
Austin High School
Stephen F.
Austin High School opened its doors to students in August 1995. This outstanding
school is part of the Fort Bend Independent School District
in the state of Texas. The school has been recognized by Texas Monthly Magazine
as one of the top 10 high schools in the state of Texas. FBISD
has similarly been named one of the top 100 School Districts in the nation for
its Fine Arts Education. With FBISD
enrolling over 60,000 students each year, Austin High School's enrollment
exceeds 2,500 students.
Stephen F. Austin, the man, is known as the Father of Texas and founder of
Anglo-American Texas. It is after him that the high school is named.
Austin High School supports four outstanding orchestras - the Symphony,
the
Philharmonic, the Chamber Orchestras and a special group of students
comprised of musicians with no previous training in strings. These groups are composed of more than one hundred
forty of the
school's best and most accomplished students. Many of the members of this
orchestra have been recognized as outstanding musicians, having been members of
various TMEA
Orchestras. A majority of the students have also auditioned and have been
selected to participate in several organizations which draw from the best youth
musicians in the greater Houston area: Houston
Youth Symphony,
American Festival of the Arts, and Virtuosi
of Houston.
This orchestra program is under the experienced leadership of Mrs. Carolyn
Vandiver.
The Symphony Orchestra
The Full Symphony Orchestra - comprised of strings, woodwinds, brass, and
percussion - has received the honor of performing at the prestigious Midwest
Clinic in Chicago, Illinois in December of 2003 and again in 2008. This orchestra was also invited
to play in Washington D.C. to represent the state of Texas at the dedication of
the World War II memorial.
The Symphony String Orchestra - comprised of strings (violin, viola, cello, bass,
and harp) and the piano - repeatedly ranks among the top ten orchestras in the
state of Texas and has won Sweepstakes every year in the UIL
String competition. They also had the great honor of performing at the legendary
Carnegie Hall in New York in April of 2005 and performing on a tour of Austria
and the Czech Republic in the spring of 2007.
The Philharmonic Orchestra
The Philharmonic Orchestra is a non-varsity organization
which performs with wind instruments as a full orchestra or as a stand alone
string orchestra. The Philharmonic Full Orchestra has performed with band members in the UIL
Full Orchestra competition where they have received all "ones" or
Sweepstakes - the
highest score an orchestra can receive. These students have the opportunity to perform in TMEA
and UIL
competitions and also travel with the Symphony Orchestra. This
orchestra program is also under the experienced leadership of Mrs. Carolyn Vandiver.
The Chamber Orchestra
The Chamber Orchestra is a non-varsity group which
performs as a string ensemble. They made their first performance in UIL
competitions in the 2009 school year and have grown into a much larger group for
this current school year. In Chamber Orchestra the student will
receive introduction to 3 octave scales and arpeggios and various bowing
techniques. Also introduction of new
clefs, rhythms and positions.
Sinfonia
The newest addition to Austin High School's family of orchestras beginning
with the 2010/2011 academic year. In Sinfonia, performers will drill
on basic playing positions, 2 octave scales and arpeggios.
They will also drill on bow placement and distribution.
Beginning
This orchestra is for students that have never played a
string instrument. In Beginning
orchestra students are taught note reading and introduction to actually playing
either violin, viola, cello or string
bass. (Typically, high school
students learn twice as much as a
beginner in middle school). By the
end of the school year, the student
will be able to play numerous pieces. Give
it a try! No musical experience is
required.