Directors

Mr. Hunter Lewis is a native of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and is excited to join the faculty of the IM Terrell Academy as Director of Instrumental Music. Before coming to IM Terrell, Mr. Lewis taught with many of the nation’s premier music educators in the Birdville, Mansfield and Broken Arrow School Districts.

He earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Texas Christian University and a Master of Music in Conducting from Oklahoma State University. His primary conducting teachers include Joseph P. Missal, Z. Randall Stroope , Bobby R. Francis and German Gutierrez.

As an educator, Mr. Lewis’ ensembles have received sweepstakes awards at both TMEA and OSSAA contests for outstanding achievement on the concert stage and marching field. He served on the staff of the 2011 Bands of America Grand National Champion “Pride of Broken Arrow” and has also co-taught groups that competed at the Texas State Marching Contest in 2013 and 2014, with the Lake Ridge High School Marching Band earning finalist recognition in 2013.

Most recently the I.M. Terrell String Orchestra was honored to be the demonstration ensemble for a clinic given by world-renowned conductor, Larry Livingston at the 2020 Texas Music Educators Association Convention held in San Antonio, TX. In a short amount of time, the ensembles at I.M. Terrell have become leaders in the musical scene around Fort Worth providing concerts in venues such as Bass Hall and The Kimbell Art Museum.

Mr. Lewis currently resides in Fort Worth, TX and is as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the state of Texas. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family and friends as well as traveling, hiking, biking, cooking and reading.

Mr. Timothy Brendler is the Director of the Music Theory and Piano Program at I.M. Terrell Academy for STEM and VPA in Ft. Worth ISD. Additionally, Mr. Brendler is the Artistic Director of the Fort Worth Children’s Honor Choir and co-coordinates the district’s Metropolitan Opera Educational Program—a program committed to deepening student experiences with opera through access to world-class productions and live interviews with the world’s most distinguished artists. Mr. Brendler has been recognized for his engaging lessons, incorporation of AVID techniques, and his contributions to the Curriculum Leadership Corps. He also serves as the Small School Area Vocal Chair and Region V Small School Coordinator. He earned an MM in Choral Conducting from Baylor University, MA in Christian Ministry with a concentration in Youth, Family, and Student Ministry from George W. Truett Theological Seminary (Baylor), and a BM in Church Music from St. Olaf College where he sang with the internationally renowned St. Olaf Choir. He studied organ with John Ferguson, voice with Karen Wilkerson, and conducting with Anton Armstrong, Christopher Aspaas, Timothy Mahr, and Alan Raines.

In May of 2014, he traveled with Baylor University's premier choral ensemble, the A Cappella choir to Paris, France, where the group was the first American choir to record Maurice Duruflé's Requiem in St. Étienne du Mont - the church in which Duruflé served as organist from 1930-1975. Additionally, he has served in leadership roles on music mission trips to Kenya, Malaysia, and Hong-Kong. Born and raised in Seaside Park, New Jersey, Mr. Brendler is an avid animal lover and enjoys traveling, hiking, biking, and kayaking in his spare time.