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Courtney Kelly
Courtney Kelly
Head Choir Director
Head Choir Director
Courtney Kelly grew up in Round Rock, TX, where she was actively involved in her high school's choir, band, and color guard programs. She also played Division 1 club soccer. She graduated from Baylor University with a major in Choral Music Education and a minor in Applied Piano. While at Baylor, Mrs. Kelly was a member of the Baylor A Cappella Choir, under the direction of Dr. Donald Bailey, and studied voice with Dr. Robert Best.
The 2025-2026 school year will mark Mrs. Kelly's 18th year of teaching. This will be her third year as the head choir director. Mrs. Kelly previously served as the Vista Ridge associate choir director. Prior to that, she served as the head director at Canyon Ridge Middle School. Under her direction, the choirs of CRMS were selected twice as Invited Choirs for the Texas Music Educators Association, the state’s highest honor in choral music.
Mrs. Kelly is a frequent clinician and adjudicator throughout the state. Her choirs consistently earn superior ratings at UIL, and Performances of Distinction at American Classics festivals. She is a member of TMEA, TCDA, ACDA, and TMAA. She has also served in various leadership positions in Music Regions 26 and 32, and is currently the Region 32 Vocal Chair.
Mrs. Kelly lives in Cedar Park with her husband, Patrick and their daughter, Piper. She welcomes you to the VRHS Choir program, and can't wait for a year of singing and fellowship.
Austin Hart
Austin Hart
Associate Choir Director
Associate Choir Director
Austin Hart grew up in Bryan, Texas. He received his Bachelors of Choral Music Education and Certificate of Vocal Performance from the University of Texas under the direction of Dr. Suzanne Pence. Following his undergraduate studies, Austin was accepted into the Butler Opera Center at the University of Texas to complete his Masters in Vocal Performance in 2015.
As a choir director Austin has worked in high schools in both the Houston and greateAustin was blessed to begin his career at Tompkins High School in Katy, Texas and had the privilege of assisting the Tompkins Varsity Mixed Chorale in their performance at the 2019 TMEA Convention in San Antonio. Since moving back to the Austin area in 2019 he has worked in Eanes ISD at Westlake High School and East View High School in Georgetown ISD.
Outside of work, Austin has performed with many church and community ensembles both as a singer and instrumentalist. During his time in the Houston area, he was an active member of both the Houston Men’s Choir, a non-profit educational performance ensemble, as well as the Houston Symphony Chorus under the direction of Dr. Betsy Cook Weber. Austin had the incredible opportunity to perform many major works and even go on two European tours with the symphony chorus including a featured performance at the Bach Festival in Leipzig with the select Houston Symphony Chamber Choir. This past year he was an inaugural member of the Conspirare Artist Citizen Choral Collective under the direction of Craig Hella Johnson.
When he is not doing music, Austin enjoys water sports, traveling, carpentry and disc golf. His greatest joy is spending time with his wonderful wife, Jen, their daughters Emma and Ruby and their adorable dog Lucy.
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