Arts
Hudson Hawk Band
About the Hawk Band
The Hudson Band is home to over 330 talented musicians in 6-8 grade. We are the biggest band in GISD!
In 2024-2025, our students participated in Solo & Ensemble contests and earned 281 1st division medals. We had 77 students nominated for Outstanding Soloist and Outstanding Ensemble awards and 11 students chosen as the Outstanding Soloist or Outstanding Ensemble of their contest.
Our Wind Symphony and Honors Band students auditioned for both the GISD All-District and TMEA Region 3 All-Region Bands and 50 students earned a chair in one or both of the bands, the most in the whole district
All 3 of our Advanced Bands earned Sweepstakes Awards at their UIL evaluations in April, the only band program in the district to achieve this honor! For the second year in a row, our Hawk Select Beginner Band were named Best In Class at the Epic Music Festival.
Our Beginner Band students auditioned for the GISD All-Star Band in April and we had 21 students earn a chair (3 were first chair)!
Our Jazz Band performed at the first ever GISD Jazz Festival. They earned 3rd place overall in the festival and 2 students were selected as Jazz All-Stars by the judges.
Our Wind Symphony Percussion Ensemble performed at the 50th annual Music For All National Festival in Indianapolis, and were one of only 2 middle school percussion ensembles in the country invited to perform.
Our Wind Symphony band won 1st place at the Region level of the TMEA CCC Honor Band contest, took 2nd place at the Area level, and made it all the way to the Semi-Finals, making them one of the top 21 bands in the entire state!
In 2019 we were the first middle school band program in GISD to have 3 bands earn a Sweepstakes award at UIL in the same year. We are history makers! We are proud of the work our students do in and outside of the classroom and look forward to continuing that legacy each year. We are happy to say our band is a family and we love and support each other through our trials and successes. We have an amazing booster club, with incredibly supportive parents who work hard to help provide fun experiences and meaningful events for our students. Please join us!
Meet our band directors
Heather Becker
Band Director
Email Mrs. Becker
Chris Clark
Assistant Band Director
Email Mr. Clark
Rachel Ball
Assistant Band Director
Email Ms. Ball
Future Hawk band students
We believe that the instrument usually chooses the child! The best way to select a child's primary band instrument is to have them go through the process of trying out their top 3-5 choices. Your HMS Band directors are experienced and knowledgeable in helping select instruments based on physical and academic needs, strengths, and weaknesses.
Traditionally, we decide on instrument choices at one of our scheduled Instrument Selection drives. The Instrument Selection drives for the 2025-2026 school year will be held in late April. All instrument fittings will take place in the band hall at Hudson. We can't wait to see you there!
Instrument covers of songs
Curious about what each instrument sounds like? Take a listen to the videos below:
Selecting your band instrument
**Disclaimer** If you have already chosen an instrument to play next year, we still need you to go through Steps 1-3 so we can ensure you are enrolled in the correct class.
- Sign up for a time slot to meet with a band director for instrument selection.
- Find the supply list below that corresponds to your student's chosen instrument, after you have met with us, and make sure you secure the needed instrument/supplies prior to the first day of school.
- Secure your instrument and/or supplies before the first day of school. It is important to obtain an instrument from one of our recommended music stores, if at all possible. If you choose to get an instrument elsewhere, please contact us prior to purchasing so we can ensure you are getting a good quality instrument that will last. We can also help you find great, used instruments for very reasonable prices.
Supply lists by instrument
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
Clarinet
Saxophone
Trumpet
French Horn
Trombone
Euphonium
Tuba
Percussion
We are so excited to have you join the HMS band family! No matter what your musical background is, we have a place for your child in the Hudson band program. Although our Beginner Band is typically made up of 6th grade students, we also welcome 7th and 8th grade students to join our program! We will help you decide which instrument best fits your child and we will communicate any schedule changes with our wonderful counselors.
We will communicate any schedule changes with our wonderful counselors. Please feel free to email your directors with any questions you may have.
Hudson Art
Art courses are very popular at Hudson! All our art courses are two semesters and are offered for all grade levels. Students taking art are able to explore creative options and experiment with a wide range of art materials and tools. Students design original works through drawing, painting, and mixed media processes. We work to help every student reach their creative potential.
Hudson Choir
About our choirs
The Hudson Choir has 270 students in 6-8 grade. We are one of the most successful choirs in the district. We took 77 soloists to our 2021 solo/ensemble contest and 12 ensembles. Every solo and group received a top score at the contest! We took home 251 medals!
In 2021, we had 28 of our students make the TMEA All Region Choir. This was an incredible accomplishment. Over 600 students auditioned for the choir from many different school districts throughout the region. In 2022, all four of our choirs earned the Sweepstakes award at the UIL Concert and Sightreading Evaluation. In fact, the last time any of the Hudson Choirs received a division 2 rating was back in 2012.
In 2016, we were an invited performing choir at the Texas Music Educators Association Convention. This distinguished honor ranked us as one of the top choirs in the state. The Hudson Choir regularly receives superior ratings at contests. We are very proud of our accomplishments. We are most proud of the relationships our choir students make with teachers and each other. We often refer to our group as “choir familia.” We care about one another, work as a team, and support each other at all times. We believe this is the foundation to our success.
Meet our choir directors!
Destiny Cookus - Choir Director
Savanna Singleton - Assistant Choir Director
Hudson Theatre
Join our theater program
The Hudson Middle School Theater Program emphasizes giving students students life skills through acting and stage tech. In theater class you will develop communication skills, body movement, basic light and sound tech, makeup and costume creation. Students will also learn about a variety of tools and building techniques to help imagine, create, and maintain sets and construction projects. We work in groups to create performances at all levels.
Our theater company puts on at least 4 performances each year: UIL One Act Play competition, a holiday show, Hudson's spring open-audition dinner theater, and a 2 act spring production. Our theatre students house some of the most creative and talented students in Garland ISD! We pride ourselves on helping students find where they belong and we welcome all students with open arms!
