Sugar Land Winds
A premiere wind ensemble
Music Directors
Larry Matysiak
Larry Matysiak has been a music educator for the past forty-one years. He taught all but one year in Fort Bend ISD. He was an assistant director at Dulles HS starting in 1977. In 1983 he was appointed Head Director and Fine Arts Chair at Clements High School . During his tenure there the band received 22 consecutive UIL Sweepstakes Awards, and was selected as the 1994 TMEA 5A (now 6A)Honor Band. They also performed at the Mid-West Clinic in Chicago. Under his direction the band was selected for the UIL State Marching Contest in 1998 and has been selected each year thru present day. The Clements Band made the UIL State Marching Finals in 2004. The Clements Band placed third in state in TMEA Honor Band competition in 2003. He is a recipient of the TMEA Leadership Award, the Sudler Flag of Honor by the Sousa Foundation as well as the state UIL Denius Award for Outstanding UIL
Sponsors. He was also named an “Influential Teacher” by Texas Christian University. Mr. Matysiak was co-founder and co-conductor of the Clements Symphony Orchestra. They performed at the Mid-West Clinic and were selected as the TMEA Honor Orchestra in 2000. From 2006 to 2014 Mr. Matysiak served as the Director of Fine Arts for the Cypress Fairbanks ISD. During his time in the Cypress Fairbanks district, staffing increased each year and many of the districts performing groups received state and national honors. In addition, the district received an award from NAMM as an outstanding district for fine arts. They also received recognition from the Grammy Foundation. Mr. Matysiak is a founder and former co- chairman of the Houston Arts Partners, a fine arts advocacy and educational organization in Houston, Texas. This organization stresses cross -curricular learning and training for all teachers using the fine arts. A graduate in 1976 and 1986, in 2010 Mr. Matysiak received the Outstanding Alumni Award from the
Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. Having retired in 2014, Mr. Matysiak is an active clinician and judge in Texas and other states. He has provided in-service workshops for surrounding districts as well as clinics at TMEA and TBA. His affiliations include Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Bandmasters Association, Texas Music Administrators Conference, and the honor band director fraternity Phi Beta Mu. He currently is co-conductor of the Sugar Land Winds, a wind ensemble comprised of band directors and private teachers from the Fort Bend and Houston area. He resides in Sugar Land with his wife Mary (a former choir director at Clements). They have two children, John Matysiak and Laura Yoakum (both of whom were active in the Clements Band program). They are blessed to have four grandchildren; Mason and Mia Matysiak and Charlotte and Jamie Yoakum.
Rick Yancey
Rick Yancey has a broad experience teaching band and orchestra in Texas. He grew up in Texas City Texas, where he played in the Texas City bands under Mr. Robert Renfroe, and won All State honors twice. While at the University of Houston, he was principal clarinet of the University Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble under A. Clyde Roller and James Matthews. Mr. Yancey attended the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado and was principal clarinet of the Chamber Symphony. As a clarinetist, he has performed with the Rapides and Lake Charles Orchestras in Louisiana, and in Houston with Theater Under the Stars (TUTS), the Houston Ballet and Houston Pops Orchestra. Mr. Yancey began teaching while still in college, serving as band director in tiny Damon Texas. He has taken his high school bands and orchestras to New York, Washington DC, Durango Colorado, Chicago, London England, Nassau, and to the Rose Parade. Mr. Yancey was TMEA region 17 band chairman for ten years and was Area F chairman. He is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association, the National Band Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, Texas Music Adjudicators Association, and Phi Beta Mu. As head band director at Elkins High School in Fort Bend ISD, the Elkins Band won 14 consecutive UIL sweepstakes awards and were outstanding in class at numerous festivals. 8 CD recordings of Elkins Band performances are available through Mark Custom Recordings. After retiring from Elkins, he was orchestra director and director of Instrumental Music for Lamar High School in Houston for three years. Other teaching positions include Clements High School, Stratford High School, Westchester High School, Westchester Jr. High, and Northbrook Middle School. Mr. Yancey is co - conductor of the Sugar Land Winds, a wind ensemble composed of band directors and private teachers in the Fort Bend County area. He is the Managing director of the Music Across Texas and Mark of Excellence projects for Director’s Choice Tour and Travel and The Foundation for Music Education. Mr. Yancey is an active judge of band and orchestra competitions in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. He frequently conducts region honor bands, and presents staff development for school districts. Mr. Yancey is married to Jill Yancey, also a retired band director and active adjudicator and clinician. Their son, Chris, is band director at Tomball High School.