Jordan Orchestra
Since opening in the Fall of 2020, the orchestra program has grown to approximately 200 students in six orchestras.
In its short existence, the orchestra has set a high standard of artistic achievement. It is worth noting that the orchestra earned Sweepstakes at the UIL Concert & Sightreading evaluation in its first year amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
As individual performers, students in the orchestra have reached great heights. Members of the orchestra have performed with the TMEA All-State Orchestras at the annual Clinic and Convention in San Antonio, TX, TMEA All-Region Orchestras and the Houston Youth Symphony! March 2023, the Symphony Orchestra placed 1st in the Full Orchestra division of the National Orchestra Festival held in conjunction with the American String Teacher’s Association National Conference in Orlando, FL. In September of this year the Jordan High School Symphony Orchestra and the Jordan High School Sinfonia Orchestra were both named National Winners in the Mark of Excellence National Orchestra Honors project. In October of this year, the Jordan High School Sinfonia Orchestra was named 1st Runner-Up in the TMEA Honor String Orchestra Competition.
About the Directors
Kyle Davis is the Head Orchestra Director at Jordan High School in Katy ISD. Prior to his appointment in Katy, Mr. Davis worked for the school districts in Amarillo, Ector County, and Humble. He has also served as a clinician and adjudicator throughout Texas. Students in Mr. Davis's orchestras have been successful at All-State and All-Region auditions, solo and ensemble contests and earned multiple “Sweepstakes” at UIL Concert and Sightreading contests. In addition, his orchestras have earned numerous “Best in Class” and “Best in Festival” Awards at national music festivals.
Kyle studied music at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, TX receiving a Bachelor of Music (All-Level Certification) and a Master of Arts in Music. His teachers include Emmanuel Lopez, cellist of the Harrington String Quartet and Dr. Mark Bartley, Associate Director of the School of Music, and Associate Conductor of the Amarillo Symphony. While in school, he earned many awards as a young conductor and music education researcher. As an undergraduate, he organized and conducted several chamber music performances. This led to invitations to guest conduct the WTAMU Symphony and cover conduct on many occasions for the ensemble. Mr. Davis was one of five conducting students selected in a national search to participate in the College Orchestra Directors Association masterclass with Thomas Cockrell of the University of Arizona and Keith Lockhart of the Boston Pops. While working on his undergraduate degree, he was named a Ronald C. McNair Scholar and completed graduate-level research on UIL programming. The resulting research has won awards and been presented at the TMEA and TODA Clinic and Convention.
Upon graduating, Kyle joined the faculty at Amarillo College as the Director of Orchestral Activities and the Amarillo Opera as an assistant conductor. While at AC, the orchestra grew in membership orchestra and developed into a fully symphonic ensemble. In 2011, he made his professional opera conducting debut with the Amarillo Opera’s Production of Joshua’s Boots, an opera by Adolphus Hailstork.
Mr. Davis is married to Heather Davis, Head Orchestra Director at Sartartia MS in Fort Bend ISD and they have a four-year old son and future cellist, Grayson.
Sunny Yam is proud to be the first Assistant Orchestra Director at Jordan High School in Katy ISD.
Prior to working in Katy, Mr. Yam began his first teaching engagement in 2019 as the assistant orchestra director at Deer Park High School in Deer Park ISD. During his directorship, the Deer Park HS Orchestra achieved several new records and milestones, including 30 students qualifying for Region Orchestra, six different orchestra groups each receiving sweepstakes at UIL, and an enrollment number of over 200 students.
Mr. Yam’s professional memberships include Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), Texas Orchestra Directors Association (TODA), American String Teachers Association (ASTA), and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (ΦMA).
Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Mr. Yam began his musical studies at the age of six with piano lessons, followed by playing clarinet in band in middle school. He began playing the viola in high school, performing in the orchestra at Clear Lake High School under the directorship of John Law, Kevin Black, and Bryan Buffaloe, while studying viola privately under Pei-Ling Hwang. The Clear Lake HS Orchestra performed at TMEA twice as the Honor Full Orchestra in 2013 and Honor String Orchestra in 2014, and at Alice Tully Hall in New York City in 2013 for the National Orchestra Cup, in which the Symphony Orchestra took first prize.
Mr. Yam completed his Bachelor of Music in Music Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), where he was a scholarship student and graduated with honors. He studied viola performance with Allyson Dawkins, string pedagogy with Dr. Kristen Pellegrino & Dr. Eugene Dowdy, conducting with Dr. John Zarco, and music theory & psychology with Dr. Stacey Davis.
While at UTSA, Mr. Yam performed on clarinet in the University Band and viola in the UTSA Orchestra. He was the Orchestra's equipment manager and principal violist for notable performances, including a collaboration with baroque violinist Rachel Podger, a performance at TMEA as the Invited College Orchestra, the UTSA Lyric Theatre's production of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, and a tour through the Rio Grande Valley region. He also participated in viola master classes with Lila Brown and Rita Porfiris.
Mr. Yam was a teacher in the UTSA String Project, and also taught violin and viola privately throughout San Antonio; many of his private students went on to qualify for Region Orchestra and the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio (YOSA).
He completed teacher observations at various schools throughout Northeast ISD and Northside ISD, culminating in his student teaching at Rawlinson Middle School with Sophie Renker and Clark High School with Teresa Nguyen.
Outside of college, Mr. Yam performed in various local community orchestras, including Alamo City Symphony Viva and the South Texas Symphonic Orchestra.
Outside of teaching and performing music, Mr. Yam enjoys reading, singing, milk tea, and Korean BBQ, and is an avid enthusiast of video games, anime/manga, and history.