Mr. Arturo Villegas has been the Director of Bands at AC New Middle School since 2015. Under his direction, the Band of Knights has earned Superior ratings at UIL Concert & Sight Reading contest, as well as at Peak and Director's Choice Festivals. 

Before teaching in Mesquite, Mr. Villegas taught in Crystal City, TX where he served as the Visual Coordinator for the Mighty Javelina Band and as Director of Bands for the Sterling H. Fly JH Mighty Mustang Band. The MJB placed 9th at State Marching Contest in 2010 and consistently received Best in Class accolades at marching contests. At Fly JH, the band received consistent Sweepstakes awards at UIL and placed an average of 35-40 students in the All-Region Band. 

Mr. Villegas has had the privilege of teaching and performing at home and abroad. In 2014, he was invited to teach at the Summer Music Camp held by the École de Musique Sainte Trinité in Cange, Haiti. There, he conducted the camp’s Advanced Wind Ensemble, taught lessons and master classes to low brass and jazz bass students, and performed on tuba with L'Orchestre Philharmonique Sainte Trinité.  In 2006 Mr. V. marched contra with the Pioneer Drum & Bugle Corps from Milwaukee, WI and went on tour as a contra tech during the 2007 tour. 

A first-generation college graduate, Mr. Villegas attended Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX. In college, Mr. V. took advantage of several opportunities like studying abroad in Costa Rica, joining the Kappa Kappa Psi band service fraternity, and performing with the Sound and the Fury marching band in the London New Year’s Day parade. He also performed in several ensembles and served as the principal tuba in the Wind Ensemble, the sousaphone section leader in the Sound and the Fury, and played upright/electric bass in Jazz Ensemble 1.

Mr. Villegas lives in Sunnyvale with his wife, Melody, and their children, Ian and Fiona. The Villegases are members of White Rock UMC. When Mr. V. is not serving the band students of AC New, he spends time perfecting his skills in the kitchen, practicing piano, planning trips with Mrs. V., and chasing his kids around the house.

Jerrilyn Young is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. She graduated from Destrehan High School.

Throughout her four years of attending Destrehan High, she served as a Librarian, Flute Section Leader, Band Captain, and Front Ensemble Section Leader in Indoor Drumline. After graduating high school, she worked on staff as a Marching Visual Technician for Destrehan H.S. She received her Bachelor of Music Education from Louisiana State University (LSU). She was a member of The Golden Band From Tigerland. By her second year in the band, she was nominated and selected to be a paid student staff member as a librarian. It gave her the opportunity to work directly with the marching and concert band directors including Dr. Dennis Llinas, Dr. Damon Talley, Dr. Roy King, Dr. Kelvin Jones, and Dr. Clifton Croomes. Primarily a flutist, Jerrilyn Young has placed first in competitions, won scholarships, and performed in Paris, France. She’s performed in LSU’s Orchestra, Philharmonia, Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Winds, and Tigerband (marching band).

Jerrilyn is a first-generation college graduate who is now a band director. She has been teaching for two years and is beginning her third year of teaching in the great state of Texas. In Louisiana, she held an itinerant position at LeBlanc Elementary School and Erath High School. At the elementary school, Ms. Young taught Beginning Band (5th Grade) and General Music (Prek-4th Grade). She spent the other half of her day as an Assistant Band Director at Erath H.S. There, she assisted with the marching band as well as the Symphonic and Concert Bands. Jerrilyn Young is a motivated, highly knowledgeable, and energized educator with a strong foundation of music education, community outreach, leadership, and a passion for encouraging our youth to develop a lifelong excitement for music.

Ms. Young is new to Texas and is excited to begin teaching in Mesquite ISD!

Lacy Brown has been an Assistant Director at West Mesquite High School since 2008.  Her primary responsibilities include directing the Symphonic Band and team-teaching the marching band and other ensembles.  Ms. Brown also assists with the Advanced and Intermediate bands and teaches beginning brass at A.C. New Middle School.

During her membership in the Whitesboro High School Band, under the direction of Mr. Pat Autry, Ms. Brown was a member of the ATSSB All-State Symphonic Band for four years.  She was also selected as an “Outstanding Performer” three times at the Texas U.I.L. State Solo & Ensemble Competition.  In 2002, she graduated Valedictorian from Whitesboro High School. 

Beginning her collegiate studies, Ms. Brown graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelors of Arts in Music Education from Texas Woman’s University in 2005.  During her student teaching at Argyle High School, Ms. Brown was fortunate to work with Ms. Cindy Mikel, Mr. Chris Burke, and Mr. Michael Lemish as they led the Argyle marching band to win the 2A State Marching Competition. 

Continuing her education, she was awarded a Graduate Brass Assistantship at Texas Christian University and was principal euphonium in the Wind Symphony, under the direction of Mr. Bobby Francis.  In 2008, she graduated with a Masters of Music in Instrumental Performance (Euphonium).  

Among her collegiate accomplishments, Ms. Brown was a finalist at Regional International Tuba/Euphonium Conference competitions, as well as a semi-finalist in the International Leonard Falcone Euphonium and Tuba Competition in 2007. 

Ms. Brown has studied euphonium with Mr. David Graves, Dr. Brian Meixner, Mr. Ed Jones, and Mr. Richard Murrow. Ms. Brown’s professional affiliations include the Texas Music Educators Association and the International Tuba and Euphonium Association. 

Dan Dudney serves as the Assistant Band Director/Percussion Director for the West Mesquite cluster. Having joined the team in 2018, he oversees all percussion curricula and activities for the high school and its area middle schools. Mr. Dudney received his undergraduate degree in Music Education/Percussion from Abilene Christian University and holds a Masters of Music from Texas Tech University.

Prior to his time at West Mesquite, Mr. Dudney served as the Percussion Director at Bellaire High School in Houston, Texas. In this role, he oversaw the percussion program, which consisted of the drumline, indoor percussion, and various percussion ensembles, as well as the jazz program, which consisted of a jazz ensemble and several smaller combos. Under Mr. Dudney's direction, the Bellaire percussion studio enjoyed competitive success on many levels, earning several student placements in district/region honor bands, multiple first divisions at region/state Solo & Ensemble Contest, and consistent high ratings at Texas Color Guard Circuit (TCGC) percussion events. He has worked with several percussion programs across the state, and, while student teaching at Abilene High School, he helped lead the percussion section to its 1st place caption award in Percussion Performance at the West Texas Tournament of Bands.

Mr. Dudney has also thrived in his own performance career, having earned a wide array of accolades/recognitions and serving several leadership roles for various ensembles. He holds the 2012 title of the Individual Solo Competition in the collegiate marching snare drum division at Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) with his original composition entitled, "…What?". Having performed in regional, national, and global settings, Mr. Dudney is eager to continue his professional performance career in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He also holds memberships in several professional organizations such as Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), Percussive Arts Society (PAS), and Mu Phi Epsilon.