​Last night concluded a two part audition for a spot in the coveted Region 25 All-Region Band.  This year over 1650 of the best middle school musicians from Plano, Allen, McKinney, Prosper, Lovejoy, and Wylie competed for a very limited number of spots in this elusive group.
 
We are proud to announce that Cockrill Middle School had 32 students earn placement into the 2015 All-Region Band and 35 students earned recognition as an All-District Band Member.  This smashes our previous record by 10 kids and is the most by any middle school in the history of McKinney ISD.
 
Congratulations to the following students:
Rachael Taylor
Audrey Chlebos
Keelin Gaughan
Mio Yamauchi
Sam McWhirter
Sam Murto
Emma Peace
Cody Farrar
Carley Allen
Taylor Klugh
Abasiono Rendon
Daniel White
Diego Sierra-Alvarez
Matt Sliger
Abbey Baker
Raul Torres
Billy Chase
William Emery
Cole Curry
Kyle Bishop
Tristan Kuhnert
Savannah Brito
Sophia Giacchino
Jacob Yancey
Christian Monson
Matt Davis
Trey Harvey
Nathan Thornsby
Kaylan Ahmed
Pablo Ruiz
Remy Thomas
Raygan Mida
 
Congratulations also to Lauren Hirshouer who was selected as a 1st alternate and to Lexi Hill and Sam Theulen for advancing to the 2nd phase of the audition.
 
We would also like to say a special “congratulations” to Taylor Klugh, Abbey Baker, and Kyle Bishop for placing 2nd overall in the entire region on their instruments.  And finally we would like to recognize Carley Allen on alto saxophone and Matt Sliger on the baritone saxophone for being selected 1st chair in all of Region 25!  What an honor!!
 
Congratulations to all the CMS Band students for their wonderful work this year!

This is what the Cockrill Band is all about! Thanks to McKinney ISD for the story.

READ MORE HERE

In February 2015, the Cockrill Band performed a pep rally to support fellow band member, Emily Thompson, in her battle against bone cancer.

Read about it here...

We are very proud of our 31 students who took part in the final phase of the All-Region Band audition process tonight at Rice Middle School! Your hard work has definitely paid off!

A special congratulations go to the following 20 students who competed with the best musicians in the surrounding region, and earned placement in the ALL-REGION BANDS.

Gabriel Delcid, Clarinet
Stacey Johnson, Clarinet
Samuel Murto, Clarinet
Allison Kuehn, Bassoon
Carley Allen, Alto Saxophone
Gemma Erhart, Alto Saxophone
Abasiono Rendon, Alto Saxophone
Taylor Klugh, Baritone Saxophone
Conner Carraher, Trumpet
Courtney Hodgin, Trumpet
William Potter, Trumpet
Kennedy Ryan, Trumpet
Jonathan White, Trumpet
Joshua Ussery, Horn
Jack Kays, Trombone
Sam Theulen, Trombone
Matt Davis, Euphonium
Megan West, Euphonium
Caleb Banks, Tuba
Remy Thomas, Percussion

Congratulations to the following students who were selected as 1st alternates:

Lizbeth Rodriguez, Flute
Reece Cho, Clarinet

These students will take part in a clinic/concert on December 12 and 13 at Prosper High School. Again, CONGRATULATIONS!!

Congratulations to every student who auditioned today at the All Region tryouts in Allen. We had a record 31 students advance to the Phase 2 audition on Monday at Rice Middle School!

The students who advanced are as follows:

FLUTE
Lizbeth Rodriguez

OBOE
Hannah Cain

BASSOON
Allison Kuehn
Mariana Michie

CLARINET
Reese Cho
Gabriel Delcid
Stacey Johnson
Sam Murto
Will Watson

SAXOPHONE
Carley Allen
Gemma Erhart
Taylor Klugh
Abasiono Rendon
Diego Sierra-Alvarez

TRUMPET
Abbey Baker
Connor Carraher
Courtney Hodgin
Jim Kays
William Potter
Tyler Novak
Kennedy Ryan
Jonathan White

HORN
Josh Ussery

TROMBONE
Jack Kays
Landon Mitchell
Sam Theulen

EUPHONIUM
Matt Davis
Megan West

TUBA
Caleb Banks
Nathan Thornsby

PERCUSSION
Remy Thomas

These students will be leaving on a bus for Phase 2 on Monday at 4:15 to earn placement into the All-Region Bands. A schedule will be sent to you later tonight, but remember you will be playing your other 2 etudes. No scales!

