AHS COLTS Band Booster Club
Directors
Nathan Burum
Director of Bands
Nathan Burum has been at AHS for 9 years and is the director of the Symphonic band. He founded the Basketball Band where the band adds a fun and dynamic atmosphere for both women’s and men’s teams. Prior to coming to AHS, Mr. Burum taught band at Ferguson JH and Williams Elementary for two years. Mr. Burum is very familiar with the successful bands in the area as he is a product of the Arlington ISD having attended Butler ES, Shackelford JH, and Lamar HS. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Texas Tech University where he studied under Anthony Brittin and Christopher Smith. At Tech, Mr. Burum performed under the direction of Keith Bearden with the Concert Band, Court Jesters, and the Goin’ Band from Raiderland where he was Section Leader and a Band Wagon Driver. He is currently working on his Master’s degree from the Vandercook College of Music in Chicago, Ill. Mr. Burum comes from a long line of educators who teach or have taught in Arlington and the surrounding area.
Nathan Hervey
Associate Director of Bands & Director of Jazz
Nathan Hervey is the director of concert band and jazz ensembles and assists with the Marching Band. Mr. Hervey is a graduate of Bowie HS, UT Arlington and The University of North Texas where he earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education and a Master of Music degree in Trombone performance. While at UTA he performed with the jazz orchestra, wind ensemble, trombone choir, jazz combo and the Marching Band. While at UNT, he performed with the Symphony Orchestra, trombone choir and the 2 o'clock lab band.
Brian Lowe
Associate Director of Bands & Director of Percussion
Brian “Chavez” Lowe holds a BA in Music Education from University of Texas at Arlington where he served as a leader for the UTA drum line as well as a member of many performing ensembles. Brian has also been heavily involved as a performer with Drum Corps International starting in 1993. He marches as a member of the Skyryders (De Soto, TX), the Velvet Knights (Anaheim, CA) and the Blue Knights (Denver, CO). Additionally, Brian has been a member of the Dallas Mavericks Drum Line since 2004 and frequently performs all over Dallas/Fort Worth with a high-energy drum ensemble Dynamic Rhythm Entertainment.
Brian has also been involved as an educator on many levels with several different organizations. He worked in public education as a Percussion/Assistant Band Director for over 12 years. His programs included Lamar HS and Martin HS (Arlington, TX), Fossil Ridge HS (Keller, TX) and Richland HS (North Richland Hills, TX). Brian has also been on the educational team for many groups involved in Drum Corps International. Since 1998, he has taught with the Blue Knights, (Denver, CO), Phantom Regiment (Rockford, IL) and the Santa Clara Vanguard (Santa Clara, CA). Brian has also served as a clinician and judge for several Dallas/Fort Worth percussion programs and drum competitions. He currently serves as an Educational Artist for Ahead drumsticks and Remo Drum Heads.
Allie Mahmood
Assistant Director of Bands & Director of Woodwinds
Allie Mahmood is a DFW native and a 2020 graduate from the University of North Texas. Allie was previously the assistant band director at Sam Houston High School in Arlington and was most recently the assistant band director at Travis Middle School in Irving, before coming to Arlington High School. In her free time, she is a freelance flute player and is the operations manager / social media coordinator for a non-profit performing arts organization in Dallas.
Franklin Garza
Director of Colts Visual Ensemble
Franklin Garza is from Arlington, Texas. He began his dance and performance career with the Sam Houston High School Colorguard and Dance program.
He eventually joined Winter Guard International and Drum Corps International, where the members are expected to compete at a high level of excellence. These organizations helped develop his passion for dance. In 2010 he danced for Tarrant County College, where he was a member of the dance company and performed numerous times throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth area. In 2011 he was accepted to the Dance Program at Texas Woman's University where he worked toward his BA in Dance Performance. He performed many pieces with the Dance Program at TWU and performed with TWU at ACDFA.
He began teaching dance and colorguard in 2009, where he specialized in movement. He has been teaching at many prestigious guard and dance programs in Texas, such as CGT Ft Worth Independent Winterguard, Insignia Independent Winterguard, BlackGold Independent Winterguard, Eagle Mountain Independent, Aledo High School, Rowlett High School, and Odessa High School. He has worked with dance studios such as Power House of Dance, United Performing Arts Studio, and Moving Canvas Dance Space. Franklin continues to grow as an educator and performer and finds great joy in being a member of the performing arts community.