Jimmy Baas

Jimmy Baas recently retired after 30 years in public education. During most of those years, he was a choir director at the middle school and high school levels in the state of Texas. Most recently he was assistant choir director at Arlington High School. He began his career as an adjunct and associate professor in the music department at Lamar University, Beaumont, TX.

Jimmy has many years of experience as a pianist. He began studies at the age of 5. He has played in a variety of genres, from school choirs, show choirs, jazz choirs, jazz bands, musical theatre productions, as well as church music. Since retirement, he has primarily been accompanist for school and festival choirs of all ages in the North Texas area. At the annual music conferences in Texas, he has accompanied many events for TMEA and TCDA. Recently he accompanied the All-State Men’s Chorus in 2024, 2015, and 2014. He also accompanied the TCDA Elementary Honor Choir in 2024 and 2018.

Jimmy is also an established composer with many choral titles under the publication of Carl Fischer, BriLee, Chorister’s Guild, Colla Voce, and Walton Music. He also composes music for the Texas UIL Choir Sight Reading Contest. All of his music can be found in the J.W. Pepper Database.

As a show choir arranger in North Texas, Jimmy has arranged for several middle and high school groups. His arrangements have been featured at all of the North Texas show choir festivals, including Lonestar (Keller), Cowtown (Fort Worth), and North Texas Invitational (Mansfield).

He received his Bachelors of Music Education from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 1988. He received his Masters of Music Education from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas in 1990. Jimmy and his wife Cindy reside in Arlington, Tx.