CHRIS KANICKI 

Director of Bands

Chris Kanicki is in his third year as Director of Bands at Trinity High School, having previously served as Director of 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. 

Mr. Kanicki’s concert ensembles have earned consecutive ‘Sweepstakes’ awards for the past 17 years in the UIL Concert & Sight-Reading Evaluations. While at Summit HS, the Wind Symphony earned distinction as ‘Best in Class’ at festivals across the state, had 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 direction of Mr. Kanicki have also earned distinction at both local and statewide marching contests. The Trinity High School Marching Band has earned ‘Best in Class,’ ‘Best in Contest,’ and numerous caption awards at competitions throughout the North Texas Area. In 2023 Trinity Marching Band was Grand Champion at the Golden Triangle Marching Contest and brought home Best Percussion, Best Visual Effect, and Best Ensemble Performance.   

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

SYDNEY RAMOS

Assistant Band Director

Sydney Ramos is in her second year as Assistant Band Director at Trinity High School. Ms. Ramos is from Corpus Christi, Texas and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of North Texas with a Bachelors in Music Education.

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. Prior to being at Trinity, she completed 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!

JONATHAN STRAHAN

Assistant Band Director

Jonathan Strahan is in his first year as Assistant Band Director at Trinity High School. Prior to teaching at Trinity, Mr Strahan was the Assistant Band Director at Paschal High School for four years. Mr. Strahan is from Huffman, Texas, and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from West Texas A&M University. 

While at Paschal, Mr. Strahan’s concert ensembles consistently earned superior division ratings at the UIL Concert & Sightreading Evaluations. The Paschal marching band became finalists in multiple US Bands contests under his direction, ending with a first place finish in their division at the US Bands Southwestern Championships.

During his time at West Texas A&M University, Mr. Strahan studied Euphonium under Dr. Jeremy Lewis and performed with the WTAMU Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Brass Choir, Tuba Euphonium Ensemble, Pep-Band, Chorale, and was a member of the leadership team for the WTAMU Marching Band. He was also the recipient of the 2020 WTAMU Outstanding Bandsman Award and was chosen as the brass area “Star Performer” for the 2019-2020 Honors Recital. Additionally, Mr. Strahan performed as a member of Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps in 2019.

Mr. Strahan’s professional affiliations include Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Texas Music Educators Association, and Texas Bandmasters Association. In his spare time he enjoys hiking, working out, and spending time with his wife and two dogs.

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 as 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.

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

Simon Nguyen 

Assistant Percussion Director

Simon Nguyen currently serves as the Assistant Percussion Director at Trinity High School in Euless, TX, where he teaches percussion classes and private lessons.