BHS Area Orchestra Directors
Berkner High School Orchestra
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Mr. Needham has been involved with orchestral music since he held his first cello at the age of nine. A two-time All-State orchestra member and graduate of Caprock High School in Amarillo, Texas, Mr. Needham went on to graduate with honors from the University of North Texas with a Bachelors in Music Education.
After student teaching with Sharon Veazey in Denton, Tx, Mr. Needham went on to teach at Westwood Jr High in Richardson, Clark High School in Plano, Amarillo High School, and currently as the Head Orchestra director at Berkner High School. An avid performer, Mr. Needham has performed with 9 different professional symphony orchestras, most recently as a member of the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician, he has been associated with the Vienna Conspiracy String Quartet for 15 years. In the summer, Mr. Needham teaches at the Texas Tech Band and Orchestra camp.
While in the Dallas area, Mr. Needham has served as the assistant conductor for the New Conservatory of Dallas. Mr. Needham’s groups have consistently won top honors at UIL contest, the Myerson Orchestra Festival, Sandy Lake Orchestra Festival, Greater Southwest Music Festival, and at numerous other festivals. The AHS “Sandie Orchestra” was recognized as the Grand Champion orchestra at Musicfest Orlando and in 2004, they toured Hawaii. The Berkner High School Symphony Orchestra was selected as the 2006-2007 TMEA String Honor Orchestra.
In 2003, Mr. Needham was awarded the Marjorie Keller Young Teacher Award, given to him by the Texas chapter of the American String Teachers Association. Mr. Needham has served in leadership capacities as TMEA Region Chair, UIL Sight Reading committee, president of the Amarillo Youth Symphony board, TMEA Honor Orchestra Committee, and the UIL Music Advisory Committee. Mr. Needham is currently the Region Chair for TMEA Region 3 and serves as the Member At Large on the Executive Board of the Texas Orchestra Directors Association. Mr. Needham is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Orchestra Directors Association, and the Texas Adjudicators Association. When he is not teaching, Mr. Needham enjoys playing golf, traveling, and spending time with his wife, Susan, and his two daughters, Kayla and Sydney.
Mark Davenport (BHS Associate Director)
Mr. Davenport has been in the teaching profession for 23 years. He has taught in Dallas, Richardson, Plano, Mesquite, and is very pleased to be back in Richardson, where he resides with his wife and two kids (and 2 Siberian dwarf hamsters).
Mr. Davenport earned his Bachelors of Music from Wayne State College (Wayne, Nebr.), where he performed on numerous “Honor” recitals. His Masters of Music was earned at Ball State University (Muncie, IN), where he was a graduate assistant. At BSU, he was fortunate enough to have been able to study with two wonderful “artist in residence” violinists, Eugen Prokop, and Demitry Sitkovetsky. Mr. Davenport was also a graduate concerto winner, served as concertmaster of the Whitewater Opera Co., and a member of the Pi Kappa Lambda. His favorite memory was receiving the Pollensa Summer Music Scholarship, which allowed him to study in Pollensa-Mallorca, Spain for a summer. During his 23 years in the DFW area, Mr. Davenport has performed in many of the area orchestras, served as concertmaster of the Garland Symphony and New Irving Philharmonic, as well as soloist with the Garland Symphony.
During Mr. Davenports many years of teaching, he has had several outstanding groups, along with a number of students selected into Region and State orchestras. He has been honored on two occasions as a “Most Influential” teacher in the Pearce HS area, as well as listed numerous times in “Who’s Who in Americas Teachers”. Mr. Davenport is kept very busy with his soccer playing kids (one select and one rec), and when there is “free” time, he enjoys playing with his kids, riding his mountain bike, and woodworking.
Janet Paderewski (BHS Associate Director)
Ms. Paderewski graduated from the University of North Texas with a music degree. She was the conductor at Richardson Junior High School from 1982-1999. After that, she taught in Mesquite for one year and taught in Plano for three years. She is glad to be back at RJHS.
