Mrs. Andrea Gonzalez, 

Director of Bands

Mrs. Gonzalez is the Director of Bands at Danielson Middle School in Leander, Texas.  Prior to her time at Danielson, she was a band director at Anderson High School in Austin for nine years, five of them as the Director of Bands.   At Anderson, she led the Wind Ensemble as well as managing all program aspects of the Trojan Band.  During her tenure, Mrs. Gonzalez’s bands were consistent UIL Sweepstakes award winners, BOA contestants and UIL Area marching finalists,  advanced to Area in 6A Honor Band, and the Wind Ensemble was named Commended Winners in 2019 by the Foundation for Music Education.   Before coming to Anderson, Mrs. Gonzalez taught middle school for three years in Round Rock ISD at CD Fulkes Middle School.

A native of Kansas, Mrs. Gonzalez attended the University of Texas at Austin as a Music Studies major with an emphasis in Performance (Bassoon). While at UT, she performed with the Longhorn Band, UT Wind Ensemble, UT Symphony Orchestra, and Chamber Winds.

As a bassoonist, she has performed in summer chamber music festivals throughout the American Midwest, Michigan, New Hampshire, and the Czech Republic. With the UT Wind Ensemble, she toured both Napa Valley and Europe to premiere John Corigliano’s first symphony for a concert band, Symphony No. 3 Circus Maximus. 

Professionally, Mrs. Gonzalez maintains affiliations with the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Bandmasters Association, and Women Band Directors International, for which she was the High School Contributing Editor.

Mrs. Gonzalez continues to perform privately as a bassoonist in the Hill Country Winds Chamber Octet.   She loves being outdoors and hanging out with her husband Emede (a trombonist), daughters Alondra and Dafne,  and pets Sam (horse) and Maddie (cat). 

Eric Chen, 

Associate Band Director

Mr. Eric Chen is the newest addition to the Danielson Band Family and is super excited to enter his first year of teaching! Originally from the Cedar Park/Austin area, Mr. Chen attended LISD schools growing up and is so grateful to have the opportunity to give back to the incredible community! 

Mr. Chen graduated with his degree in Music Education from Texas Tech University. While at Texas Tech, Mr. Chen was a private lesson instructor, 4-year member of the Goin’ Band from Raiderland, and Lead Organizer and Conductor of the Undergraduate Conducting Project. He also served as the Music Director and Conductor of the Texas Tech Studio Clarinet Choir, where he advocated for new and diverse composers through commissioning and premiering multiple new works.

At Texas Tech, Mr. Chen studied applied clarinet under Dr. David Shea, and his other primary teachers include Dr. Mary Schani and Professor Julie Linder. Mr. Chen has played both Soprano and Bass clarinet with the Texas Tech Symphonic Band, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and Lubbock Symphony Orchestra. He also toured with the Texas Tech Symphonic Band for their performance at the CBDNA conference in 2020.

During his time at Texas Tech, Mr. Chen studied conducting under Dr. Sarah McKoin, Dr. Eric Allen, and Dr. Joel Pagan. He has also been invited to various symposia to learn from conductors such as Dr. Kevin Sedatole, Professor Jeffrey Grogan, and Dr. Mark Scatterday. 

Mr. Chen holds professional affiliations with the Texas Music Educators Association, National Association for Music Education, International Clarinet Association, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. 

Outside of school, Mr. Chen enjoys cooking, discovering new tv shows and movies, watching all kinds of sports, and is an avid foodie and traveler. He loves spending time with his family and dog, Tanooki, and one of Mr. Chen’s travel goals is to visit every single National Park!