Jackie Brown
Sarah Sacco
Mrs. Sarah Sacco
has been the Director of Bands at Ava High School since 2008. Mrs. Sacco
attended Missouri State University for her undergraduate Bachelors in Music
Education. During her time at Missouri State, she was a very active member of
the PRIDE Band, serving as a section leader for two years. As an undergraduate,
Mrs. Sacco served one year as the Missouri Collegiate Music Educators (CMENC)
President at Missouri State and another year as the Southwest Seven
State-Regional CMENC President. Mrs. Sacco was also an active member of Sigma
Alpha Iota music fraternity. She served many officers during her time in
college including Vice-President of Ritual and Fraternity Education, Yearbook
chair, and Service chair. Mrs. Sacco is also an active member of the
Springfield Sigma Alpha Iota Alumnae chapter where she has served as Sergeant
at Arms, Vice President of Ritual and Fraternity Education, and President. Mrs.
Sacco is also the Tri-M State Chair on the Missouri Music Educators Association
Advisory Board and the Southwestern Division Representative to the NAfME Music
Honor Society Advisory Council. As the Tri-M chair, she organized the
first-ever Missouri Tri-M Summit which is an annual event for high school music
students. While at Ava High, Mrs. Sacco completed her Master's Degree in
Secondary Education Curriculum Instruction from Drury University.
Chris Sacco
Mr. Christopher J. Sacco grew up in DeSoto, MO and graduated from DeSoto High School in 1999. After high school Chris studied and played trumpet under Dr. Matthew McCready and Joseph Pappas while attending Jefferson College in Hillsboro, MO. Before completing his degree, he was selected to perform with the All-State Collegiate Band, under the direction of Frank Ticheli. In 2004, he received an Associate of Arts degree with an emphasis in Instrumental Music.
Mr. Sacco then began working toward a Bachelor of Music Education at Missouri State University. While in attendance he studied trumpet under Dr. Grant Peters, was section leader of the PRIDE trumpets, and performed in several ensembles including Jerry Hoover’s Jazz Band and the University Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Belva Prather. While in the Wind Ensemble, Chris was fortunate enough to perform at the CBDNA (College Band Directors National Association) Conference at Baylor University in Waco, TX as well as at the MMEA (Missouri Music Educators Association) Conference. During his time at Missouri State University, he was an active marching and brass technician for several high schools in and around the Springfield area. He graduated summa cum laude in 2007.
In 2013, while serving as the Associate Director of Bands for the Ava R-I School District, Chris completed his Masters in Secondary Education through Drury University. He is currently in his 13th year at Ava, where he co-directs with his wife Sarah. His duties include: Beginning Band, Intermediate Band, Middle School Concert Band, Middle School Jazz Band, High School Jazz Band, and assisting with the High School Symphonic and Marching Bands. His Middle School Concert Band, Middle School Jazz Band, and High School Jazz Band have received superior ratings and top placements every year at various festivals throughout the state. Mr. Sacco’s applied students have consistently received Honor I Ratings at both the District and State level for the past 12 years. The overall program has more than doubled in size and success since Chris and his wife arrived in 2008. Since then, they have had students perform in the All-District Bands, All-State Band, Missouri Lions Band, Macy’s Great American Marching Band, Army All-American Marching Band, and the Bands of America Marching Band.
In January of 2019, Chris was selected as a recipient of the John East “Spirit of Orpheus” Mentor Award for his work with young music educators throughout the South Central region of the state. He is a two time recipient of the National Citizenship Education Teacher Recognition Award as well as the Loyalty Day Award by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. He has also been “spotlighted” by the Ava R-I Board of Education on numerous occasions for his work with his students.
Mr. Sacco’s professional affiliations and memberships include MMEA (Missouri Music Educators Association), NAfME (National Association for Music Education), MBA (Missouri Bandmasters Association), MOAJE (Missouri Association for Jazz Education), Phi Beta Mu (International Bandmasters Fraternity) and Phi Theta Kappa. Chris currently serves as the Vice President of Jazz for the Missouri Music Educators Association, the Band Vice President in the South Central District of the Missouri Music Educators Association, the Event Coordinator for the South Central Association All-Conference Honor Band, and is also an active certified adjudicator with the Missouri State High School Activities Association.
