Dr. Rob Parks is the Director of Percussion Studies at Lebanon Trail High School in Frisco, Texas. Dr. Parks also teaches the percussion students in the Lebanon Trail Cluster at Fowler Middle School and Clark Middle School, and serves as the conductor and director of the Fowler Percussion Ensemble, who were honored to perform at the 2015 Percussive Arts Society International Convention. In addition, Dr. Parks assisted the percussion section of the Liberty High School Full Orchestra in preparation for their performance at the 2015 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic.
Prior to his appointment at Lebanon Trail, Dr. Parks served as Director of Percussion at Liberty High School in Frisco and Newman Smith High School in the Carrollton, Texas. During his time at Smith, the Newman Smith Trojan Marching Band qualified for the Texas State Marching Band Contest in 2009 (6th Place) and 2011 (14th Place). Dr. Parks' students have successfully auditioned for placement in the prestigious TMEA All State Bands, TMEA Region 24 All-Region Bands and Jazz Bands and have also performed with the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra. In addition, his students have performed with drum corps such as The Cavaliers, Blue Knights, Crossmen, Madison Scouts and Southwind. Students from his studio have been accepted into the music programs at the University of Kentucky, the University of North Texas, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Texas at Arlington and Northwestern University.
Dr. Parks has previously been on the percussion faculty at the Bands of America/Music For All Summer Symposium, served on the faculty of Yamaha Sounds of Summer Camps, and has taught and arranged for high schools throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Tennessee and abroad in Japan. He is also a founding member of the UK Percussion Quartet, which performed throughout Kentucky, Tennessee and Indiana, including a performance at the first annual Bands of America National Percussion Ensemble Festival. During the summer of 1999, he was a member of the Bluecoats Drum & Bugle Corps and has served as a percussion consultant for Southwind Drum & Bugle Corps.
Dr. Parks served as a contributing composer for a multiple percussion book entitled Multitudes, edited by Dr. Andrew Bliss, published by Innovative Percussion, as well as contributing composer and assistant editor for a collection of rudimental solos in the compilation entitled The Blue Book, published by Tapspace Publications.
Dr. Rob Parks received his Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from Austin Peay State University, where he studied percussion with David Steinquest. In addition, he earned a Master's Degree in Percussion Performance and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree, both from the University of Kentucky, under the direction of Professor James Campbell.
Dr. Parks is a Yamaha Performing Artist and an endorser of Innovative Percussion Sticks & Mallets and Evans Drum Heads. He is married to Belinda, a music teacher at Borchardt Elementary in Frisco ISD and they have three daughters, Arianna, Adelyn and Ava.
