Parents are encouraged to consider private lessons as a means of extending their child’s talent and enriching the band experience. Our private teaching staff has been interviewed and certified by the Eanes band staff and background checked through the district. Our teachers hold one or more degrees in their field. In addition to their teaching, these professionals also serve as resource personnel and provide valuable expertise to help both students and directors.

Sara completed her Master’s Degree in Music for Oboe Performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and will be returning to The University of Texas in the fall of 2026 to begin her DMA in Oboe Performance. Primarily an orchestrally-trained oboist, but as a lover of all genres and forms of music, Sara believes music has always and will always carry our lives, our histories, our essence across any division and stretch of time. Sara hopes that through the refinement of her craft and the pursuit of excellence in music and as a member of society, those around her will be inspired, encouraged and cared for.

Shih-Min Tang is a passionate educator. Dr. Tang has built up a large bassoon studio in the Austin, TX area. She enjoys playing a wide range of genres and in different formats. Dr. Tang was the principal bassoonist for the Richardson Symphony Orchestra (Dallas, TX) for their 2017-2018 season. She also performed with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Austin Symphony Orchestra, Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players, Kingsville Symphony Orchestra, and Proart bassoon ensemble (Taiwan). She won second prize in the 2017 “Golden Classical Music Awards” International Competition and performed in Carnegie Hall. She has also received accolades at The Asian Double Reed Society Bassoon Competition and The Texas Young Artist Competition. Her performances have taken her across the world, including concerts in Europe, Asia, and the United States. She also participated in the World Tour of Asia and Europe with The University of Texas at Austin Wind Ensemble as principal bassoonist.

Dr. Tang holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from The University of Texas at Austin, and a Master of Music from Indiana University of Bloomington.

Ryan Stockhausen was appointed Clarinet III & Bass Clarinet with the Austin Symphony Orchestra in 2022. In addition to the Austin Symphony, Ryan plays Principal Clarinet with the Bear Valley Music Festival in California during the summers.

Ryan frequently performs around Central Texas with groups like the Austin Opera, Victoria Bach Festival, Mid-Texas Symphony, and Central Texas Philharmonic. During his undergraduate, Ryan frequently performed with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, where he was an associate member/first-call substitute. As a student, Ryan participated in summer music festivals around the country, including the Texas Music Festival, Round Top Festival Institute, Miami Music Festival, and Interlochen Arts Camp.

Outside of traditional orchestral playing, Ryan is passionate about new music and chamber music. He is a member of the Coltman Competition-winning reed quintet Apophis Reeds. He is also the Principal Clarinet and a board member with Density512, a new-music chamber orchestra that performs around Austin at venues like South by Southwest (SXSW) and KMFA studios. Ryan has worked with numerous well-known composers and can be heard performing contemporary works for orchestra and wind ensemble on Cedille Records and Toccata Classics.

Ryan is a 2020 MM graduate of the University of Texas, where he studied with Jonathan Gunn. He earned his BM from the Chicago College of Performing Arts with John Bruce Yeh. Prior to that, he studied with Douglas Cornelsen of the Detroit Symphony. A Michigan native, Ryan currently resides in South Austin with his wife, Tess, and is the proud teacher of many middle and high school students in Westlake, Austin ISD, and Dripping Springs.

Dan Bechdolt is an award-winning musician, composer/arranger and educator who has lived in Austin, TX for the past 25 years. Mr. Bechdolt grew up in Southern California but relocated to Denton, TX to study, on full scholarship, at the world-renowned University of North Texas School of Music where he received his Bachelor’s of Music in Jazz Studies – Performance in 2000. While at UNT, Bechdolt was a member of the 3 O’Clock Lab Band and studied under Woody Witt, Dr. Eric Nestler, Will Campbell, Jay Miglia, Jim Riggs, Dan Haerle, Mike Steinel, Keith Javors, and Alan Baylock. 

While in Denton, Bechdolt co-founded the soul-funk band Mingo Fishtrap. For over 30 years, the band performed in more than 40 U.S. states, The Caribbean and Europe alongside greats such as Sting, Snarky Puppy, Delbert McClinton, Sheryl Crow, Lyle Lovett, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Blues Traveler, Earth Wind & Fire, Trombone Shorty, & Parliament Funkadelic, among many others. Currently, Mr. Bechdolt is recording and performing with the Grammy Award-winning Grupo Fantasma, Brownout, Spoon, Jimmie Vaughan, Fastball, the NOW Jazz Orchestra & Red Young, among many others. Mr. Bechdolt is also an in-demand studio musician who has recorded for countless projects, including for film soundtracks and television.

