Music educator Maximo Sierra led the 300-member Pebble Hills High School Spartan Marching Band from El Paso, Texas, in the Tournament of Roses Parade eld on Jan. 1, 2025. Photo credit: Pebble Hills High School

There are many fine music educators who work with young people in our nation’s public schools. One of these is Maximo Sierra, who leads the student musicians that comprise the Pebble Hills High School Spartan Marching Band from El Paso, Texas. He directed the 300-member group in the Tournament of Roses Parade held on Jan. 1, 2025. This is the first appearance for the group in the New Year’s Day Parade.

The Pebble Hills band placed second in the 6A area marching band contest and advanced to state last year. The group also swept the competition at the Coronado T-Bird Invitational in Sept., 2024. The students have performed all over Texas.

Maximo Sierra, Director of Bands at Pebble Hills High School in El Paso, Texas, has been teaching student musicians for 23 years. Photo credit: Pebble Hills High School

In a career that spans 23 years, Director of Bands Maximo Sierra has taught the last eight of them at Pebble Hills High. He has been the only Band Director in the school’s ten-year history. During those years, he helped establish the school’s traditions, including composing the school’s fight song, a piece inspired by movie and video game scores. “It’s in a minor key and very different,” he explains. “We’re proud of it.”

Maximo earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance from the University of Northern Colorado and his Master’s degree in Instrumental Conducting from New Mexico State University. There he was also a Teaching/Directing Assistant for the NMSU Pride Marching Band, Jazz II, and Concert Bands. Maximo is an active member of the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Bandmasters Association, the Texas Music Adjudicators Association, and the International Association for Jazz Education.

The Seminole High School Warhawk Marching Band made their third appearance in the Tournament of Roses Parade today. Photo credit: Seminole High School

I always enjoy watching the Tournament of Roses Parade on the first day of the New Year, and this year was no exception. While watching today’s parade, I was genuinely impressed with the stellar high school bands that appeared in the event. One of these was the Seminole High School Warhawk Marching Band from Seminole, Florida. The 120-member group appeared under the leadership of Director of Bands Gerard Madrinan. This was their third appearance in the Rose Parade. The others were in 2005 and 2013.

The Warhawks are no strangers to honors. These stellar student-musicians appeared in the Disney Christmas Day Parade in 2007 and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2010. They were named the Virginia Beach National Marching Band Festival Grand Champions in 1978, multiple Grand Championships at the Tarpon Springs Outdoor Music Festival and Largo Golden Invitational, and more than 37 years of superior ratings at the Florida Bandmasters Association Marching Festivals. In addition, the Warhawk Band has won Bands of America Regional Finalists a whopping 25 times. They were also named Atlanta Regional Grand Champions twice, a Grand National Semi-Finalists seven times, and Grand Nationals Finalists twice. In 1996, the Warhawk Band was the National AA-Division Champion at the WGI Friendship Cup Championships held in St. Louis, MO.

Director of Bands Gerard Madrinan led the student-musicians of Seminole High School in Seminole, Florida, in their appearance in the 2025 Tournament of Roses Parade. Photo credit: Seminole High School

Gerard has been the Director of Bands at Seminole High School since 2013. His position as Band Director is the realization of a childhood dream. He says he was only ten years old when he decided to become a high school band director. “I always wanted to be a high school band director, and to do it right here at Seminole High,” he reveals. In addition, he serves as the Department Chair for Visual and Performing Arts, where he oversees the marching band, concert bands, jazz band, the winter guard, indoor percussion ensemble, and chamber ensembles.

Before his employment at Seminole High, Gerard served as a music teacher at Clearwater Intermediate School, the band director at Dunedin Highland Middle School, and as an itinerate music teacher at a several schools in Pinellas County. In all, his career as a music educator spans 25 years.

After his graduation from Seminole High in 1999, Gerard earned both his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and his Master’s degree in Instrumental Conducting from the University of South Florida, From 2005-2008, Gerard was an instructor with the University of South Florida Marching Band.

Additionally, Gerard is a member of the Florida Music Educators National Conference, the Florida Bandmasters Association, and the Pinellas County Music Educators Association. In 2024, he was named Teacher of the Year by Pinellas County Schools.

Arizona music educator Efrain Casillas has been named his state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. Photo Credit: Chicanos Por La Causa

I am always pleased to share the story of an exceptional educator who has been recognized for their work with young people. One of these is Efrain Casillas, a music educator from Arizona. He has been named his state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year.

Efrain serves as the Co-ordinator of Music Programs for the Tolleson Elementary School District (TESD) in Phoenix. There he created the district’s first mariachi, jazz, marching, concert, and Latin jazz bands. Under his expert direction, the Tolleson Elementary School Mariachi Band competed at the Tucson International Mariachi Conference, where they won first and second place in the Choice Awards—three years in a row! The band has also performed at Disneyland in the Disneyland Parade. Efrain’s Latin jazz band has participated in the Fiesta Bowl Parade for three consecutive years. Currently, Efrain teaches both general and instrumental music at two schools in the district.

For his work in the classroom, Efrain was a featured guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2020. He garnered an Esperanza Latino Teacher Award from Chicanos Por La Causa in 2018 and a Music Teachers of Excellence from the Country Music Association Foundation the same year. Furthermore, he was nominated for the Life Changer Award in 2017, and in 2015 he was selected TESD’s Teacher of the Year. He has also served as a presenter for the National Symposium on Multicultural Music at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 2004. He is an active member of the Arizona Music Education Association.

As Arizona’s Teacher of the Year, Efrain will receive $15,000 from the Arizona Educational Foundation. He will travel to National Teacher of the Year events, meet the President at the White House, and attend the International Space Camp in Alabama. The Arizona Educational Foundation says the honored educator will also be considered for an honorary doctorate from Northern Arizona University.

Efrain earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance and his teaching certificate in education, both from Western Connecticut State University. His career as a public-school music teacher spans 24 years.