FSPS Fine Arts News

Happy Summer 2023! I hope everyone has enjoyed a restful summer! The summer months are great opportunities for young musicians to grow their skills through summer camp and performance opportunities! Many of our fine arts students in Fort Smith have taken advantage of such opportunities and will bring what they have learned back to their programs to share with their fine arts friends! Throughout this newsletter, we will highlight some of what our students have been doing this summer. We also have some new members of our Fine Arts team that we will introduce to you in this edition! We in the Athletics and Activities Department are excited to be prepping for the new school year and look forward to the many great performances of our groups in the near future!

Congratulations to Mr. James Palmer and the Chaffin Middle School 7th Grade Band, and to Mr. Chris Ha and the Kimmons Middle School 8th Grade Band! The bands were selected to be the "EE" classification Honor Bands to perform at the 2023 Arkansas All-State Music Conference that will be held next February in Hot Springs! A selection to be an Honor Band is a huge honor for our students and a great learning opportunity for them as they prepare literature to be performed and then perform in front of all the directors in the state! We are proud of you!

Originally from Fort Smith, Mr. Amaya attended Northside High School. He received his Bachelor of Music in Performance from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. During his time at the UofA, Mr. Amaya performed in a number of scholastic ensembles in both choir and band as a member of the Schola Cantorum, UA Men's Chorus, Razorback Marching Band, and the UA Wind Ensemble to name a few, and was a very active performer in the Northwest Arkansas Fine Arts community. Mr. Amaya is very excited to return home, join the Fort Smith Schools staff this year, and contribute to Fort Smith's ever-growing community and musical culture! Go Grizzlies!

"Megan Garrett is the 8th Grade Band Director at Ramsey Middle School and the Color Guard Director at Southside High School. Previously, Ms. Garrett was the Band Director at Charleston Middle School in Charleston, Arkansas, where she was involved in all aspects of the 6-12 program. During her time in Charleston, the students received Superior ratings for their performances at both Concert Assessment and Solo and Ensemble. Ms. Garrett graduated Summa Cum Laude from Arkansas Tech University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education and holds licenses for both K-12 Instrumental Music and K-12 Vocal Music. As a clarinetist at ATU, under the tutelage of Dr. Nicolas del Grazia and Dr. Daniel Belongia, she performed with the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Woodwind Choir, Jazz Ensemble and Band of Distinction. Most recently, she completed the English to Speakers of Other Languages graduate certification program through the University of Central Arkansas and is an ESOL-endorsed educator. In her free time, Megan likes to eat good food, listen to good music, and spend time with her partner, Micaiah, and their three fur-babies, Pita, Roxie, and Jack."

Starkey Allen Morgan Jr. was formerly an instructor of music at the University of Mississippi where he taught Introduction to Music and Fundamentals of Music Theory. He holds a B.M. in cello performance from the University of Mississippi where he studied with Tian Sheng Li. He also has a M.M. in cello performance from the University of North Texas where he studied with Carter Enyeart. Dr. Morgan obtained his Ph.D. in music education from the University of Mississippi in January of 2022.

​Dr. Morgan’s orchestral performing experience has included playing cello with the North Mississippi Symphony, Starkville Symphony, Corinth Symphony, Jonesboro Symphony, Pine Bluff Symphony, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Irving Symphony, and the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. He also served as principal cellist at the Orpheum theater for 5 years.

He has accompanied many artists including Smokey Robinson, Johnny Mathis, and Andy Williams.

​Before coming to the University of Mississippi, Dr. Morgan taught 3 years at the University of Memphis under the supervision of Peter Spurbeck. He has also taught orchestra in the Pine Bluff Public Schools, Tupelo Mississippi Public Schools, and the Memphis City Schools. Additionally, he taught cello and bass at Arkansas State University. He received the Outstanding Graduate Instrumentalist Award from the University of Mississippi in 2019 as well as the Outstanding Graduate Symphony Award in 2022.

On July 19th, Mr. and Ms. Pumphrey participated in Advocacy Day in Washington D.C. for the Educational Theatre Association! They met with all of Arkansas’s congressmen to discuss the importance of theatre and arts education in Arkansas. It was an extremely productive day!

Over 20 Kimmons Band students attended UAFS Band Camp this summer. Fundraising efforts by the band program provided the opportunity for all these students to attend camp 100% funded.

July 24-28-Chaffin/Ramsey Beginner Orchestra Camp-Chaffin Middle School 9am-1:30PM

July 24-28-Darby/Kimmons Beginner Orchestra Camp-Northside High School 9am-1:30PM

July 31-Southside Band Summer Rehearsals begin

Email: jsteele@fortsmithschools.org
Website: https://www.fortsmithschools.org/Domain/170
Location: 3205 Jenny Lind Road, Fort Smith, AR, USA
Phone: (479) 785-2501
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fspsathleticsactivities