Our Judges

Dr. Michael Alexander - joined the faculty of Baylor University in 2006 after 22 years of teaching orchestra in the public schools of Houston, Texas. His duties at Baylor include supervising string student teachers, instruction in classroom string pedagogy, directing the Baylor String Project and conducting the Baylor Campus Orchestra.

Alexander's musical education includes: Bachelor of Music Education (Southwestern University), Master of Music (Sam Houston State University), and Doctor of Musical Arts (University of Houston). He has studied conducting with Kenneth Sheppard , B. R. Henson, Franz Krager, William LaRue Jones, Robert Culver, and Marvin Rabin.

Alexander is in demand as a clinician/conductor and has conducted 25 Region Orchestras in Texas as well as All-State / Honor Orchestras in Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico (twice), North Dakota, Oregon, and South Carolina. He has presented clinics in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, San Antonio, Chicago, Boston, Savannah, Cincinnati, New York, et al.

Alexander is co-author of the "Orchestra Expressions" string series published by Alfred Publishing and "Expressive Techniques for Orchestra" published by Tempo Press. His research focuses on classroom applications of string pedagogy and has been published in the Journal of Research in Music Education, UPDATE: Applications of Research in Music Education, the String Research Journal, Texas Music Education Research, the American String Teacher, and the Southwestern Musician.

During his 22-year tenure as Director of Orchestras at Stratford High School the Stratford Symphony was twice named the Texas Honor Orchestra (1994, 1997) by the Texas Music Educators Association and earned sweepstakes ratings at regional festivals the last 17 of those years. Alexander led the orchestra to invited performances in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, New Orleans, Orlando, Innsbruck, Austria and, in 2000, as the resident orchestra for the conducting master classes at the International Workshops in Glasgow, Scotland.

Alexander has served as President of the Texas Orchestra Directors Association and Vice-President of the Texas Music Educators Association. He has also served as Chairman of the Committee on School Orchestras and Strings for ASTA w/ NSOA. From 1994-2001 Alexander served as Conductor for the Houston Youth Symphony-Philharmonia Orchestra and he has served as Principal Conductor of the Waco Symphony Youth Orchestra since 2006.

Alexander was the first recipient of the Houston Symphony School Bell Award for Excellence in Teaching and, in 1994 and 2006, named Teacher of the Year for Stratford High School. He has received letters of commendation from the City of Houston, the Texas Music Educators Assn., Spring Branch ISD, a Citation of Merit from ASTA/NSOA, and, in 2002, the Elizabeth A.H. Green Award from ASTA/NSOA. In 2006, Alexander was named the Outstanding Alumni in Music Education from the University of Houston and, in 2012, was named Orchestra Director of the Year by the Texas Orchestra Directors Association.

Alexander is active in the Episcopal Church and is devoted to his wife, Suzanne, and their three children: Reed, William, and John.

Dr. Jan Garverick is a dedicated music educator who delights in helping students and teachers learn more about string pedagogy. It’s one of her many passions. In her 50 years of teaching, Jan has been dedicated to the enrichment of life through music and finds fulfillment in the fact that many of her former students have become orchestra directors.

Jan is recently retired from Director of Orchestras at MacArthur High School in the North East Independent School District in San Antonio.  She earned degrees in English and music as well as a Ph.D. in Fine Arts with a major in Music Education from Texas Tech University.  Beginning her career as an itinerant string teacher in the elementary schools of NEISD, Jan has taught strings from kindergarten through university levels. In NEISD, she organized and implemented the first middle school string program, developed a high school string program, and founded the NEISD Summer Orchestra Workshop, serving as its first teacher and coordinator for twelve years. Jan has served in every office of the Texas Chapter of the American String Teachers Association, including President. An active member of the Texas Music Adjudicators Association, the Texas Music Educators National Conference, Texas Music Educators Association, Mu Omicron, and the Texas Orchestra Directors Association, Jan has presented clinics at TMEA, TODA and at National ASTA. In addition, she has taught at the Texas Tech Orchestra Camp for twenty-two summers.

Jan’s recent publications, Music for Harp(s) and Young Strings, are string arrangements in collaboration with harpist Gail Barber. Jan was also a contributor to the MENC Benchmarks for Student Compositions. In 2006, she authored four chapters for a reference book entitled Teaching Music Through Performance, Volume Three.  Her most rewarding research in pedagogy was her dissertation entitled Selected Pedagogical Needs of the String Class as addressed in the Compositions of Carold Nunez. Many members of TODA were primary contributors of statistical data for her  research.  Jan has received many accolades during her career, including the Southwestern Bell/UIL Award for Excellence in Teaching for 1999–2000; the MacArthur High School Teacher of the Year Award in 2004; induction into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame in 2005, representing the professional education category; the ASTA National Elizabeth A. H. Green Award in 2006 for demonstrating a current and distinguished career in a school orchestral setting; MacArthur’s 2006 Trinity Prize winner for Excellence in Teaching; and the TODA 2016 Orchestra Director of the Year Award.

Bobbi Mauldin recently retired after teaching orchestra for almost forty years in the Texas public school system. She grew up in Houston and earned her degree from the University of Houston with her primary violin teachers being Josephine Boudreaux and Fredell Lack. She now maintains  a private violin and viola studio in Spring. 

Mrs Mauldin has also been the Director of the Texas Lutheran University Community Music Academy, a non-profit community music school providing music education to students of all ages and levels of ability. While teaching orchestra, her students were consistent awards winners with many earning a place in the all-region and all-state orchestras each year. 

As a registered Suzuki Violin teacher, she founded the violin program at McGaha Academy in Wichita Falls, TX, as well as the Suzuki Violin Program in Pecos, TX. Mrs Mauldin has received several awards for innovative teaching as well as a government grant for a music listening program while in Wichita Falls. She has presented clinics at the Magnet Schools of Texas Convention as well as the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago. 

Her orchestras have performed at the Southwest Regional Music Convention in Louisiana, the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas and Carnegie hall in New York.

Since her retirement, Mrs Mauldin has been spending time riding motorcycles with her husband, watching movies, reading and volunteering for the local women’s shelter.