Education
- M.Ed., Lamar University
- M.A., West Texas A&M University
- B.M.Ed., West Texas A&M University
Courses
- Music Education Methods Conducting
Biography
Richard Herrera currently serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Music Department at St. Mary’s University and as a Band Consultant for schools in the San Antonio area. He was the Interim Director of Bands at Texas Lutheran University during the 2022-2023 academic year and retired as the Director of Bands at Louis D. Brandeis High School in San Antonio in May 2018. Herrera is beginning his 40th year in music education.
In Fall 2018, Herrera served as an adjunct professor at The University of Texas at San Antonio. From 2018 to 2022, he was the Student Teacher Faculty for Texas State University. A native of El Paso, Herrera graduated from El Paso Jefferson High School in 1979. He earned his Bachelor of Music Education in 1983 and Master of Arts in 1984 from West Texas State University (now West Texas A&M). He completed a Master of Education in Administration in 2009 from Lamar University.
Herrera is an active clinician and adjudicator and has served in several leadership roles, including TMEA Region 11 Band Chair, TMEA Region 16 President, ATSSB Region 16 Band Chair, TBA Region 11 Representative, and Chairman of the TBA Nominating Committee. He has also been a member of the UIL State Marching Band Committee, the TMAA Committee on Standards of Adjudication and Performance Practices, and the UIL Sight-Reading Committee. Most recently, he has been on the Board of Directors of the Texas Bandmasters Association, where he serves as Past-President and Coordinator for the Academy for New Band Directors.
In 1992, Herrera received the Certificate of Marching Excellence from the National Band Association. He has been named to Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2006, and 2009. Herrera was named Teacher of the Year for the Earl Warren High School Fine Arts Department in 2005-2006 and 2006-2007. He was a finalist for the UIL Sponsor of Excellence Award in 2007 and 2012 and won the award in 2014, one of fifteen recipients in the state.
Herrera’s marching and concert bands consistently ranked among the top 5 in the state while at Rankin High School and Brownfield High School. Under his direction, the Brownfield High School Marching Band won the 4A UIL State Marching Contest in 1992. He also opened two new 6A high schools while at Northside ISD: Earl Warren High School in 2002 and Louis D. Brandeis High School in 2008. Both programs have been consistent UIL Sweepstakes award winners in both marching and concert band and have received numerous first division, first place, second place, and “Best in Class” awards at festivals throughout Texas and Florida.
Herrera’s professional affiliations include the Texas Bandmasters Association, Texas Music Educators Association, National Band Association, Honorary Band Fraternity Phi Beta Mu, Texas Music Adjudicators Association, and the Association of Texas Small School Bands.
Herrera is married to Lucinda, his wife of 32 years. Lucinda retired in Spring 2021 as an elementary librarian in Northside ISD. They have a son, Baylor, who graduated from the University of Houston Moore’s School of Music in 2022 and is employed by Friendswood ISD as a high school assistant band director.
Awards and Honors
- Past President, Texas Bandmasters Association (TBA)
- Coordinator, Academy for New Band Directors, TBA Conventions
- Member, Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA)
- Member, Phi Beta Mu (Honorary Band Directors Fraternity)
- Recipient, University Interscholastic League Sponsor of Excellence Award
- Member, Texas Music Adjudicators Association
- All-Level Music Certification, Texas Education Agency
- Member, Kappa Kappa Psi Fraternity
- Honorary Member, Tau Beta Sigma Music Sorority