Todd Clearwater has been a band director for 38 years. He retired from the classroom in 2022
after 34 years, 30 of them in the Klein Independent School District in northwest Houston.
Mr. Clearwater was raised near Denver, Colorado and began playing the trombone in the 4th
grade. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music Education at New Mexico State University in
Las Cruces, NM and did his student teaching in El Paso, TX which is where he made the
connection to band in Texas. During his career he has taught concert band, beginning band,
marching band, jazz band, orchestra, AP Music Theory, and IB Music. He has been the
associate conductor of the full orchestra at Klein High school where he was integrally involved
with winning three TMEA Honor Full Orchestra titles, and also at Klein Oak High School where
the full orchestra performed at The Midwest Clinic in 2014. Mr. Clearwater has conducted
three additional times at Midwest with two feeder program middle school bands and a middle
school orchestra which he mentors.
Mr. Clearwater became the head band director at Klein Oak High School in 2005. He grew the
program from 145 students to well over 300. All levels of band were successful at Klein Oak
with four concert bands regularly earning first division ratings at UIL evaluations. In 2016, the
Klein Oak Wind Ensemble performed at the Music for All National Concert Band Festival. In
2021 the band was a Commended Winner in the National Wind Band Honors and in 2022 was
a National Winner.
Mr. Clearwater has been very active in music education leadership roles in Texas. He served
as the TMEA Region 9 Band Division Chairman for eight years and as the TMEA Area F
chairman for both All-State auditions and the Honor Band process for six. He has served
multiple terms on the TMEA / UIL Music Advisory Committee and served as the chairman of
the 5A All-State auditions in 2019. He has served on the Board of Directors for Alpha Chapter
of Phi Beta Mu, ending with his term as president for 2016 – 2018.
Currently, in his “retirement”, Mr. Clearwater supports many young teachers and their programs
in the Houston area by serving as a clinician and individual mentor. He also acts as a
University Supervisor for music education students from the University of Houston during their
student teaching experience. He judges both UIL Marching Band contests and Concert &
Sightreading Evaluations, as well as some local festivals. And finally, he is a co-conductor of
the Cypress Winds Community Band. The Cypress Winds is composed entirely of music
education professionals from greater northwest Houston. It is the mission of the group to
provide a place for teachers at all levels to continue to develop as musicians and teachers, to
interact as colleagues, and to promote wind band to the general public through concerts.
