Concert Division

The Houston area’s lush and fertile soil never ceases to nurture music legends, and just as Johnson’s life in music was winding down, that of his spiritual successor, Jose Antonio Diaz, was continuing to rev up. Now fast-approaching his 35th year as director of bands at Aldine MacArthur High School, Diaz, who is both Grammy-nominated as an educator and a LULAC Teacher of the Year, has not only maintained the Generals’ ensemble five-star ranking for decades and send many a kid off to college with both a scholarship and a plan, but has also found nearly countless other ways to foster and develop youthful musical talent in Aldine and beyond.

First, there is Soulsa Caliente, the pan-Latin youth jazz orchestra he leads and directs from his Diaz Music Institute. Over the years, Diaz has been the one constant in Caliente, whose gig-list includes festival dates from Houston’s biggest stages to Oregon and Chicago and becoming the first youth band to win a Houston Press Music Award as the city’s Best Latin Band. As for its alumni, three have won Grammys and percussionist Marcie Chapa toured with Beyonce in the superstar diva’s all-female band. Chapa has since gone on to lay down grooves for both BET’s Black Girls Rock awards show and Latin pop/Contemporary Christian singer and actress Jaci Velazquez. And earlier this year, singer-guitarist Jabari Johnson, another Diaz-trained Caliente alumnus, was named Best New Artist at the Stellar Gospel Music Awards in Las Vegas.

Clearly, Diaz teaches his students more than just how to play Latin jazz. But what better music is there to use as a springboard? It comes from so many sources, as Diaz points out. “Every single Latin culture has a hand in the development of Latin jazz,” Diaz points out. “And Mexico was really strong in its development. Perez Prado loved hiring Mexican brass players, because they were accustomed to playing the really high trumpet parts he loved. He lived there for many years.”

It’s also complex and demanding — a firm grounding in Latin jazz offers young musicians a chance to expand into any corner of the music universe. And beyond: Jazz trumpeter Felix DeLeon Jr., who studied under Diaz at MacArthur and at the Institute, says that lessons learned on the bandstand carry over into all aspects of life. “I’ve met doctors and lawyers, successful people in other industries that were all in a band program or played some kind of instrument. And every one of them has said how important it is, and how much smarter a lot of these kids are if they learn how to multitask at such a young age, how to just approach things differently.”

Jose Antonio Diaz aspires not just to make youngsters into musicians, he also tries to mold boys and girls into successful young men and women. It’s not enough, he says, to teach them to “read both music and contracts,” he says. He also wants to teach them how to navigate life out there in that different world beyond their childhood homes.

As Grammy-winning jazz flautist Nestor Torres puts it: “What is the Diaz Music Institute? To me, it’s hope. It’s vision. It’s opening the way for young people to learn how to be themselves through music, specifically through salsa and Latin and Caribbean music.”

Dr. Carnochan’s multi-faceted career has included numerous high-profile collaborations with a number of esteemed colleagues and composers, including Andy Akiho, Steven Bryant, John Corigliano, Michael Daugherty, Donald Grantham, Daniel Kellogg, Jonathan Leshnoff, John Mackey, David Maslanka, James Mobberly, Carter Pann, Joel Puckett, Gunther Schuller, Joseph Schwantner, Frank Ticheli, and Dan Welcher. He also invests substantial time in commissioning and performing works of the new generation of talented composers, among them, such rising stars as David Biedenbender, Andrew Boss, Viet Cuong, Paul Dooley, Ian Dicke, Aaron Perrine, and Zack Stanton.

In addition, Dr. Carnochan maintains a vibrant career as a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator in performances throughout the United States, and has conducted concerts overseas in London, Spain, Austria, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Singapore. He has also produced a number of acclaimed recordings by both The University of Texas Wind Ensemble and the Dallas Wind Symphony and his own recording of Donald Grantham’s Tuba Concerto with soloist Charles Villarrubia and the University of Texas Wind Ensemble were recently released on the Longhorn Music Label and is available for download from iTunes. He has conducted five recordings with the world-renowned University of Texas Longhorn Band and has appeared with them in numerous nationally and internationally televised events, including three Rose Bowl halftime performances, two Rose Parades and three performances at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in Austin Texas.

Before joining the faculty at the Frost School of Music, Dr. Carnochan was Professor of Music and Director of the Longhorn Band at The University of Texas in Austin for 13 years. He also served as Associate Director of Bands at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Director of Bands at Northeastern Oklahoma State University, and Associate Director of Bands at Stephen F. Austin State University. Dr. Carnochan began his professional teaching career as Director of Bands at Dundalk High School in Baltimore, Maryland, a position he still cherishes.

Dr. Carnochan’s efforts have gained him induction into the Alpha Chapter of Phi Beta Mu. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious service and teaching awards, including The Eyes of Texas Award, The Texas Blazers award, the DeCloux Fellowship, and the Marinus Smith Award. He holds memberships in the American Bandmasters Association, the Band Directors National Association, the Conductors Guild, the Florida Music Educators Association and the Texas Music Educators Association. His degrees include a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from Towson University, a Master of Music degree in Wind Conducting from The University of Colorado at Boulder, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Conducting from The University of Texas. He counts among his teachers of note Allan McMurray, Jerry Junkin, and Dana Rothlisberger.