Congratulations!

CMS 7th & 8th Grade Parents,


Please mark your calendars for Tuesday, August 19th from 5-7 pm as we are going to have an official Cockrill 7th/8th Grade Band Registration Day.  The event will be held in the Cockrill Band Hall and it will be an awesome opportunity to take care of all of the necessary forms and payments before the school year starts.  Coincidentally this is also the same night as the registration for athletics so it's an opportunity to take care of both!



Remember that this is a come-and-go event and as an added bonus, we will also be providing FREE SNOW CONES for everyone!

 
Please let us know if you have any questions.  We hope to see everyone there!


Sincerely,
Mr. Williams, Mr. Harp and Mr. Moses

 

Follow the Cockrill Band on Instagram! Search "cockrillband".

cockrillband's photos are set to private. For security, all approved followers must be CMS Band members, parents, or staff.

If you are experiencing issues, please send an email to a director.

Congratulations to the Cockrill Middle School Concert Band, Symphonic Band, and the Honors Band for a great week at UIL! 

The Concert Band, under the direction of Mr. Moses received a Superior Rating in Sight-Reading and an Excellent Rating on the Stage Performance, just narrowly missing the Sweepstakes Award. 

The Symphonic Band, under the direction of Mr. Harp received a Superior Rating from all 6 judges earning  the coveted Sweepstakes Trophy.  They played the hardest non-varsity program in the history of Cockrill and the judges were extremely complimentary of how well prepared their music was.

And last night the Honors Band, under the direction of Mr. Williams also received a Superior rating from all 6 judges and the Sweepstakes Trophy.  This marks the 6th straight year that the CMS Honors Band has earned the Sweepstakes trophy.  The judges raved about their performance mentioning repeatedly how seamless they were able to play incredibly challenging music.   As we like to say in the band hall,  “if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you” and we are all better people for having gone on this amazing journey together.

Congratulations again to all of the Cockrill Band Members for a terrific year!

Last night was the annual McKinney ISD Ensemble Contest for all of the middle school band students across the district.  Cockrill Middle School entered 305 students into the competition and we are happy to announce that ALL 305 STUDENTS received a 1st Division, which is the highest rating that can be awarded by any judge.  We also would like to mention that Cockrill Middle School walked away with more medals in this competition than any other school in the district!

The judges were simply blown away with the maturity of sound, articulation, musicianship, and professionalism exhibited by every CMS Band student in attendance.  These students not only represented the band program to the highest level but also served as magnificent ambassadors for our great school.

Congratulations to everyone!

Congratulations to the 2013 Cockrill Symphonic I Band who has been selected as a National Winner in the Mark of Excellence/National Wind Band Honors project.  This marks the second time in three years that that this group has earned this tremendous honor.

The Mark of Excellence consists of the National Wind Band Honors, the National Choral Honors, National Orchestra Honors, National Jazz Honors, and National Percussion Ensemble Honors.  It is a competition, entered by recordings, in which the top performances are selected as National Winners, and the second tier performances receive Commended Honors.  This year over 178 of the finest musical ensembles in the nation entered the competition and the project received entries from thirty five states.

The adjudicators for the project were: Dr. Kraig Alan Williams, Director of Bands at Rutgers  University; Colonel John R. Bourgeois, USMC (Ret), the 25th Director of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, and Eugene Corporon, Conductor of the Wind Symphony and Regents Professor of Music at the University of North Texas.

“The Cockrill Symphonic I Band is a wonderful example of musical achievement, and a credit to the McKinney school district.  I salute you for the wonderful performance that you have shared with us, and the tremendous work you do with young musicians!" 

— Dick Clardy, Executive Director, The Foundation for Music Excellence