Francisco Espinoza stepped up as the assistant band director at Kingwood Park, after working as a student director at West Lake Middle School while finishing his bachelor’s degree in music from The University of Houston.

Espinoza loved the experience he had with West Lake Middle School.

“That experience made me realize this is what I want to do,” Espinoza said. 

Espinoza, who has been playing trombone for 13 years, found his passion for band in high school.

“In high school, I got into band directing because it was the only thing I really found enjoyable,” Espinoza said.

He realized his passion was extending past high school band, and his college experience was eye-opening. Espinoza was in the marching band and the basketball pep band outside of performing in the concert band at the University of Houston.

“College was a really fun experience, getting to meet a whole lot of new people (and) getting to share experiences with them,” Espinoza said.

Espinoza has already made a positive impact on students at Kingwood Park. He has been a marching tech since 2022, consistently showing up for band practices. He balanced working with West Lake and helping with marching during the 2025 marching season. 

“(Tech work) did not fit into my schedule, but I made it work,” Espinoza said. “I was having very long days and having to drive from student teaching, being a tech, and finally getting home and doing my homework.”

Espinoza has already made a noticeable difference to the students he has taught.

“We’ve had assistants in the past that were cool and all, but he’s done a lot more,” sophomore Jamen Hicks said.

Espinoza has also been influential to the indoor marching show, Soundscape, which finished first at State in its inaugural season. He entered as a tech, but shortly after became a director and was present at many practices. Espinoza’s main focus was assisting with fundamentals, such as marching technique, music, dynamic contrast control and mallet parts.

Espinoza worked with the band during the challenging UIL concert season, and Bre Osbourn noticed his influence shining through.

”He’s done a great job so far and just had his very first competition, and handled it beautifully,” Osbourn said.

After seeing him in the assistant director role, those in band expect positive things from Espinoza in the future.

“I hope that one day he’ll be a (head) director, ” Hicks said.