Stephanie Rayl is excited to be returning to Danielson for her fifth year as Head Choir Director. A native of Austin, Texas, she attended Westwood High School in Round Rock ISD. Mrs. Rayl earned bachelor's degrees in Vocal Performance and International Studies from the Cleveland Institute of Music and Case Western Reserve University, graduating summa cum laude with honors. During her undergraduate studies, she furthered her musical training through voice, opera, and language programs in Italy and Austria. She later completed her Master of Music Education degree at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

While pursuing her master's degree, Mrs. Rayl taught voice lessons for undergraduate students at Parkland College and instructed a Fine Arts course for undergraduate education majors at the University of Illinois. Prior to joining Danielson, she taught middle and high school choir in central Illinois.

Under Mrs. Rayl's direction, Danielson choirs consistently earn sweepstakes awards at UIL Concert and Sight-Reading Evaluation. Most recently, the Danielson Middle School Varsity Treble Choir was selected to perform at the 2026 Southwestern ACDA Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is an active member of TMEA, ACDA, and TCDA.

Outside the classroom, Mrs. Rayl enjoys spending time with her husband and son, traveling, cooking, running, and everything Disney. She is excited to continue making music with the talented students of Danielson and looks forward to another wonderful school year.

Esther Ki is super excited to be back for her fourth year of teaching at DMS! She originally grew up in the suburbs of Dallas, TX and came to Austin where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Choral Music Education from The University of Texas at Austin. During Ms. Ki’s time at UT, she enjoyed performing with the University of Texas Concert Chorale, Longhorn Singers, and serving as a soprano section leader for the Westminster Presbyterian church. During her time at DMS, choirs under her direction received all superior ratings at UIL as she strives for excellence and passion in making music with her students.

Outside of school, Ms. Ki enjoys serving for her church, going on picnics, pickleball, and trying out new food spots. She can’t wait to share the gift of music with the wonderful students here at DMS!