 
For the past 21 years, Mr. Bechdolt has taught saxophone with an emphasis on saxophone pedagogy in the classical & jazz traditions in Round Rock ISD, Eanes ISD and the surrounding Austin area. Every year, Mr. Bechdolt’s students receive recognition at the state and national level for their excellence. In 2021, Mr. Bechdolt was a Foundation For Music Education Honoree. In 2024, Mr. Bechdolt’s student-lead quartet from McNeil H.S. was invited to perform at the prestigious Midwest Band Clinic in Chicago. In addition, he serves as the Director of the McNeil H.S. Jazz Orchestra, and has increasingly been sought after as a clinician and masterclass instructor.

Kurt Kumme enjoys an active career as a freelance trumpet player and educator in the Austin area. He received the Bachelor of Music degree from the Hartt School, where he studied with Jay Lichtmann and Roger Murtha  (Hartford Symphony). In 2008 he completed the Master of Music from the University of Texas at Austin where he studied with Ray Sasaki. While living in Hartford, Connecticut, his versatility was demonstrated as a member of  Hartford salsa bands “The Latin Heart Beat Orchestra” and “Syncopacion,” as  well as being the founding member of the Midnight Brass Quintet. Kurt is formerly a member of the touring group The American Wind Symphony. He  has taught at West Ridge Middle School since 2008. You can hear (but not see) Kurt performing in the orchestras of musical theater productions around Austin including: the Austin Playhouse, Austin Summer-stock, Georgetown Theater and Zilker Park, as well as numerous other venues in the greater Austin area. 

Susan Glover has taught band in Texas for thirty-eight years. A graduate of the University of Texas, she has taught at Westlake High School, Bedichek Middle School, and finished her teaching career as the Head Band Director at West Ridge MS in Eanes ISD. 

Throughout her career, Mrs. Glover’s ensembles have been consistent Texas UIL Sweepstakes recipients as well as named Best in Class at various festivals across the state of Texas. Under her direction, the West Ridge MS Wind Ensemble was invited to perform for the National Concert Band Festival in Indianapolis, the Western International Band Conference in Seattle, and the prestigious Midwest Clinic in Chicago. The West Ridge Band program is also a recipient of the John Philip Sousa Foundation’s Sudler Silver Cup for Excellence in Middle School Band Performance.

Her students are successful in individual competitions as well, placing large numbers of students in district and regional honor groups each year. She has helped numerous students achieve membership in the Texas All-State Bands & Orchestras. Former students of Mrs. Glover are now studying at the Eastman and Juilliard Conservatories of Music, many are band directors, and some are professional performers.
Mrs. Glover is a member of the Texas Music Educators’ Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, Texas Music Adjudicators Association, and the honorary music fraternity, Phi Beta Mu.

Matthew Jourdan received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education at Texas Tech University, where he studied euphonium under Dr. Kevin Wass. During his time at Texas Tech, he served as Principal Euphonium in each of the university’s major ensembles and performed with the
Symphonic Wind Ensemble on their 2025 tour to the Texas Music Educators Association Convention in San Antonio, Texas.

Mr. Jourdan's performance experience includes his work with the Matador Brass Tuba-Euphonium Quartet and performing on Bass Trumpet with the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra on their performance of Janáček’s Sinfonietta. In the marching arts, he performed with
the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps from 2022 through his age-out season in 2024, culminating in a World Championship title.

Mr. Jourdan currently serves on the Brass Staff with the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps. He also teaches private lessons and works as a marching tech at several high schools in the Austin area. Outside of work, Mr. Jourdan loves to play disc golf and spend time outdoors.

Nicholas Scruggs is a full-time lesson teacher and freelance musician in the Austin area. A Houston native, he attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he received his Bachelor of Music in Tuba Performance in 2024. Throughout his undergraduate degree, Nicholas was a finalist and semi-finalist in solo, orchestral, and chamber competitions every year in the South-Central Regional Tuba-Euphonium Conference and International Tuba-Euphonium Conference. Nicholas hopes to continue inspiring his students in their musical efforts while working towards his career goal of being the tubist in a major symphony orchestra.

Nicholas began his private studio in 2022 and his students have advanced in TMEA All-Region and All-Area competitions, received many Division 1 ratings in the UIL Solo & Ensemble Contest, and competed in the Leonard Falcone International Euphonium and Tuba Festival.

Andy Beaudoin is a professional percussionist who draws from a diverse array of experiences. He performs and teaches classical music, jazz music, and various popular styles. His performance experience includes concerts with Nori (jazz), Fared Shafinury (world), and the Austin Symphony Orchestra (classical). Along with teaching percussion lessons in Eanes ISD, he teaches drum set lessons at Austin Community College and Jazz History, American Popular Music, and Percussion Methods classes at Concordia University. Mr. Beaudoin's educational background includes a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston and a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Studies from the University of Texas at Austin.