Outside of music education, Chris enlisted in the Missouri Air National Guard in March of 2000, where he completed an Associate of Applied Science degree in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. He also served as the Drum Major of the Drum and Bugle Corp at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, TX. While serving 12 years in the 131st Civil Engineering Squadron, he was active during Operations Noble Eagle, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom, where he served in various locations throughout the Middle East.
Justin Surface
Justin Surface was born and raised in
Indiana, where as a middle school and high school student he pursued both
percussion and color guard/winter guard. In his Junior year of high school
Justin began his teaching career by joining the staff of multiple local Indiana
high schools. Upon graduating at the top of his class, he pursued color guard
performance by marching with the Cavaliers and Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps.
Since graduating high school, Justin has taught at several successful programs
culminating in 3 marching band finalist performances, 6 gold medal winter guard
champions, numerous Indiana State Finalist participant groups, and 3 WGI World
Championship groups just to highlight a few. Justin is also a formally trained color
guard just with WGI adjudicator certification. In total Justin has been
teaching for 15 years. When not teaching or judging color guard, Justin works
full time as a Supervisor for Kohls.
Justin joined the staff of Spintronix Indoor Guard as show designer in 2016, at led the team to two IRA Missouri State Champion titles in 2017 and 2018. Thanks to his efforts, the team has moved up in class and even attended Winter Guard International events.
Brent Becker
The
designs of artist-educator Brent W. Becker have had tremendous impact on the
current look of band uniforms. His portfolio of work demonstrates that it is
possible to innovate while preserving tradition.
For Brent, a uniform does more
than create uniformity or present an image – it is an expression of power and
unity that echoes the passion of performance and reflects the unique visual
heritage of the marching activity. Brent has recently worked with The Blue
Stars, Santa Clara Vanguard, Madison Scouts, Pacific Crest, and Teal Sound Drum
and Bugle Corps, as well as many of the nation’s top marching ensembles in the
development of new uniforms.
Brent’s incredible drawing
abilities; experience as a performer and educator; and, his knowledge of
historical and contemporary uniform design laid the groundwork for his career
as the Design Consultant at Stanbury Uniforms – a world-wide leader in uniform
manufacturing.
Brent W. Becker joined the St. Louis Brass Band with decades of
performance experience from several academic and community music organizations.
A member of Phi Mu Alpha SINFONIA, and an alumnus of Bradley University
(Peoria, IL) and Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, IL), Brent has enjoyed the
honor of performing with The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps (Rosemont, IL),
the Peoria Symphony Orchestra (Peoria, IL), and Sterling Municipal Band
(Sterling, IL). He is currently a euphonium with the St. Charles Municipal Band
(St. Charles, MO) and St. Charles Community College Concert Band (Cottleville,
MO).
Outside of musical pursuits, Brent is and award-winning multi-disciplinary visual artist, designer, and arts educator. Recently, he has exhibited artwork through Art Saint Louis and the Saint Louis Artist's Guild. Brent’s drawing and mixed-media work was selected for the 36th Bradley International Print and Drawing Exhibition. He currently instructs Printmaking at St. Charles Community College and is the Design Consultant for Stanbury Uniforms. In his role with Stanbury, Brent has the unique opportunity to lend his visual expertise to renown performing ensembles, including university marching bands and several notable drum corps.
Patrick
Porter
Patrick is a flight attendant for Frontier
Airlines. In performer positions at Disney World, Universal Studios Orlando and
Celebrity Cruise Line, he honed abilities in my attention to safety and customer
service, providing a solid foundation for instructing color guard. His
dependable, energetic, outgoing nature, and eagerness to please have been
recognized by all three employment positions. His experience as a Production
Manager, dance captain and stilt trainer has developed his leadership and
workplace safety skills. He also volunteers with several high schools and
non-profit organizations, including Horizon Independent, where he was a corner
stone of organization development, Spintrionix Indoor Guard as both a coach
instructor and student instructor, and Winter Guard International. His main
goal in working with the performing arts is to inspire youth to reach their
utmost personal growth and potential through their passion in the performing
arts.
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