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Mr. Jeremy Atkins
Mr. Atkins has been involved with Denton ISD since 2002. He taught double bass private lessons through DISD until 2006 when he began teaching 5th grade orchestra at Hodge Elementary. Mr. Atkins started as the head director at Ryan High School in 2021. Before this Mr. Atkins served as associate orchestra director at Guyer High School and beginning orchestra teacher at Nelson, W.S.Ryan, Hodge and Providence Elementary schools.
Mr. Atkins grew up in Sydney, Australia where he attended Sutherland Shire Christian School. He started his musical journey with the violin at the age of 4. After many battles on the violin, he switched to cello which he played for 5 years before finally beginning his studies on the double bass under the direction of Neal Brawley. He moved to Denton in 1998 to attend the University of North Texas where he studied bass with Jeff Bradetich. In 2000 he studied with Leonid Finkelshteyn at Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina. Mr. Atkins graduated from UNT Magna Cum Laude with his bachelor’s degree in music performance in 2002 and with his master’s degree in music performance in 2004. During his studies at UNT, Mr. Atkins performed with the Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra. He served as principal bass in the UNT Chamber Orchestra in 2003. He also performed extensively with the UNT Baroque Orchestra on the violone, the 6 string predecessor of the double bass.
Mr. Atkins currently performs as a member of the East Texas Symphony Orchestra. He also has performed regularly with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Opera Orchestra and other orchestras in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Mr Atkins has been Principal Bass for several concerts with East Texas, Plano and Richardson Symphony orchestras. He spent the summer of 2004 performing at the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony.
Mr. Atkins currently lives in Denton with his wife Carrie, daughter Emery, son John, and their two dogs Keats and Mona. Although their first daughter Joelle was only with them for 21 months, she brought happiness and smiles wherever she went and they are thankful for the time they spent together. When he has time to himself, he enjoys roasting coffee (using an electric popcorn maker and flour sifter), drinking espresso, watching sports and playing computer games. He also enjoys the outdoors, especially Australian beaches and bushwalks.
Ms. Vianey Rivera - RHS Mariachi Teacher
Vianey Rivera is a violinist, educator, and researcher devoted to mariachi performance studies, particularly son jaliscience and son jarocho. Originally from Houston, TX, sharing music has always been vital in her life. Early on, she played for family gatherings and house recitals. She began playing professionally at the age of 13 and, since then, has shared the stage with Alicia Villarreal, Maribel Guardia, and Ana Barbara. Her favorite musical memories include performing in the Houston Livestock & Rodeo, playing Jose Alfredo Jimenez's "Amanecí en tus brazos" alongside her husband during their wedding ceremony, and participating in Día de la Madre serenatas (Mother's Day serenades). Vianey is passionate about building community and instilling a sense of excellence through music: she has worked alongside the Houston Symphony's Community Engagement program and the Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts (MECA) to establish a violin instruction program and mariachi program as an essential element of the Houston ISD Southeast feeder pattern. With a Bachelor's degree in Music from the University of North Texas and a Master's degree in Ethnomusicology currently in progress, Vianey is committed to building an engaging learning environment for her students and aims to ins
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