimate example of intrinsic motivation and service to their peers. The Foundation rewarded their hard work with a weekend of camaraderie and fellowship that honored their contributions to the CTJ Band, and allowed them to have fun with their peers. We are so proud of these students and look forward to seeing what they will achieve in the future.