Hailing from Lincoln, Nebraska, Liz Love is an active classical and jazz saxophonist and music educator in the Austin, Texas area. She is currently in her second year as the Director of Bands at Leander Middle School. Previous to her time at LMS, she was the Director of Bands at Grisham Middle School, and the Assistant Band Director at Running Brushy Middle School in Leander ISD. Her ensembles consistently receive UIL Sweepstakes ratings, and her students have earned Outstanding Soloist honors at Austin area jazz festivals. In 2019, the Grisham Middle School Honors Band was selected to perform at The Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic!

Ms. Love is a founding member of the Austin Saxophone Ensemble, which is in its eighth season and released its debut album in Spring of 2017. She also founded ASEYouth, a city-wide youth saxophone ensemble comprised of the most talented middle and high school saxophonists from all over the Austin area. An active clinician and adjudicator around the state, Ms. Love is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association and the Texas Bandmasters Association. She also served as the TMEA Region 26 Middle School Band Chair for four years, as well as the Region 26 TBA representative.

Ms. Love received her Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and her Master’s Degree in Saxophone Performance from the University of Texas at Austin. She has performed and recorded extensively on flute, clarinet, and saxophone at both schools and counts Susan Scarborough, Jerry Junkin, Jeff Hellmer, Harvey Pittel, and Carolyn Barber as her principal mentors.

Liz attributes her passion for music and education to her incredible music-teacher parents, Ed and Loretta. She lives in Cedar Park, Texas with her ridiculously supportive and adorable husband, Walter.

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Jeremiah Ward is an Assistant Band Director at Leander Middle School, and is in his eighth year as a Band Director. Mr. Ward teaches beginner flute, trumpet, and trombone, and assists Ms. Love with the Clarinet class. 

Jeremiah began his teaching career in Fredericksburg, where he was raised, and was given the opportunity to learn from many great directors. During the five years teaching there, Mr. Ward was able to assist many students who were selected for Region Bands, All-State Bands, and other individual honors. With several sweepstakes over the years, the highest honor was in 2019 the Honor Band was selected as a performing ensemble for the Youth Orchestra of San Antonio Invitational, a performance they were able to give in May 2021 at the Tobin Center in San Antonio, Texas. During his time at Fredericksburg, Mr. Ward was an active member of the ATSSB Region 29/32, serving as the Region Jazz Coordinator and the Region Coordinator. 

Mr. Ward lives in the area with his wife, Michelle, and 5 year old son, Harrison. In his free time, Mr. Ward enjoys Taekwondo, collecting Jordan’s, spending time with his family, and mowing his lawn. 

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Iliana Reyna is excited to be in her fifth year as an Assistant Band Director at Leander Middle School. Ms. Reyna teaches beginner saxophone, horn, and low brass classes, as well as the Concert Band. She assists with all other beginning band classes and band classes. 

Iliana grew up in Victoria Texas where she developed a love for music and performance from many great directors in the community. As an only child of an elementary school principal, she knew early on that she wanted to share her joy for music and inspire young people through teaching. She went on to pursue an undergraduate degree in Music Education and French Horn performance from the University of Texas at Austin. She had the privilege of performing with the UT Wind Ensemble, UT Horn Choir, UT Orchestra and Mariachi Paredes de Tejastitlán while in college. 

While at LMS, Ms. Reyna was able to assist many students who were selected for Region Band and Region Orchestra. She has also taken several bands to UIL with great success. She is proud to be part of the tradition of excellence at Leander Middle School. 

Ms. Reyna lives in Austin with her 4 dogs. (Sometimes she gets mistaken for a dog walker). In her free time Ms. Reyna enjoys kayaking, fishing and gardening.

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