New Members Added to the Adjudication Advisory Team
As part of USBands ongoing commitment to adjudication excellence, the organization announces the addition of Jarrett Lipman and Joni Perez to the adjudication training and management team with a specific concentration on adjudication activities in Texas.
“With fifteen or more USBands events annually in Texas, we identified the opportunity to broaden our community of active adjudicators throughout the state to provide educational and actionable commentary and assessment, while preserving the educational community’s standards, traditions and culture in Texas,” said Eric Kitchenman, Adjudicator Coordinator of USBands. “We are privileged to welcome Jarrett and Joni to the team and they have already made wonderful strides to reach out to educators throughout the state to invite them to participate as adjudicators in the 2023 USBands fall marching band season.”
In addition to the work with adjudicators in Texas, Mr. Lipman and Ms. Perez will also work alongside Director of Adjudication Philosophy, Shirley Dorritie, Mike Stone and Eric Kitchenman and the music and visual cohorts throughout USBands to address current and future trends in adjudication to be responsive to the needs of educators and their students in Texas and across the nation.
About Mr. Lipman
Jarrett Lipman was most recently the Director of Bands at Claudia Taylor “Lady Bird” Johnson High School in San Antonio, Texas, where he taught from 2008-2023. Mr. Lipman is also the Brass Caption Manager at the Boston Crusaders, and before that was on staff at the Cadets Drum Corps from 2010 to 2016. As a clinician, Mr. Lipman enjoys sharing experiences and strategies from his time as a high school director in an effort to help others improve at their craft. He enjoys seeing students respond with enthusiasm when they have a musical breakthrough or successfully achieve their goals.
Mr. Lipman graduated with degrees in Music Education and Euphonium Performance from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ. He recently received his Masters of Public Administration and Urban Planning Certification from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
About Ms. Perez
Joni Perez spent 19 years serving The Woodlands High School Band and 13 years as Director of Bands. Perez conducted the Wind Ensemble, Concert Band and The Woodlands High School Marching Band, receiving exclusively superior ratings from the University Interscholastic League, including six consecutive appearances at the Texas State UIL Marching Band Championships (2010-2020). The marching band was a regular participant, finalist, and champion at Bands of America Championships and recognized as the Bands of America Grand National Champion in 2013.
Perez attended the University of Houston earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education (2005). Perez was a member with The Cadets of Bergen County and an original cast member of the Tony Award-winning and Emmy nominated production, Blast! Perez has served as a DCI brass-staff member for the Blue Knights (2003-2007) and as a brass instructor and consultant to The Cavaliers and Madison Scouts. Most recently, she was named a Brass Consultant with the Bluecoats and an Ensemble Specialist for The Cavaliers.
Kitchenman shared, “We are excited to be working with Jarrett and Joni as they join the team to better serve the hundreds of USBands music programs in Texas and across the country. We look forward to sharing their experience and wisdom throughout our adjudication process as we continue to elevate the USBands experience for educators and students nationwide.”
Registration for 2023 USBands events is open for all events including those in Texas in the Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Houston regions, as well as the season-ending 2023 USBands Southwestern Championships at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Tuesday, November 7.