Role(s):
Specialties:
Affiliations:
Katie VanDoren (Austin, TX) is the former Director of Bands at Vandegrift High School in Austin, Texas. VanDoren was a teacher at Vandegrift H.S. from 2014 to 2024 and worked at Round Rock H.S. in Round Rock, Texas, before that. Originally from Cedar Park, Texas, VanDoren graduated summa cum laude from the University of North Texas with a bachelor’s degree in music education.
VanDoren’s bands have been awarded Sweepstakes ratings consistently for marching and concert and have been recognized as a National Wind Band Honors Mark of Excellence Winner. While she was the head director at Vandegrift H.S., the Viper Band and Vision Dance Company was the UIL 6A State Marching Band Champion in 2022 and 2023 and the BOA San Antonio Super Regional Champion in 2023. The band also performed in the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the first band in Leander ISD to do so.
VanDoren is currently the Assistant Brass Caption Head of the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps and has been in this position since 2020. Prior to this position, she spent 12 years with Carolina Crown, joining the brass staff in 2013 after marching with the corps from 2008 to 2012. VanDoren also works with the SASI Leadership Faculty, a group of current and former teachers dedicated to developing student leaders. Since 2013, she has enjoyed getting to be a part of the SASI Experience, an uplifting and empowering environment for both students and staff.
In 2022, VanDoren was honored as one of Yamaha’s 40 Under 40 music educators. VanDoren is an active concert band and marching band clinician and adjudicator across Texas and the United States. VanDoren judges for UIL, BOA, WGI, and other circuits.
VanDoren’s professional affiliations include the Texas Music Educators Association and the Texas Bandmasters Association, and she is a member of the Alpha chapter of Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity.