Rory Davis is in his 32nd year as a music educator and currently serves as the inaugural Director of Bands, and fine arts department chair, at Freeman High School. Ensembles under his direction have received state and national recognition, including three performances at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, IL,  As the founding director of the Cinco Ranch JH band program (est. 2001), the Honors Band received consecutive Sweepstakes Awards in the Texas U.I.L. band evaluation from the inception of the program through the duration of his tenure. Additionally, the CRJH Honors Band was a multiple TMEA State Honor Band finalist, including multiple top five rankings.. The Cinco Ranch JH Band program was awarded the prestigious Sudler Silver Cup by the John Philip Sousa Foundation in honor and recognition of the program as a junior high school concert band program that has demonstrated particularly significant high standards of excellence in concert activities over a period of several years. This award distinguished the CRJH band program as one of the most outstanding junior high band programs in the United States and was the first ever Sudler award for Katy iSD. 

Having taught in every socioeconomic level and demographic population, Rory realizes his talent is a God given gift and that his calling to teach extends beyond the classroom. His life is dedicated to serving and he is actively involved as a teacher, worship leader, and pastor and is the facilitator for the Fellowship of Christian Musicians Texas (FCM). Mr. Davis maintains a very active clinician, adjudicator, and mentoring schedule throughout the state.  His music affiliations include Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, Texas Music Adjudicators Association, Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi and The Fellowship of Christian Musicians. 

He has been married for 29 years to Stephanie, and has two children, Noah, and Naya [Ny-ah].

John Liner is the Associate Director of Bands of Freeman High School in Katy, TX. Ensembles under John’s leadership have consistently earned local, state and national recognition, including consistent sweepstakes awards at U.I.L. and invitations to perform at the Jazz Education Network Conference in Dallas, TX and The House of Blues in Houston, TX. John’s ability to bring people together and build quality band programs is seen throughout his career. At his most recent stop, John grew the band program from 180 to over 400 students in just 2 years. This growth also included the founding of the Morton Ranch Junior High (MRJH) Full Orchestra, the MRJH Jazz Band and the MRJH Percussion Ensembles. 

Mr. Liner’s background, experiences, and talents have been utilized in many ways, gaining over 100 credits as a live show producer, researcher, performer, studio musician, and arranger. His music has been played internationally and his research is published and has been showcased at Professional Development Conferences around the United States. Additionally, John is the founder of the Virtual Band Directors Conference, a professional development resource for band directors around the world.

John is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and is an active member of National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), Jazz Education Network (JEN), Texas Bandmasters Association (TBA) and Texas Jazz Educators Association (TJEA). John Liner’s most recent research has been featured in the Massachusetts Music Educator’s Journal. 

Rob Halpner is an educator, composer, arranger, and sound designer, originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His unbridled passion for the marching arts began in 2016. Since that time, he has marched six seasons of Drum Corps with The Bluecoats, Santa Clara Vanguard, and The Academy, as well as four WGI seasons with Monarch Independent Percussion; all in the position of lead synth player.

Rob has had the privilege of serving as an educator with several high school marching bands, including the instructional teams at Avon High School in Avon, Indiana and Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas. Additionally, he also works professionally with The Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps as a member of the audio team, as well as with Monarch Independent Percussion in the capacity of Audio Manager. Rob has also served as the percussion coordinator for the Butler University Marching Band.

As an arranger, Rob has composed and arranged battery, front ensemble, and sound design music for highly successful scholastic, collegiate, and independent ensembles across the United States including BOA Grand National Champion, ISSMA State Champion, WGI PIW Finalist, UIL State Finalist, and BOA Grand National Semifinalist programs. These programs include Alvin H.S., Avon H.S., Edmond North H.S., Highland H.S., Magnoila West H.S., Manvel H.S., Marcus H.S., Marian Catholic H.S., McKinney North H.S., Mt. Vernon H.S., Northwest H.S., Poteet H.S., Upper St. Clair H.S., Willis H.S., the University of North Texas, the University of Cincinnati, Butler University, the Battalion Drum and Bugle Corps, and Monarch Independent Percussion.

Rob earned his Bachelor’s Degree ('22) in Music Composition from the University of North Texas, where he studied composition in the studio of Dr. Sungji Hong and classical piano in the studio of Gustavo Romero. During his time at UNT, Rob was a member of numerous ensembles performing with the instrumental and vocal jazz bands, the concert band, the steel band, and the Green Brigade Marching Band. In December 2024, Rob is received his Master’s Degree in Music Education from Butler University in Indianapolis, IN. Throughout his studies at Butler, Rob served as the teaching assistant to Dr. Trae Blanco and the Wind Ensemble, performed as a member of the Butler University Percussion Ensemble, and studied percussion under the direction of Jon Crabiel. Rob is also the founder and owner of Beyond The Box Music, a company specializing in custom percussion arrangements and sound design for the pageantry arts. Rob now lives in Katy, TX. and is proud to serve as the Director of Percussion for the Freeman cluster at Freeman High School, Nelson Junior High, and Haskett Junior High, as well as an Assistant Band Director for Freeman High School in Katy ISD.

Mavenys Shavers is in her 8th year of teaching and currently serves as the founding color guard director of Freeman High School in Katy, TX. Ensembles under Mrs. Shavers’ leadership have been awarded and recognized at local, state, and international levels. Most of her success has been competing in the Texas Color Guard Circuit and WGI. Most recently, Mrs. Shavers led and founded the Lamar Consolidated High School Sapphire Color Guard to record breaking success. The LCHS guard program had existed for over 70 years, and Mrs. Shavers redesigned, challenged, and succeeded in bringing the first ever first place trophy and  state championship silver metal to the program. She has also helped many guard programs grow to success in the greater Houston area. These programs include: Foster High School, Fulshear High School, George Ranch High, Paetow High School, and Jordan High School. 

Mrs. Shavers' experience in educating also stems from outside the beloved guard/band activity. She is also a junior high RLA teacher. She was awarded Rookie Teacher of The Year at her first campus and takes pride in helping her color guard students both in their performance and their academic successes. She will be an RLA teacher at Nelson JH and will set the foundation to start a junior high color guard program. 

Mrs. Shavers is an avid literacy advocate, is part of the Nelson JH PLC coalition, loves to spend time with her family— especially with her one year old son, loves all things Disney, Harry Potter, and Jurassic Park, and is a member of the first Latina sorority in the nation, Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc.