CHRIS KANICKI

Director of Bands

Chris Kanicki is in his first year as Director of Bands at Trinity High School, having previously served as Direct or Bands at Summit High School for 7 years, and Assistant Director for four years. Prior to his tenure at Summit, Mr. Kanicki was an Assistant Director at Alice High School and William Adams Middle School in Alice ISD. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Music Education at the University of Miami where he studied saxophone with Dale Underwood, and his Masters of Education at the University of Texas at Arlington.

More about Mr. Kanicki…

Mr. Kanicki’s concert ensembles have earned consecutive ‘Sweepstakes’ awards for the past 14 years in the UIL Concert & Sight-Reading Evaluations. The Summit Wind Symphony has earned distinction as ‘Best in Class’ at festivals across the state, has been selected as a ‘National Winner’ in the National Wind Band Mark of Excellence in 2021, 2019, and 2017, and a ‘Commended Winner’ in 2018 and 2016. The Summit Wind Symphony performed at the Midwest International Band Clinic in 2017, and received the Sudler Flag of Honor in 2022.

Marching Bands under the director of Mr. Kanicki have also earned distinction at both local and statewide marching contests. The Summit High School Marching Band has earned ‘Best in Class,’ ‘Best in Contest,’ and numerous caption awards at competitions throughout the North Texas Area. The Summit Marching Band are three time Bands of America finalists, were Regional Champions in class 3A in 2019, Silver Medalists in 2021, and have been Area B finalists 7 times. The marching band competed at the 5A State Marching Championship in 2021 for the first time in school history. The Alice High School Marching Band also competed at the 4A State Marching Contest in 2007 and 2009.

Mr. Kanicki’s professional affiliations include the Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Associations, and Texas Music Adjudicators Associations. He currently resides in Mansfield, TX where he enjoys scenic drives in his car and traveling with friends and family.

christopherkanicki@hebisd.edu
817-399-3690 x6196


CRIS GARCIA

Assistant Band Director

Cris Garcia is in his first year as Assistant Band Director at Trinity High School in Euless, Texas. His primary responsibilities include directing the Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Marching Band, and assisting with the Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band.

More about Mr. Garcia…

Prior to teaching at Trinity, Mr. Garcia was Associate Director of Bands at Summit High School in Mansfield, Director of Bands at Mineral Wells High School and Mineral Wells Middle School, Assistant Director at Alice High School and William Adams Middle School. He holds a Bachelors of Music Education degree from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. While at UNT, Mr. Garcia studied French horn under William Scharnberg and participated in the UNT Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Brass Band, Horn Choir, and the Green Brigade under the direction of Dennis Fisher, Nicholas Williams, Brian Bowman, and Eugene Corporon. He was also a two-year member of the Glassmen Drum and Bugle Corps from Toledo, Ohio.

Mr. Garcia’s concert ensemble have consistently earned superior division ratings at the Univeristy Interscholastic League Concert & Sightreading contests. Marching bands under his supervision have earned both local and state recognition. The Summit High School Marching Band competed in the State Marching Contest in 2021 as well as earning ‘Best in Class’, ‘Best in Contest’, and numerous caption awards at competitions throughout the North Texas area. The Summit Marching Band is a consistent Area Marching Band participant, most recently placing third overall at the Area F Marching Contest. The Alice High School Marching Band also competed at the State Marching Contest 2011 under his direction. His horn students have also earned All-District, All-Region, All-Area, and All-State distinctions.

Mr. Garcia is an active marching band arranger, freelance composer, and marching program designer. He is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association and Texas Bandmasters Association. He currently resides in Irving, Texas.

cristobalgarcia@hebisd.edu
817-399-3690 x6198


SYDNEY RAMOS

Assistant Band Director

Syndey Ramos will be in her first year as Asssistand Band Director at Trinity High School. Ms. Ramos is from Corpus Christi, Texas and will soon be graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University of North Texas with a Bachelors in Music Education.

More about Ms. Ramos…

While at UNT, she studied clarinet under Deborah Fabian and was a member of the Wind Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Chamber Studies Ensembles, and the Green Brigade Marching Band. While in the Green Brigade, she assumed the role of clarinet section leader for two seasons. Currently, she is finishing her student teaching in Frisco ISD at Emerson High School and Scoggins Middle School.

Sydney holds professional affiliations with the Texas Music Educator Association and was a founding member of the Xi Beta Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi at UNT. She was also named a 2019 Traditional Terry Scholar for the University of North Texas. Outside of teaching, she enjoys cooking and traveling as much as possible!


MANNY FLORES

Assistant Band Director / Director of Percussion

Manny Flores serves as Assistant Band Director and the Director of Percussion at Trinity High School in Euless, TX. Mr. Flores directs percussion activities for the Trinity High School cluster, which includes Harwood JH, Euless JH and Central JH. He previously served director at Southwest High School in Fort Worth, TX from 2014-2020. His percussionists have performed at the Texas State Marching Contest, The Midwest Clinic, and The Texas Bandmasters Association Convention. During his tenure at Southwest High School, his drumlines and percussion ensembles were awarded top recognition. One of them was 2nd place winner of The Black Swamp Large Ensemble Percussion Showcase in 2017.

More about Mr. Flores…

Mr. Flores studied under Dr. Michael Varner and Dr. James Yakas at The University of Texas at Arlington where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education. He performed with the UTA Symphony Orchestra, Wind Symphony, Percussion Ensemble, African/Brazilian Ensemble and various marching percussion ensembles. While at UT-Arlington, he was the recipient of the Victor C. Gonzalez Percussive Arts Society Scholarship, the Outstanding Musician Award for the 2014 UT-Arlington Symphony Orchestra and won the Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition in 2013.

As a performer, Mr. Flores was a member of the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps, Surround Sound Percussion, Dallas Cowboys Drumline, Dallas Mavericks Drumline, FC Dallas Drumline, and Dynamic Rhythm Entertainment.

Manny Flores is an active member of the Percussive Arts Society, Texas Music Educators Association and Texas Bandmasters Association. He also serves as a member of the Vic Firth Educational Team. Manny lives in Crowley, TX with his wife Amanda, 2 dogs Mikko and Archer, and cat Rimsky. Mr. Flores enjoys grilling, yard maintenance and spending time with his family and friends in his minimal, but highly cherished free time.

EmmanuelFlores@hebisd.edu
817-399-3690 x6197


JR Alberto

Assistant Percussion Director

JR Alberto is a Texas based percussionist and educator from Austin, TX. He currently serves as the Assistant Percussion Director at Trinity High School in Euless, TX, where he teaches percussion classes and private lessons. Alberto stays active in the scene through his performance of new works for percussion and his diverse teaching.

More about JR…

Alberto holds a BME from Texas Christian University, and a MM in Percussion Performance from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. During his studies, Alberto performed in numerous ensembles, playing concerts on major stages around the country. Alberto was a member of the TCU Percussion Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Brian West; during Alberto’s time, the Percussion Orchestra commissioned several large-scale percussion ensemble works, including a showcase concert at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in 2015 in San Antonio, TX. In 2018, Alberto performed with the IU Percussion Ensemble, under directors John Tafoya and Kevin Bobo, which performed at the PASIC IPEC showcase concert in Indianapolis, IN, premiering works by Kevin Bobo, Brian Blume, and Adam Silverman.

Alberto is an avid supporter of commissioning new works for the percussion repertoire. Alberto has commissioned and recorded solo works by renown composers such as Dave Molk, David Skidmore and Annika Socolofsky. In 2018, Alberto premiered a solo glockenspiel work written by Dave Molk as part of the New Works for Percussion Project Video Competition in collaboration with Molk and Four/Ten Media.

Since 2013, Alberto has had the pleasure of working with an extensive list of schools in Texas and Indiana, teaching marching percussion, concert percussion, and private lessons. Some programs include Keller High School, Aledo High School, and Center Grove High School. In 2020, Alberto served as an Assistant Instructor at the Jacobs School of Music, where he taught non-major Private Lessons and the Percussion Techniques course.

Alberto is forever grateful having studied under some of the very best in percussion pedagogy and performance, such as Dr. Brian West, Dr. Richard Gipson, Joey Carter, Joseph Gramley, Michael Spiro, Kevin Bobo, and Steve Houghton.

Alberto currently resides in Arlington, TX, where he works on various recording projects and is an amateur photo/videographer on the side.


Color Guard Director


Randy Dees

Marching Specialist