New Blinn assistant band director Carnell Simmons has come 'full circle'

Simmons was a standout student in the College's music program

February 9, 2024

Dr. Carnell Simmons keeps the first flute he ever had – a $99 instrument from Walmart.

It helps remind Simmons how far he’s come, from someone who didn’t even like the flute to Assistant Director of the Blinn College Buccaneer Band he helped lead as a drum major only a few years ago. He assumed his duties as assistant band director at the start of the spring semester.

As Simmons said, “I’ve come full circle.”

A Houston native who graduated from Waltrip High School, Simmons has journeyed far from the first classical music concert he attended as a child, a concert that changed his life.

“Why music? That’s a difficult question. Why not music? It’s literally been the catalyst for everything that has happened in my life,” he said. “It started in fifth grade. We went to the Houston Symphony. I remember hearing the orchestra play, seeing all these vibrant colors and hearing all the tones. It just made my heart so warm. I was like, ‘I want to do this’ and I haven’t looked back. Why wouldn’t you want to do something where your main job is to play music, make music, create music?”

No love for the flute – at first

Simmons knew as a child that he wanted a career in music. It didn’t begin smoothly.

“Dad played saxophone. I actually wanted to play saxophone,” he said, “but my band director at the time said, ‘I think you’d be better on the flute.’ I hated the flute until he exposed me to the great flute players like Sir James Galway. Just to hear and see a male flute player perform with such virtuosity, flexibility, elegance … I was like, ‘Maybe I can do this.’”

Simmons said he realized he needed a better flute than the Walmart instrument his parents were able to afford. He began trying to raise money for a better one.

“I would do street performing. I’d bus to areas in Houston to raise enough money for another flute,” he said.

He found an unexpected benefactor in a random couple who heard him playing and struck up a conversation.

“I said, ‘I’m trying to raise money for a better flute, that I wanted to study music and the one I had was just not going to take me where I needed to go,” Simmons said. “They went home and came back and said, ‘Hey, we got this flute for our daughter. She played it for a month. We’d like you to have it.’ It was just one of those moments that shows you’re on the right path.”

Attending Blinn a ‘no-brainer’

Simmons attended Blinn from 2012-15 after graduating from Houston’s Waltrip High School. Coming to Blinn, he said, “was a no-brainer.”

“Our band directors always brought us here for marching festivals, concert festivals, jazz events. It was far enough from home that I could get the college experience, but still be close to Houston,” he said. “Mom appreciated that.

“When I got here, I had a scholarship. I’d never had a private teacher, but at Blinn I did. I had an amazing faculty who still to this day amazes me with the amount of care and compassion and virtuosity that they have for our craft.

“I still hold them at such a high level. I hope I’ll be able to meet that level. I’m learning new things, and I’m constantly learning things from them. Ten years later, I’m still learning.”

Simmons played flute and piccolo in Blinn’s marching band his first year, then served as its drum major for two years. It was at Blinn that he met Rocky, who also was a member of the band – and a fellow flutist.

After graduating from Blinn, he earned a bachelor's degree from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, a Master of Music from Tarleton State University, and a Doctor of Music Education from Liberty University.

His professional career has included founder of Fermata Stages, serving as choir director in the Aledo school district in North Texas, involvement in two other businesses (CDSimmons Music Studios and In Tune Tutor), and providing music lessons and master class sessions.

“We’re so excited that Dr. Carnell Simmons has joined us this semester,” said Jill Stewart, Instrumental Music Coordinator and Clarinet Professor. “He was an amazing musician and student during his years at Blinn, and we knew he’d go on to great things when he transferred to TCU.

“It’s so great to have a Blinn alum working with our students. He understands what a family we are, where the students come from, and the potential in each of them. We look forward to everything he will be able to add to the Music Department in the coming years.”

John Dujka, a Music Professor who teaches piano, group piano, music theory, and history of rock and pop music, echoed that.

“We’re very happy to have Carnell back. He was an outstanding student while here at Blinn,” said Dujka. “He’s hard-working, talented, and very personable. He’s a great fit for our faculty.”

Simmons sees his role as a teacher as helping students learn to learn.

“I’ve always loved teaching. The biggest way that you can help someone is help someone learn to learn,” he said. “I’m always trying to figure out how to be a better teacher.”

Blinn’s Music Department offers small classes, one-on-one attention, practical learning, and accessible faculty so that students are actively engaged in a superior learning environment. Students can pursue an Associate of Arts Degree in Music that provides a solid foundation in the creative and technical aspects of music, including music theory, history, composition, and performance.

For more information regarding the Blinn Music Program, including scholarship and audition guidelines, visit www.blinn.edu/music.