Directors
Michelle Brians Hanlon
Head Director
Michelle Hanlon, a member of Denton ISD String faculty since 2003, serves as Director of Orchestras at John Guyer High School, Fine Arts Department Chair, and also teaches beginning string classes at McNair Elementary School. The string program at Guyer boasts roughly 200 students, and the varsity group has been recognized as a finalist in the Texas Honor Orchestra Competition twice. That varsity ensemble, "Rhapsody," also maintains a perfect sweepstakes record since the school opened in 2005. Mrs. Hanlon served the state for six years as the Orchestra Division Chair for TMEA Region 2. She has been selected six times by a Denton ISD Top 30 Graduate as an "Educator of Influence." Mrs. Hanlon is also active as a sectional coach, clinician, and guest conductor to All-Region orchestras and youth orchestras. She is an active member of the Texas Music Adjudicators Association and of Texas Music Educators Association.
Originally from Tyler, TX, Mrs. Hanlon graduated from Robert E. Lee High School and studied violin with Jamie Reason, Ruth Morrow, and Jan Sloman. Mrs. Hanlon attended the Interlochen Summer Arts Academy in the summer of 1997, where she studied violin with Martha Curtis and also took instruction in painting. Mrs. Hanlon graduated Summa cum Laude from the University of North Texas in May of 2003, where she studied violin with Igor Borodin, Julia Bushkova, and Cynthia Roberts. While attending UNT, Mrs. Hanlon performed with the Symphony, Chamber, Opera, and Baroque Orchestras and co-founded the UNT Jazz String Ensemble. She was a featured soloist with the UNT Baroque Orchestra at UNT Music in the Mountains Summer Festival in Crested Butte, CO in the summer of 2001.
As a baroque violinist, Mrs. Hanlon has participated in the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute, the Longy International Baroque Institute, the Boston Early Music Festival, and placed as an alternate in the National Early Music America Scholarship Competition in 2002. She currently performs with the Dallas Bach Society Orchestra. As a jazz violinist, Mrs. Hanlon performed with the first ever Jazz String Caucus at the International Jazz Educators Convention in New York, NY in 2001, and the selective Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles, CA also in 2001. As a vocalist, Mrs. Hanlon sang for seven years with The New Collection, an a capella vocal jazz ensemble under the direction of Paris Rutherford, and served as Vice President on the Board of Directors for four years. With this group, Hanlon performed at the 2011 and 2014 Jazz Educators Network Conventions as well as concerts in the DFW area. Hanlon's debut CD as a singer/songwriter, "This Is My Day", was released in 2014 and is a collaboration with her father, Robin Hood Brians. More information can be found at www.michellehanlon.com In her spare time (ha, ha), Ms. Hanlon enjoys spending time with her family, working on upcoming songwriting projects, and watching television shows about glassblowing, pottery throwing, and baking.
Sarah Wright
Assistant Director
Sarah Wright earned her Bachelors of Music in Violin Performance from the University of North Texas under the tutelage of Dr. Felix Olschofka. She has regularly performed with numerous orchestras including Monroe Symphony, Dallas Live Orchestra, Odysseus Chamber Orchestra and previously The University of North Texas Symphony Orchestra. Mrs. Wright has served co-principal second in the University of North Texas Concert Orchestra and as concertmaster for the University of North Texas Opera.
Although Ms. Wright spends most of her time on modern violin, she also regularly performs with New Spain Baroque Orchestra, UNT Baroque Ensemble, and various baroque and modern ensembles across the country on baroque and modern violin. She currently seeks to inspire students by teaching them the beauty and fun of music through knowledge of music theory and music history with reflected performances in ensemble and solo. When Mrs. Wright is not performing or preparing music, she is hammock camping or hiking in Colorado with Mr. Wright, her two sons Colton and Weston, and australian shepherd Ellie.