Memorial to be held tomorrow for director of bands
Fri, 2016-05-20 05:00
News Staff
By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press
Andrew Nixon, the director of bands for the Copperas Cove Independent School District and director of the Pride of Cove Band and Color Guard, passed away on Saturday morning after a battle with cancer.
At the family’s request, a memorial service will be held for Nixon at Lea Ledger Auditorium at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow. The service is open to the public.
The Pride of Cove band will not march in tomorrow morning’s Rabbit Fest parade as band members prepare for the service.
Nixon, who was in his first year at the district, was hired upon the retirement of the former band director, Randy Kelley, last May.
Under Nixon’s leadership and even after his diagnosis not long after the school year began, the Pride of Cove continued its winning ways at UIL competition, just as it did during under the direction of Kelley. Nixon led the band with the same toe-the-line approach and aim at perfection.
Even as of last Friday, Nixon relayed a message to his students that although he would no longer be able to return to work, he intended to make an appearance at the Pride of Cove’s annual awards banquet on Saturday night. That didn’t happen.
On Tuesday evening, the band held its final concert and dedicated it to Nixon.
Nixon was in his 20th year as a music educator. A native of Kingsville, Texas, he graduated from Texas A&M Kingsville in 1998 with a degree in Music Education. Nixon was formerly an associate band director at Los Fresnos ISD followed by Victoria ISD and Harlingen ISD. He also was an adjunct instructor at Victoria College, and belonged to several music groups.
Before his move to Copperas Cove in 2015, Nixon was director of bands at Cypress Fairbanks ISD near Houston, where he had been for 13 years.