Sing a new song unto the Lord! God blesses people with a unique ability – to create!
At Concordia, it is very important that we offer our students, families, faculty, and staff opportunities to create and experience music, theatre, and art. We believe strongly in providing a comprehensive stage of offerings for our students to develop a love for fine arts.
Over the last decade, our programs have flourished, and God has blessed Concordia with students and leaders that have taken these programs to new levels around Texas and the country. Every school year, TAPPS (Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools) distributes several select “Of the Year” awards for fine art and athletic performance and participation.
We are proud to announce that Concordia swept all three of the TAPPS 6A Fine Arts of the Year Awards for 2022-2023 school year!
Hailey Straub (Sr.) was named the TAPPS 6A Female Student of the Year.
Ephraim Iwama (Sr.) was named the TAPPS 6A Male Student of the Year.
Mr. Jonathan Held was named the TAPPS 6A Fine Arts Teacher of the Year.
A Decade of Dominance
From the school year of 2015-2016 to this past year of 2022-2023, these awards have been awarded seven (7) times. (In 2019-2020 no awards were given due to COVID.) In the past seven award seasons, Concordia has swept all three Fine Arts awards five times, including the last four seasons! The Crusaders have also been blessed to receive at least one of these three prestigious awards every year dating back to 2012-2013.
In the past decade, the Fine Arts programs have earned impressive accolades. Concordia received their first TAPPS Fine Arts of the Year award in 2012-2013. Since then, Concordia has won the Male Student of the Year nine out of ten times! The Crusaders have also won the Female Student of the Year seven times and the Teacher of the Year six times. A full list of those honorees is pictured on the side.
Award Recipient Resumes
Hailey Straub '23 excelled in Concert Choir, Handbell Choir, One Act Play, the Musical, and Art Team and for her efforts, she was selected as the TAPPS 6A Fine Arts Female Student of the Year. In TAPPS competitions this year, Hailey earned the following:
- State Champion in Instrumental Music as part of Handbell Choir
- State Champion in Vocal Music
- State Runner-Up in Art
- Individual State Champion at State Art Competition in Short Film Documentary
- Back-to-back individual state champion with her Short Film Documentary win in 2021-2022
- Handbell solo – “1” rating
- Handbell ensemble – “1” rating
- Concert Choir – “1” rating & sweepstakes award
- Women’s Chorale – “1” rating & sweepstakes award
- Vocal solo – “2” rating
- One Act Play – All-Star crew in District
Concordia’s winter musical, Disney’s Tarzan, was not a TAPPS event, but Straub was an active member of the cast as an Ape and also part of the Jungle Chorus.
Ephraim Iwama '23 excelled in Band, Jazz Band, Field Band, Concert Choir, Chamber Choir, Handbell Choir, One Act Play, and the Musical, and for his efforts, he was selected as the TAPPS 6A Fine Arts Male Student of the Year. In TAPPS competitions this year, Ephraim earned the following:
- State Champion in Instrumental Music
- State Champion in Vocal Music
- State Runner-Up in Field Band
- Symphonic Band – “1” rating & sweepstakes award
- Jazz Band – “1” rating & featured soloist
- Sader 7 Jazz Combo – “1” rating & featured soloist
- Tenor Saxophone solo – “1” rating & All-State Honors award
- Handbells – “1” rating
- Concert Choir – “1” rating & sweepstakes award
- Men’s Chorus – “1” rating & sweepstakes award
- Chamber Choir – “1” rating
- Vocal solo – “1” rating & All-State Honors award
- One Act Play – All-Star cast in District
Concordia’s winter musical, Disney’s Tarzan, was not a TAPPS event, but Iwama displayed athleticism and flare on stage in the lead role of Tarzan. For his role as Tarzan, Iwama earned two Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) Tommy Tune Award Nominations for Outstanding Lead and Outstanding Actor and won Concordia’s first Tommy Tune Award for Outstanding Actor.
Mr. Jonathan Held, Director of Fine Arts and Director of Instrumental Music, was selected as the TAPPS 6A Fine Arts Teacher of the Year. This year, under the baton of Mr. Held, his bands earned the following:
- State Champion for Instrumental Music
- Back-to-back State Titles following 2021-2022 State Championship
- State Runner-Up in Fall Field Band - Tier 1 with a “1” Rating
- State Runner-Up in Fall Drumline - Tier 2 with a “1” Rating
- Symphonic Band – “1” rating & sweepstakes award
- “1” ratings in Jazz Band and Sader 7 Jazz Combo
- 4 small ensembles – “1” rating
- 14 soloists – “1” rating
TAPPS State and Houston Metro
Another way in which Concordia’s fine arts programs have gained notoriety is through the TAPPS State Competitions each year. TAPPS awards the Henderson Cup each school year for school’s state competition results in athletics, fine arts, and academics.
In the 2022-2023 Henderson Cup, 18 schools competed in the 6A division. This year, Concordia finished 9th Overall with 61 points, but the 36 Fine Arts points was tied for the most Fine Arts points with San Antonio Antonian College Prep, resulting in CLHS being named State Champions for Overall Fine Arts. Concordia last earned this honor in 2019. Antonian claimed the Henderson Cup with a total of 113 total points for this school year.
This year specifically, our Fine Arts teams did well across the seven different competitions, earning points in five:
- In Vocal Music, our choir won the TAPPS 6A State Championship for the third consecutive school year and their 7th title in last decade (10 pts).
- In Instrumental Music, the Symphonic Band, Drumline, Field Band, Handbells, and Jazz Band ensembles combined to also win the TAPPS 6A State Championship for the second year in a row and their 4th title in the last decade (10 pts).
- The Art team earned their highest finish in school history as State Runner-Up after finished 3rd at State the previous 6 years (8 pts).
- The Cheer team represented well at the State Championships with a 3rd place finish in the Spirit Division competition (6 pts).
- Finally, our Academic/Speech/Debate team finished 6th overall thanks to a solid Speech and Debate effort (2 pts).
In 2022-2023, Concordia was the highest scoring TAPPS Fine Arts school in the Houston Metro for the 7th consecutive year across all six divisions of TAPPS, with 36 points toward the Henderson Cup. This was the second year in a row to score 36 points for Fine Arts.
Points were awarded for state competition results in Academics, Instrumental Music (Band, Drumline, Handbells, Jazz Band), Cheer, Vocal Music, Dance, and One Act Play.
Concordia does not compete in Dance and did not advance to State in One Act Play making their finish among Houston private schools quite impressive considering they recorded points in 5/7 fine art competitions.
22 out of 41 TAPPS schools (6A-1A divisions) in Houston failed to register any Fine Arts points in 2022-2023. Concordia’s 36 Fine Arts points totaled more than Cypress Christian, The Woodlands Christian, Northland Christian, Frassati Catholic, Legacy Prep, and Providence Christian’s combined total of 21.5 points.
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One of the benefits about sending your student to Concordia is the opportunity to be involved in many different activities including athletics, ag sciences, clubs/organizations, AND fine arts. Concordia has an expansive list of Fine Art opportunities for students to participate in, and we strive for excellence in everything we do. Over the last decade, several schools around the nation have had to cut fine art programs due to lack of funding. At Concordia, we value our fine arts and are very thankful for the support given to these students and faculty. Thank you, Crusaders, for blessing others with your God-given gifts and talents! We are looking forward to another great year in 2023-2024 with a full list of fine art concerts and productions.
To learn more about Fine Arts at Concordia, or any of our extra-curricular activities, visit www.SaderNationTX.com