By: Dr. Andrew Yox, Honors Director
Kenny Goodson of Hughes Springs is a master of today’s intersection between original musical composition, and high-tech software which helps to facilitate the conversion of musical ideas to published scores. In 1995, Goodson initiated MADD Creations which provides original and adapted scores for marching bands throughout the state. In addition to being a former band director at Mount Pleasant, and other high schools, Goodson is the former Director of Computer Services at Northeast Texas Community College. With this wealth of experience, Goodson is also scoring a third, feature-length NTCC Webb/honors film in as many years. This year’s topic is Carroll Shelby, the emissary of the Muscle Car, and the philanthropist who has given a special edge to NTCC’s automotive program since 2007.
“I am excited about composing music for the story of Carroll Shelby. There are some interesting musical opportunities that arise when one considers fresh topics such as drama of racing, the exuberance of speed, and Shelby’s unique Texas story.”
Goodson’s music for the official trailer of the upcoming film, to be premiered at the Whatley Auditorium on 25 March, can now be found on YouTube on the NTCC honors film site, <www.ntcc.edu/honorsfilms>. One may also experience his scores for past films on this site.
One can sense the enthusiasm Goodson feels for the Shelby story by experiencing the two-and-a-half-minute trailer. At the onset, a mesmerizing weave on the piano asserts the key film motif, that speed remained an obsession for Shelby throughout his life. His victory at Le Mans, and triumphs as America’s leading car racer in 1956 and 1957 are then dramatized by the onset of another theme played by the bass violin. Tragedy strikes for the Camp-County-born racer in 1961 when a chronic heart condition forces him from racing, and the musical tension culminates and breaks, perfectly in sync with the action. Shelby readjusts to a Muscle-Car developer, and Goodson’s music modulates immediately into a rallentando, and into the onset of a middle-sonata section, communicating new hope. Finally layer after layer of independent sequences are cumulated, with an almost madcap xylophone taking over from the earlier piano “speed theme” as the final question is asked about Shelby’s ultimate significance for Texas.
Goodson was a student composer at Stephen F. Austin University, where his music was performed by the Lumberjack Marching Band, and various jazz groups throughout the state. He has composed throughout his life—mostly for Texas bands. The other two films scored by Goodson are also available on the NTCC honors film site above—the story of Bo Pilgrim, and the saga of Adina De Zavala, featuring the “second siege of the Alamo.”
Honors Director, Dr. Andrew Yox notes that “we are indebted to Mr. Goodson for the musical verve and exuberance with which he has adorned our NTCC films. The judges in Austin have appreciated the way our community has responded to, and supported these student-led film efforts. Thus far, the Goodson-films have won a Caldwell Award for the best student project of any university or college group in Texas history in the state, and a Webb Chapter Award, as the best Texas history project of any community college. Of course, we are also indebted to donors such as Jerald and Mary Lou Mowery who have provided such munificent long-term financial support for the series.”
The director of the upcoming Shelby film is NTCC sophomore, Brian Ramirez, the James and Elizabeth Whatley Scholar of Honors Northeast. The producer is Victor Diaz, a freshman Presidential Scholar. Both Ramirez and Diaz are from Mount Pleasant.
The NTCC Webb Society is the local chapter of the state Walter Prescott Webb Society, the student auxiliary of the Texas State Historical Association. Honors Northeast, that also sponsors the film series, is the award-winning honors program of NTCC. Honors Northeast is accepting applications for the 2022-23 school year. The program confers institutional and private scholarships, as well as many other amenities. Talented public high school students, high school seniors, homeschoolers in transition, and parents are welcome to contact Dr. Andrew P. Yox, Honors Director, at ayox@ntcc.edu. Also, anyone interested in the Webb Society is welcome to contact Dr. Yox.
