Mr. Joel Ashbrook attended Henrietta High School in Henrietta, TX where he was an Honor Student, president of the Student Council for 2 years, and Drum Major of the state marching band champion Bearcat Marching Band. Active in Band, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Football, Basketball, Track, Choir, Drama and Student Government, Ashbrook had a very diverse curriculum in high school.
Attending college on a music and academic scholarship, Ashbrook attended Stephen F. Austin State University where he was consistently named to the University Dean’s Honors List, maintained a 3.89 GPA over 4 years, and was drum major of the SFA Lumberjack Marching Band for 2 years. The Music Ed Department and highly acclaimed SFA Wind Ensemble was under the direction of Mr. Mel Montgomery, who was the most influential influence in Ashbrook’s music career and life. Graduating with honors in 1988 with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education, Ashbrook was hired as the Director of Bands for the Colorado City ISD in 1988, and the head director at Colorado MS. Ashbrook was hired the next year by Scott Mason and the Crane Independent School District as the Assistant Director the Crane HS Band. While in Crane, TX, the bands at Crane ISD were state and nationally ranked for quality with the Crane HS band placing 2nd in the state marching contest and winning the state champion AAA Honor Band competition.
In 1990 Ashbrook took the job as head director of the Sundown Middle School band program and assistant director of the High School band in Sundown, TX. Under his leadership, the Sundown MS bands attended UIL competition for the first time and received all superior 1st division ratings. While in Sundown, the HS band won the Texas State Marching Band contest 2 times and was chosen to represent Texas in the National 4th of July Independence Day Parades in New York and Washington DC. The Sundown Band won the overall outstanding band award for the Washington DC parade and was invited to and performed at the White House and the base of the Statue of Liberty.
In 1990-1991, Ashbrook completed the Masters of Music degree at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, NM. The Spring of 1991 Coppell ISD hired Ashbrook as the associate director of the Coppell HS Band. At that time numbering only 120 students, the Coppell Band was poised and ready for explosive growth and distinction of excellence under the leadership of Scott Mason and Joel Ashbrook. Mason and Ashbrook nurtured the Coppell Band program and increased its size to over 260 in only 2 years, consistently placing in the top 5 bands of the state of Texas in marching and taking top honors as the State Champion Texas 4-A Honor Band in 1997-1998.
With a current enrollment of over 350, the Coppell HS Band has a 17 year tradition of excellence, is known as one of the top band programs in the United States, and was named as the Best Band Program in the country in 2001.
Ashbrook decided to move to the middle school level in 2002 to begin as the Head Director of Bands at Coppell MS North. The North Band Program has grown in size from 180 students in 2002 to over 330 students today with three full bands. The North Bands have become known locally, state-wide, and nationally as one of the finest MS band programs in the country with the following achievements:
4 years of consecutive sweepstakes awards
overall outstanding band distinction at numerous local and state festivals
78 students with 8 first chairs selected to the All-Region bands in 2006
298 1st division solo awards this past year with 12 outstanding soloists
named as the Texas Music Educators Association CC State Honor Band!
Repertoire for the past 3 years performed by the North Honor Winds includes:
Molly on the Shore
Giannini Symphony No. 3, Second Suite in F
English Folk Song Suite, 1st Suite in Eb
Suite Francaise
A Jubilant Overture
Rolling Thunder
Alfred Reeds First Suite for Band
Variations on a Korean Folk Song
Wedding Dance
Festive Overture
Eastern Intermezzo
Faero Island Dance
Robinson’s Grand Entry
Ashbrook continues to teach at Coppell MS North, and assist at the HS with the Marching Band. He is also continuing his education to complete a PhD in Education Administration from the University of North Texas.