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Michelle Brians Hanlon
Michelle Brians Hanlon
Head Director
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. Her sophomore album "Maybe This Time" dropped in May of 2024. 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.
Deohanz Buenafe
Deohanz Buenafe
Assistant Director
Deohanz Buenafe is excited to join the Guyer High School Orchestra program as the new Assistant Orchestra Director this year! Mr. Buenafe recently finished his undergraduate studies at the University of North Texas, graduating Magna cum Laude with Bachelor’s degrees in Cello Performance and Music Education, and was a student of Gal Faganel and Horacio Contreras.
During his time at UNT, Mr. Buenafe was involved in a variety of performance opportunities, including the Concert Orchestra, Chamber music, and Opera where he served as principal cello for the production of Puccini’s La Rondine. Additionally, he collaborated with Composition Studies colleagues to perform new orchestral and chamber works, including world premieres of several award-winning pieces. Mr. Buenafe has also participated in the Summer String Institute at UNT, the Pacific Region International Summer Music Festival and Academy in Powell River, British Columbia, and the Collaborative Piano Institute at LSU. He continues to be an active freelance musician in the DFW area, and has performed with the North Texas Symphony, Millennial Choirs and Orchestras, the Brazos Chamber Orchestra, and the Fort Worth Civic Orchestra.
Outside of orchestra and teaching, Mr. Buenafe enjoys cooking, videogames, fashion, long-form YouTube content, and hanging out with his two cats, Tommy and Tetris. He is looking forward to joining the GHS family and contributing to the legacy of high-achieving, well-supported, and community-driven fine arts programs in Denton ISD.
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