Ms. Paderewski has played the piano since age 8 and has played the cello since age 10. Her father was a cellist. She believes music teaches us more than just the notes on the page - its about self-motivation, responsibility, teamwork and determination. Playing music well is an experience that enriches the lives of the students and their families and friends.
Her groups have received Superior ratings at UIL and the Meyerson Festival and "Best in Class" at Sandy Lake. She has received a Texas PTA life membership and is a proud recipient of the greatest honor possible for an RISD teacher, the 'RISE' award.
Her hobbies are sewing, reading, gardening, photography and singing in choirs. She lives with her two cats named Audrey and Sebastian.
Lynne Thornton (Apollo Director)
Lynne Thornton has been a music educator in the Dallas area for 19 years. Having grown up in Pasadena, Texas, Mrs. Thornton moved to North Texas in 1980 and earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music Education from the University of North Texas. Her teaching career has included orchestra positions in the Richardson, Denton, and Carrollton-Farmers Branch school districts. Under Mrs. Thornton’s direction, the Strickland Junior High School Orchestra of Denton was selected as the winner of the 1989 TMEA Junior High Honor Orchestra Competition. From 1997 to 2002 she held the position of orchestra director at Bowman Middle School in Plano ISD. She then joined the string faculty in Allen ISD as orchestra director at Ford Middle School from 2002-2004.
Currently she is the orchestra director at Apollo Junior High in Richardson ISD. Her responsibilities include directing the Symphony I, Symphony II, and Concert II orchestra classes as well as the Dartmouth Elementary string class. She holds membership in Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Orchestra Directors Association, and Texas Music Adjudicators Association She has judged festivals and UIL contests throughout Texas. Mrs. Thornton has also been a guest conductor for several region orchestras in the state.
Besides teaching strings, Mrs. Thornton has also directed church choirs and taught early childhood music classes. She resides in the Lake Highlands area of Dallas with her husband, John, and their sons, Patrick and Thomas.
Jody Cies (Apollo Associate Director)
Jody Cies graduated from the University of Dubuque in Iowa, with a Bachelor of Music degree. Currently in her eighteenth year of teaching, this is Mrs. Cies’ seventh year as Assistant Orchestra Director at Apollo Junior High. In addition to teaching in Richardson, she has taught in Dallas and Garland. Her groups have consistently earned outstanding ratings at contests and competitions.
Mrs. Cies is a violinist with the Richardson Symphony Orchestra and performs in other civic and church ensembles as well. Her professional affiliations include TMEA and TODA. She has served as Region III Junior High School Co-Chairman and has been the Coordinator for the RISD Annual Sixth Grade String Fling numerous times.
Mrs.Cies lives in Richardson with her husband, Tom, along with Slick and Cookie her cat and dog. Andrew, 20, is a sophomore at Texas A&M University in College Station and Rachel, 18, is a freshman at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.
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Ms. Su is a recent graduate of Baylor University majoring in Music Education. She was started on the violin at the young age of five under the direction of her father. Ms. Su graduated from Berkner High School and was a two-time Texas All-State Orchestra Member.
While at Baylor University, Ms. Su played in the Baylor Symphony under the direction of Maestro Stephen Heyde and was a private violin teacher for Midway ISD . Also, under the direction of Dr. Michael Alexander, she was one of the original teachers that started the Baylor String Project. The Baylor String Project was a supplemental orchestra class that met after school for Waco ISD and Midway ISD students. Ms. Su recently did her student teaching in Allen ISD with David DeVoto.
In the summer of 2008, Ms. Su studied abroad in China with Baylor University and attended a chamber music festival at New York University. An avid performer, she has performed with Allen Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Waco Symphony, and Temple Symphony. Also, she performs with her string quartet at various weddings and events. She is also a member of the Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Orchestra Directors Association, and The National Association for Music Education.
When Ms. Su is not teaching, she enjoys travelling, going to the movies, shopping, and catching up with friends and family.
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