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Instrumental
BRASS ENSEMBLE
This ensemble is comprised of two trumpets, a French horn, a trombone, and a tuba,
with membership selected by audition. Scholarships are available.
CONCERT BAND
This group is dedicated to performing various types of classical and popular literature.
Participation is open to anyone who has performed or played an instrument previously.
Auditions are not necessary for the Concert Band and there is no limit on the number
of members. Scholarships are available.
JAZZ BAND
The Jazz Band is an elite 18-piece big band. Students participate in a performing
ensemble that explores the entire repertoire for the big band, including (but not
limited to) dance band, swing, Latin and contemporary and current charts. This ensemble
maintains a demanding practice and performance schedule, including a spring tour that
has in the past taken the group across the U.S. and to parts of Canada and the Bahamas.
Members must audition for a spot in the group, though previous jazz experience is
not a requirement. Scholarships are available.
PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE
This ensemble introduces its members to rudimental and chamber percussion idioms.
The group is open to all instrumentalists, and is designed to develop fundamental
techniques in new percussionists while advancing the skill sets of more experienced
players. Scholarships are available.
SAXOPHONE QUARTET
The small ensemble of saxophone players introduces its members to the classical, jazz,
and pop idioms. This is an auditioned group for which scholarships are available.
Meet the Faculty
Ricky Burks
Fine and Performing Arts Department Chair
Jazz Band and Saxophone Quartet Director
A versatile musician with training in both Jazz and classical idioms, Ricky Burks earned his B.S. in Music Education from the University of North Alabama in 1990 and his M.A. from the University of North Alabama in 2000. Mr. Burks has utilized his performing skills with a number of ensembles, including groups such as the Edd Jones Orchestra, the Muscle Shoals Area Big Band, the Sammy Kaye Orchestra, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Steel City Sound, and the Russ Morgan Orchestra. He was also a founding member of the Night Life Saxophone Quartet, which has been featured on National Public Radio. In addition, he has served as an adjudicator and clinician throughout the Southeast. Mr. Burks directs the Jazz band and saxophone ensemble at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, Alabama, where he has been employed since 1990 as woodwind instructor and director of bands. Currently, Mr. Burks serves as the Chairperson of the Fine and Performing Arts at Wallace State Community College.
256.352.8287
ricky.burks@wallacestate.edu
Dr. Justin Robinson
Concert Band
Justin Robinson has taught music in varying roles at Benedict College, Northwest
Mississippi Community College, and Southaven Middle School. As a performer, Robinson
has been a member of the Aiken Symphony Orchestra and the Florence Symphony Orchestra,
directed the brass ensemble at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC, and has
performed with numerous other groups throughout the Southeast.
Robinson began his education at Mississippi State University, where he received a
Bachelor's in Music Education in 2011. From 2011-2013, he served as the trumpet graduate
assistant at The Pennsylvania State University, while earning a Master of Music degree
in Trumpet Performance. Most recently, Robinson earned his DMA in Trumpet Performance
and a Doctoral Minor in Music Theory from The University of South Carolina in 2020.
While working on his doctorate, he served as Music Theory Graduate Assistant and played
principal trumpet in the USC Symphony Orchestra.
256.352.8176
justin.robinson@wallacestate.edu
Jennie Stone
Percussion Ensemble
Jennie Stone directs the Percussion Ensemble, teaches Music Theory Lab, Private Piano and Percussion, and Class Piano, and accompanies student soloists and ensembles within the Fine & Performing Arts Department.
Mrs. Stone earned her BA in General Music from Jacksonville State University in 2018 with a primary concentration in piano and a secondary focus in percussion. She then attained her MM in Piano Performance from the University of Alabama in 2021. Before arriving at Wallace State, Mrs. Stone worked as a freelance teacher, accompanist, and arranger based in Birmingham.
256.352.8155
jennie.stone@wallacestate.edu
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