3^rd Place Winner – $300

Daniel Garcia, saxophone
Kempner High School

Daniel Garcia, a senior at Kempner High School, began his musical journey on the saxophone in the sixth grade. Throughout the years, he has earned recognition as a three-year region band member, and a TMEA All-Area member. Daniel has also achieved distinction as an outstanding jazz player, receiving solo awards at the 2026 Blinn Jazz Competition and the 2026 University of Houston Jazz Festival. He was also a member of both All-Region and All-Area jazz. Daniel’s musical versatility is additionally shown through his early experience as a self-taught drummer, using it to play with his school’s jazz band and indoor drumline.

Following his graduation from Kempner High School, Daniel plans to continue his academic studies at the University of Houston. He also looks forward to a future in music as an educator and a performer. He credits his growth as a musician to the mentorship of his band directors—Paul Brodt, Steven Dratler, and Cameron Robillard—as well as his private instructor, Thomas Odenheimer. Their guidance inspired him to strive for excellence and have been a crucial part of his development, ultimately leading to his performance with the Woodlands Concert Band.

Rhapsody for Alto Saxophone
by André Waignein
Movement 2

2^nd Place Winner – $500

Will Cranston, trombone
George Ranch High School

George Ranch High School senior trombonist, Will Cranston, is thrilled to be a Woodlands Concert Band Concerto winner. Will has been principal trombone in the GRHS Wind Ensemble (Lamar CISD) for 4 consecutive years. He has been a member  of the TMEA All Region 13 Orchestra (’23, principal in ’24, ’25), TMEA All Region 13 Band (’22, ’23, 1^st chair in ’24, ’25), and first chair TMEA All Region 13 jazz band (’23, ’24, ’25). Subsequently, Will was honored to be a 3-time member of TMEA All-State Ensembles.

He was in the All-State Band in 2024, the Philharmonic in 2025 and was principal trombone in the Symphony Orchestra in 2026 landing a first chair tenor trombone ranking in the state of Texas. Will Cranston was principal trombone in the 2025/2026 Houston Youth Symphony and was fortunate to have been principal trombone in the World Youth Symphony at Interlochen in the summers of 2024 and 2025. While at Interlochen, Will had the privilege of working with noted conductors/artists JoAnn Falletta, Christian Măcelaru, Ray Chen and Lang Lang. Will Cranston was also awarded the Interlochen Maddy Summer Artist Award following his 2025 summer. Will has studied trombone under private instructors Ryan Rongone, Thomas Hulten and Marco Gomez.

Will Cranston will be attending the Cleveland Institute of Music in the fall and will study with Cleveland Orchestra principal trombone, Brian Wendel, along with Pittsburgh Symphony principal trombone, Peter Sullivan.

Will would like to thank Mr. Paul Worosello and members of the Woodlands Concert Band for this experience.

Concertino for Trombone and Band
by Ferdinand David trans. Charles T. Yeago
Movement 1

1^st Place Winner – $1000

Gabriel Gonzalez, clarinet
College Park High School

Gabriel Gonzalez is a junior clarinetist at The Woodlands College Park High School and a two-year Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) All-State musician. He has distinguished himself both locally and nationally, including performing as second chair in the top orchestra at the YOLA National Festival this past summer.

Gabriel studies under the guidance of Carrie Smith, a graduate of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. He is also a member of her private studio clarinet choir, “Reed Between the Lines,” where he performs as the first clarinetist. He has been consistently recognized for his musicianship, earning a place as a finalist in his school’s concerto competition for three consecutive years. In addition, he was featured as the clarinet soloist in College Park High School’s 2025–2026 marching production, Glow.

An active and dedicated ensemble musician, Gabriel serves as principal clarinetist of the College Park Wind Ensemble, which has been selected to perform at the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference in Chicago this December. He will also attend the Interlochen Arts Camp this summer.

Gabriel is honored to perform as a concerto competition winner with the Woodlands Concert Band.

Concerto No. 1 in F Minor
by C. M. von Weber trans. R. Mark Rogers
Movement 1