Director of Bands
FHS Head Director
Quinlan, TX Mr. Filip's passion for
music came about at a very young age, as he played the piano, church handbells
and sang in the church choir all before starting 6th Grade Band. He started his
band career in 6th Grade learning how to play the clarinet that started the path to become the
director he is today.
Mr. Filip has been the
Director of Bands for Quinlan ISD since Fall 2005. While under the direction of
Mr. Filip, the Quinlan Bands have reached sweepstakes at contest and increased
the band enrollment significantly. Mr. Filip holds memberships in several
professional organizations including the Texas Music Educators Association,
Association of Texas Small School Bands and the Texas Bandmasters Association.
Mr. Filip has been on faculty for the Stephen F. Austin State University Middle
School and High School Band Camps in June of every summer teaching Clarinet and Bass Clarinet Masterclasses.
Mr. Filip currently serves as an officer for the Association of Small School
Bands Region 3 holding the position as Assistant Region
Coordinator/Webmaster. Previously Mr. Filip served as Region Jazz
Coordinator. He previously served as the ATSSB All-State Jazz Band Organizer every year during the Texas Music Educators Association Clinic and Convention.
Mr.
Filip studied Clarinet under Dr. Christopher Ayer at Stephen F. Austin State
University where he earned his Bachelor's in Music Education with a
concentration in Instrumental Music graduating Cum Laude. While at Stephen
F. Austin State University he studied conducting privately with Mr. Fred J.
Allen, Director of Bands. Mr. Filip was a member in the SFA Wind Ensemble,
Lumberjack Marching Band, SFA Chamber Winds, Woodwind Ensembles and soloed in
several recital settings. In May 2015, Mr. Filip graduated with his Masters in Educational Leadership from Stephen F. Austin State University.
Mr.
Filip has a background in Pro Audio Technologies. While at SFA, Marty was
part of the Sound Engineer Team that was in charge of all music events at the
university. He provided anything from recording, live sound, video and
special lighting services for these events. He was also part of the team
that rewired the music building two concert halls to be run from the same
location, a old storage closet that the team converted into the new sound
recording lab.
Marty
was married to his wife, Sarah, in Nacogdoches, TX on June 4, 2005. He
and his family currently reside in Fate, TX. Marty and his wife have two sons, Noah who was born in August of 2009 and Caleb who was born in September of 2015. When he's not teaching or
playing music, he enjoys relaxing with his family, spending time outdoors on
the lake or beach, working on small projects, watching movies and traveling.
Stephanie Evans FHS Assistant Director Color Guard Director Quinlan, TX Stephanie Evans is the Head Band Director at C. B. Thompson Middle School and also serves as an assistant director at Ford High School in Quinlan, TX. Stephanie is a graduate of McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. She studied clarinet under Janet Scott and was privileged to study music under Dr. Jeffrey Lemke and Keith Gates. While studying music education at MSU, Mrs. Evans frequently performed with numerous ensembles such as the MSU Wind Symphony, various MSU Clarinet ensembles, the MSU Color Guard, the Lake Charles Community Band, and the Lake Charles Community Dedication project for the 200th Anniversary of Mozart. She also performed with many artists including The Boston Brass, The Marcus Roberts Trio, and Sion é Companhia. Mrs. Evans started her music career path by teaching color guard in Louisiana. She assisted her former director at Sam Houston High School in Moss Bluff, Louisiana for several years. She also became co-captain of the McNeese State University Color Guard. After two years of being co-captain, she was named as co-director of the Color Guard program until she graduated. Upon graduation, Mrs. Evans moved to Texas where she worked for Victoria Memorial High School, Mabank High School, and previously at Kaufman Junior High School. Stephanie is a current member of Texas Music Educator’s Association, the Association of Texas Small School Bands, and Texas Bandmasters’ Association. She is also an alumnus of the professional music fraternity of Sigma Alpha Iota, the professional music sorority Tau Beta Sigma, and the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. Stephanie and her husband, Christopher, currently reside in Terrell with their children, James (12), Lily (9) and Blake (2). In her spare time, she likes to spend time with her family, read or craft.
Mark Alba TMS Head Director Quinlan, TX
Mark Alba is the new Head Band Director at C.B. Thompson Middle School. Mr. Alba comes to Quinlan from Monroe, Louisiana where he spent the past two years as Band Director at Ouachita Junior High School. Previously, he taught at Neville High School for two years where he served as Head Band Director after being promoted from assistant. Mr. Alba’s bands have a proven track record of superior ratings, and his students consistently earn chairs in the regional honor band.
After graduating from John Horn High School in Mesquite, Mr. Alba moved to the Bayou State to attend the University of Louisiana Monroe. He studied Bassoon under Dr. Elizabeth Young Rennick and earned a Bachelor of Music Education. He continued on to study under Steven Pederson and earned a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Secondary Music. Mr. Alba performed with ULM’s top ensembles as a Bassoonist and Tubist. He also had the privilege of performing with the Monroe Symphony Orchestra and Rumore, Northeast Louisiana’s premier wind quintet. Mr. Alba is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Band Masters Association, and the National Association for Music Education.
Apart from professional music, Mr. Alba enjoys playing bass guitar and drum set. His hobbies include woodworking and wrenching on cars. Mr. Alba recently married his beautiful wife, Abby, in June 2020. Together, they enjoy traveling and spending time with family. Sauileoge To'afa TMS Assistant Director FHS Percussion Director Quinlan, TX Sauileoge Lino To’afa (known mostly as “Mr. T”)
is from the island of American Samoa. Surrounded by an environment
and culture rich with music, Sauileoge decided to pursue music as a
career. He began by serving four years in the Tafuna High School
Warrior Band and remained active in his church praise band.
Soon after, Mr. To’afa completed his Associates
Degree in Music at the American Samoa Community College. He then
transferred to Texas A&M University-Commerce (TAMUC) to further his
education. It is at TAMUC where he honed his skills as a musician
and narrowed his focus in the area of Percussion. On May 15th 2010,
Mr. To’afa completed his Bachelor of Science in Music Education TAMUC where he
was a member of Phi Theta Kappa, Baptist Student Ministry, Symphonic Band, Mane
Attraction Jazz Band, Percussion Club, and Percussion Ensemble.
As a service to his home island of American
Samoa, Sauileoge To’afa decided to give back to his community by returning home
to teach at Samoana High School as a band director. Upon completing
that service, he moved back to Texas where he has been active in teaching in
the Garland Independent School District.
Mr. To’afa is serving as the Assistant Band Director
at Thompson Middle School, and Percussion Director in his 7th year in the Quinlan ISD. He looks forward to making a difference with every staff
member and student he comes in contact with. Sauileoge To'afa enjoys spending as much time with his beautiful wife Kathryn and handsome son Titus. When Mr. T is not helping students learn music, he is making music at Living Hope Baptist Church where he serves as the worship pastor. Recently, Sauileoge has been serving as one of the Association of Texas Small School Bands percussion hosts at the Texas Music Educators Association Convention in San Antonio for the years of 2017-2018.
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