Tammy Sangster - Ramsey Junior High -tsangster@fortsmithschools.org 479-783-6247
Steven M. Kesner
Steven M. Kesner is in his 33rd year as a high school band director in Arkansas. A graduate of Southside High School, Mr. Kesner played in the Rebel Band under the direction of Stanley H. Cate, was drum major, and was a member of the Arkansas All-State Band. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music Education from Arkansas Tech University as a trombone major. While at Tech, Mr. Kesner played in the Tech Band under the baton of Gene Witherspoon and studied trombone with Mr. Andy Anders. He earned his Master of Education Degree in Educational Administration from the University of Arkansas.
Mr. Kesner has taught at Southside for 18 years. He has served as director of the Southside Sophomore Band, Southside Concert Band, Southside Symphonic Band, and currently conducts the Southside Wind Symphony. He is in his ninth year as Director of Bands and serves as chairman of the SHS fine arts department. Prior to coming to Southside, he served as band director at Hazen High School and Greenwood High School. In addition to being director of the Wind Symphony, Mr. Kesner is director of the SHS Jazz Band and shares direction of the Rebel Marching Band with Mr. Carrier and Mr. Ray.
Steve Kesner’s professional affiliations include Phi Beta Mu International Band Fraternity where he has served as President of the Arkansas chapter, the Arkansas Bandmasters Association, the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association, and serves on the ATU Summer Band Camps Board. Mr. Kesner was selected as the 2009 Arkansas Bandmaster of the Year and was presented this career achievement award at the ABA Convention in Little Rock. Steve’s wife, Brenda, teaches kindergarten at Woods Elementary School and they have two daughters, Sarah Davis, who teaches 1st grade at Mountain Home and is married to Mountain Home band director Chris Davis, and Rebecca, who is a freshman at ATU.
Sean Carrier
Sean Carrier is in his 17th year of teaching. He is a 1990 graduate of Cabot High School where he was drum major and an All-State Band member. Mr. Carrier is a 1994 graduate of Louisiana Tech University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education as a clarinet major and in 2007 he earned his Masters Degree in Educational Leadership from Harding University (both suma cum laude). While at LTU, Mr. Carrier was drum major for three years.Mr. Carrier is in his ninth year at Southside. He directs the symphonic band and shares the Rebel Marching Band with Mr. Kesner and Mr. Ray. He also assists at Ramsey and Chaffin Junior Highs. Prior to teaching at Southside, he taught for one year at Magnolia Junior High School and for seven years at Cabot Junior High South.
Sean Carrier is a member of Phi Beta Mu International Band Fraternity, the American School Band Directors Association, the Arkansas Bandmasters Association, and the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association. In 2000, the Cabot Junior High South Band under his direction was selected to perform as the Arkansas Honor Band at the Ark-La-Tex Band Conference. In 2001, Mr. Carrier was selected as the ASBDA Outstanding Young Band Director for the state of Arkansas and was later honored as the ASBDA award winner for the eight-state south/central region of the United States. In 2006, Mr. Carrier was chosen as the Shelby Breedlove Outstanding Educator in Fort Smith by the Fort Smith Jaycees. In 2008, Mr. Carrier was chosen as the Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year.
Mr. Carrier’s wife, Sarah, is a stay-at-home mom with their twins. Sarah Carrier is a former member of the Louisiana All-State Band and Choir. The Carriers have 2 children - Timothy Edward and Molly Katherine who are 2 (the fun never ceases). Mr. Carrier’s family and students are his pride and joy.
Jennifer Steele
Jennifer Steele is in her seventeenth year as Director of Bands at Chaffin Junior High. A graduate of Paragould High School, she was a three-time All-State Band member. Mrs. Steele attended Northeast Louisiana University and earned her BME in School Music from Georgia Southern University. She holds a Master’s Degree in Administration from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and completed her building principal licensure requirements at Arkansas Tech University.
Prior to coming to Chaffin, Mrs. Steele was Director of Bands for the Mansfield Public Schools for six years. Mrs. Steele is a past president, and currently serves on the Executive Advisory Board of the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association. She is a member of the American School Band Directors Association, Phi Beta Mu, and the Arkansas Bandmasters Association. Mrs. Steele was selected as “Distinguished Young Band Director” for Arkansas in 2000 by the ASBDA. Mrs. Steele and her husband Mark have two children, Lindsey and Lauren.
Josh Ray
Josh Ray is in his fifth year of teaching in the Fort Smith Public Schools. Mr. Ray teaches beginner students at Chaffin and directs the Chaffin Eighth Grade Band as well as the Southside Concert Band.
Mr. Ray is a graduate of Chaffin Junior High and Southside High School. At Southside, Mr. Ray was a member of the Arkansas All-State Jazz and Concert Bands. Also while at Southside, Mr. Ray was a proud member of the rebel football team and received many athletic honors culminating with his induction into the High School Football Hall of Fame.
Following graduation, Mr. Ray attended Arkansas Tech University where he was a member of Arkansas’ Band of Distinction. Throughout college, Mr. Ray was an active performer and soloist with the Arkansas Tech University Trumpet Ensemble, the Brass Quintet, and the Brass Choir. While at Arkansas Tech, Mr. Ray served as principal trumpet and had the honor of premiering two new compositions for solo trumpet. Mr. Ray has performed throughout the southern states and spent three months working and teaching at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in Northern Michigan where he taught students from all over the globe. Mr. Ray graduated magna cum laude from ATU in the spring of 2006 with a Bachelor Degree in Instrumental Music Education and is currently pursuing a Master Degree in Educational Leadership at Arkansas Tech University.
