Meet our Lesson Staff
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Stephanie Kalina
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Rudy Sanchez
CLARINET
Mr. Sanchez a clarinet instructor for Birdville ISD. He retired from band directing in 2017 after 30 years in the public schools. He has a Bachelor's in Clarinet Performance, Bachelor's in Music Education All Levels and Masters of Music in Conducting all from West Texas A & M University.
He retired from the Amarillo Symphony after 34 years as the auxiliary clarinet. He also played with the Lone Star Ballet for 26 seasons. He continues to play here in the Forth Worth area as the principal clarinetist of the Southlake Community Band and the Tarrant County Orchestra.
He has taught in the Birdville Schools for seven years. He has enjoyed working with the students at Smithfield Middle School and Birdville High School.
He and his wife Vicky moved to North Richland Hills to be close to their son and his family. His grandson is a Senior at Birdville HS this year!
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Annie Henneke
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Vincent Tran
ALL SAXOPHONE
Vincent Tran is a jazz saxophonist and private educator in DFW. Originally from Grapevine, TX, Vincent is pursuing his bachelor's in jazz studies at the University of Texas at Arlington. While at UTA, he has had the pleasure of playing lead alto saxophone for the past two years in the UTA Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Tim Ishii. While in the Jazz Orchestra, Vincent has had the pleasure of performing and sharing the stage with some of today's greatest jazz artists, such as Wycliffe Gordon, Nick Marchione, Melissa Aldana, and Ashlin Parker. In addition to performing with jazz greats, being part of the Jazz Orchestra has allowed Vincent to travel and perform at places such as TMEA, The Katy Jazz Festival, and Hawaii.
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Jeff Norman
TRUMPET
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Eric Hessel
FRENCH HORN
Originally from Colorado Springs, Colorado, Dr. Eric Hessel is a talented orchestral hornist, chamber musician, soloist, composer, and educator based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He is currently a member of the Dallas Winds and Lone Star Wind Orchestra, and serves as Principal Horn of the Sherman Symphony Orchestra and Second Horn with the Richardson Symphony. Previous positions include Third/Assistant Horn in the Topeka Symphony, and Co-Principal Horn of the Lawrence Community Orchestra. He also serves as Adjunct Professor of Horn and Brass Area Coordinator at Texas Wesleyan University and Adjunct Professor of Horn at Austin College.
An active chamber musician, Hessel has co-founded several groups with his wife, Mai Tadokoro Hessel (percussion), most notably the Spiral Staircase Duo, which debuted in both Osaka, Japan, and Dallas, Texas in 2016. Since then, Spiral Staircase has performed across the US at festivals, universities, public schools, and private events. The Duo was also featured as ensemble fellows at the 2018 Cortona Sessions for New Music in Cortona, Italy.
Also a composer, Hessel has had works that have been performed across the United States, as well as in Mexico, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, and Japan. He holds a Doctorate in Horn Performance from the University of North Texas, a Master’s in Horn Performance from the University of Kansas, and Bachelor’s in Composition from Arizona State University.
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Ryan Murray
TROMBONE
Ryan Murray is a trombonist and music educator based in the DFW area, and is also the Second Trombonist of the Boise Philharmonic in Boise, Idaho. When he is not traveling to perform or teaching trombone, Ryan enjoys playing disc golf, running, hiking, and any other outdoor activity. Ryan recently moved to the DFW area from Austin, so that he and his fiancée Caroline can begin to settle down here after they get married in October of 2024.