Meet Our Band Directors
Jarrett Lipman
Director of the Wind Ensemble
Program Administration
Jarrett Lipman is the Director of Bands at Vandegrift High School in Austin, Texas. Mr. Lipman joined the Vandegrift community in the spring of 2024 and is so excited to be a part of such an incredible team of students, teachers, parents, and administrators. Mr. Lipman also works with the incredible Boston Crusaders Drum Corps performers, where he serves as the Brass Caption Manager.
From 2008-2023, Mr. Lipman served the students and community at Claudia Taylor “Lady Bird” Johnson High School (CTJ) in San Antonio, Texas. During his fifteen years at CTJ, Mr. Lipman established a tradition of excellence on the concert stage and the marching field. Mr. Lipman was a part of the inaugural staff of CTJ in 2008 as an Assistant Band Director before his promotion to Head Director in 2010. Under his leadership, the CTJ Wind ensemble was a consistent Texas State Honor Band Finalist and performed at the 2019 Mid-West Clinic. On the field, the CTJ Marching Band was named the 2020 UIL 6A State Marching Champions and was a multi-time Grand National Finalist and BOA Regional Champion.
Currently, Mr. Lipman is studying for a Ph.D. in Education Leadership, Planning, and Policy at the University of Texas at Austin. He has worked as a part-time lecturer at Texas State University in the Music Education program. From 2010-2016, Mr. Lipman was a Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps Brass Staff member.
In partnership with PBSL-USA, the Docentus Group, Educational Travel Adventures, and TMF, Mr. Lipman’s company, BandworX, specializes in instructional coaching for band directors and music teachers. He also regularly presents professional development sessions focusing on creating a culture of excellence, recruiting and retaining students, and building relationships. He is passionate about sharing ideas and investing in the growth of other directors in our profession.
Trevor is currently in his 1st year as the Percussion Director at Vandegrift High School and Four Points Middle School in Austin, Texas. He previously was the Assistant Percussion Director at Vandegrift from 2022-2025 and his duties include coordinating the front ensemble in the marching band, teaching private lessons, and coaching concert percussion ensembles at Vandegrift High School and Four Points Middle School. Under his direction, the Vandegrift High School Percussion Ensemble was selected to perform at the 2024 Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, and he served as a clinician at the 2024 TBA Convention. During his time on staff, the Vandegrift Band won the Texas 6A State Championship in 2022 and 2023, and the 2023 BOA San Antonio Super Regional Competition.
Trevor is currently on the percussion staff of the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps. He has previously been on staff with Rhythmic Force Indoor Percussion (2024), the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps (2023–2024), the Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps (2022), and the Music City Drum and Bugle Corps (2020–2022). While with the Vanguard Cadets, the corps won the DCI Open Class Championship and the award for Best Percussion Performance. As a DCI performer, he was a member of the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps in 2017 and the Santa Clara Vanguard in 2018 and 2019. During his time with Santa Clara Vanguard, he received a DCI World Championship title and two Fred Sanford Awards for Best Percussion.
Trevor earned a Master’s degree in Percussion Performance from the University of North Texas (2019–2021), where he studied with Mark Ford, Christopher Deane, and Paul Rennick. While attending UNT, he performed with the Wind Symphony, Percussion Ensemble, Gamelan Ensemble, and Brazilian Ensemble. During his graduate studies, he had the opportunity to perform with the UNT Percussion Ensemble at the TMEA Convention in 2020. Trevor received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Texas Christian University (2015–2019), where he performed with the TCU Percussion Orchestra, Steel Band, Wind Symphony, Symphony Orchestra, and Marching Band. While at TCU, he had the privilege of performing in a showcase concert with the TCU Percussion Orchestra at PASIC in 2015.
Trevor’s professional affiliations include the Percussive Arts Society, Texas Music Educators Association, and Kappa Kappa Psi. He currently resides in Cedar Park, Texas, and is proudly endorsed by Sabian and Innovative Percussion Inc.
Tristan Murray
School-Owned Inventory
Locker Assignments
Tristan Murray will be entering his first year as one of the band directors at Vandegrift High School this school year. Prior to his appointment at Vandegrift, Mr. Murray taught at Salyards Middle School in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD.
Mr. Murray is a recent graduate of Baylor University, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude in December of 2022. During his time at Baylor, Mr. Murray had the opportunity to play with the Golden Wave Band, the Symphonic Band, as well as the Baylor Wind Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Eric Wilson. In addition, Mr. Murray was, and is, very active with his chamber group, the Refractive Quartet, who has won multiple competitions including the hamber competition at the International Tuba and Euphonium Convention. Mr. Murray received numerous awards during his time at Baylor including the TMEA Undergraduate Scholarship as well as the Richard Floyd Award for Band Music Education.
Mr. Murray is excited to move to Austin with his fiancée, Brooke, and their two cats, Felix and Olive. In his free time, Mr. Murray enjoys playing the piano, going on hikes, watching movies, and spending time with friends and family.
Nicole Davis
Associate Director
Nicole Davis is excited to join the band director team at Vandegrift High School.
Ms. Davis is entering her eighth year as a high school band director in the state of Texas. She is a multi-instrumentalist who plays flute, bassoon, and high brass instruments as her primaries. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Education degree from Middle Tennessee State University, where she studied with Gil Perel.
Ms. Davis has an extensive background in Drum Corps International.. From 2013 to 2017, she performed as a member of the hornline with Music City, Spirit of Atlanta, Phantom Regiment, Blue Knights, and the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps. After aging out, she joined the visual staff at the Mandarins, where she taught from 2018 to 2022. She currently serves on the visual staff at the Bluecoats, where she has taught since 2023. In addition to drum corps, she performed with the Rhythm X Percussion visual ensemble during the 2017 and 2018 WGI seasons before returning as a visual instructor for the 2019 season.
Before joining Vandegrift, Ms. Davis taught at Robert E. Hendrickson High School in Pflugerville, Texas. There, she helped the marching band maintain its success as a consistent 5A Area D Champion, coordinated fall productions alongside her colleagues, directed the Symphonic Winds, and led one of the school’s two jazz bands. Prior to Hendrickson, she taught at Haltom High School in the DFW Metroplex and Pasadena Memorial High School in the Houston area.
Beyond the classroom, Ms. Davis is an active drill writer, choreographer, adjudicator, and clinician throughout the United States and Canada. In her free time, she enjoys running, dancing, traveling, cooking, playing frisbee with her two dogs, and spending time with friends.