Mr. Ray has been married for four and a half years to former Southside Dixie Belle Captain and Ramsey band member, Sarah Clutts Ray. Mrs. Ray is a counselor at Northside.
John Combs
John Combs is a graduate of Walnut Ridge High School where he was a member of the Arkansas All State Band as well as the All State Choir. His B.A. in Music Education from Arkansas Tech was earned under the direction of Gene Witherspoon and his M.M.E. from Arkansas State University was at the baton of Don Minx. He has served as State Chairman of American School Band Directors Association, State President of Arkansas School Band & Orchestra Association, President of the Arkansas Bandmasters Association and a is member of Phi Beta Mu Honorary Band Fraternity.
Mr. Combs has received numerous personal awards, most recently being named as the Arkansas Bandmaster of the Year for 2005. Some of Mr. Combs’s previous honors include the prestigious ASBDA Stanbury Award as the National Young Band Director of the Year, as well as being named as an Outstanding Young Man of America. During his 30+ year teaching career, Mr. Combs has earned consistent Arkansas Sweepstakes honors for his programs. Previous teaching positions include Hazen, Greenwood, Southwest Jr. High in Springdale, and Lakeside Jr. High in Hot Springs. Mr. Combs is a respected adjudicator and sought after clinician, bringing learning and fun together at clinic events. He has served the Arkansas Bandmasters Association as clinician and moderator.
A recently retired US Army Reservist, Mr. Combs spent 28 years serving his country in various Army Reserve units in Arkansas and Oklahoma. When not in Fort Smith, you will find John enjoying a game of golf with his wife Suzi just outside Hot Springs in the Diamondhead Community.
Nancy Sikes
Nancy Sikes is in her 16th year as majorette sponsor and coach at Southside. She works with the majorettes during marching season and gives clinics and lessons during the spring and summer months. Mrs. Sikes teaches music at Barling and Carnall Elementary School and is also majorette coach at Chaffin Junior High.
A graduate of Ashdown High School, Mrs. Sikes was in the Ashdown High School Band where she was a majorette and a member of the All-State Band on clarinet. She attended Ouachita Baptist University where she was a majorette and received both her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music Degrees from the University of Arkansas as a piano and voice major. While at the University, she was a majorette for the Marching Razorback Band and was on the staff of the U of A Summer Twirling Camp. She has taught elementary and secondary music at Ashdown, Gentry, and Duncan, Oklahoma, and public school music at Westark College. Nancy and her husband Bruce, live in Fort Smith. Their daughter, Carol, is a music major at UCA.
Melissa Udouj
Melissa Udouj is in her ninth year as majorette coach at Southside. She works with the SHS Majorettes and teaches many private majorette lessons and designs twirling routines. Mrs. Udouj also coaches the majorettes at Ramsey Junior High School.
Mrs. Udouj is a graduate of Paris High School where she played clarinet and bass clarinet and was captain of the majorette line that received first place at the U of A Camp for three years. She is a graduate of the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and was a majorette for the Marching Razorback Band. Mrs. Udouj was a flight attendant for ten years for American Airlines and took early retirement in 2001. She is married to Dr. Henry Udouj, DDS. They have a daughter, Isabella, and a son, Henry. The Udouj family lives in Fort Smith.
Saige Small
Saige Small in is her 1st year as Southside Colorguard Director. She is a 2004 graduate of Van Buren High School and a 2009 graduate of ATU where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and sociology. Saige has been an active performer with color guards for 12 years and has been an instructor for 6 years. She has worked for several schools across northwestern and central Arkansas including Fort Smith Southside, Dover, Dardanelle, Cedarville, Waldron, Atkins, Morrilton, Darby Junior High, Lavaca, and North Little Rock. Saige served as captain of ATU’s Color Guard for 4 years and also worked as a color guard clinician for the ATU Band Camps. She worked as the ATU Band Camp Secretary from 2006-2009 and was a 2009 recipient of Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities. Saige is an alumnus of the national band sorority Tau Beta Sigma. She currently resides in Fort Smith where she works with at-risk youth.
Josh Knight
Josh Knight is in his first year as an adjunct teacher at Southside. He is the newly appointed instructor of percussion at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith. Knight received BM and MM degrees from the University of Central Arkansas in percussion performance, studying under Blake Tyson, Thomas Burritt and Ben Finley. While at Central Arkansas, Knight instructed the drum-line and front ensemble, conducted the percussion ensemble, and taught applied lessons. Knight also appeared regularly with the Conway Symphony and Pine Bluff Symphony Orchestras. Knight is currently finishing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Oklahoma where he instructed and arranged for the Pride of Oklahoma marching band, taught undergraduate applied lessons, performed numerous recitals, and instructed percussion methods and drum-set classes. While in Oklahoma, Knight held positions at Norman High School, Oklahoma Baptist University, and Oklahoma City Community College. Knight has appeared recently with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Lawton Philharmonic Orchestras and is a member of the Ft. Smith Symphony Orchestra. Among the numerous awards and honors Knight has received throughout his career, the most current include the Ronald Dyer award for excellence in the area of percussion awarded by the University of Oklahoma in 2008 and participation in the semi-final round of the Southern California International Marimba Competition in 2009. Knight is a member of the Percussive Arts Society, College Music Society, and ASBOA.
