Ms. De Leon - Orchestra Director
Ms. De Leon holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Texas at Brownsville. During her time as a university student she was also the co-founder and Executive Director of the Brownsville SMART Orchestra, a community string outreach program. She began her teaching career with the Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District at Lt. George Gutierrez Middle School. As the Head Orchestra Director for Gutierrez Middle School, Ms. De Leon instantly began to instill the tradition of success with the program’s first UIL sweepstakes. She continued to make history and break records for the Jaguar Orchestra with numerous TMEA All Region placements and multiple UIL Sweepstakes for both the Varsity and Non-Varsity groups. The program continued to flourish under her direction and grew to have three competing orchestras and became the largest orchestra in the district with over 200 students. At Gutierrez Middle School, many of her students competed and earned spots to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City with the Honors Performance Series. During this time, she also served as the TMEA Region 28 Orchestra Division Vice Chairperson and Region Chairperson. In 2017, Ms. De Leon became the Head Orchestra Director for the Nikki Rowe High School Orchestra in McAllen, Texas. At Rowe High School, she continued to make history with all three orchestras, which earned Sweepstakes trophies at UIL Concert and Sight-reading competition. In 2018, Ms. De Leon became the assistant orchestra director at both O’Connor High School and Brandeis High School where she had the opportunity to conduct at Carnegie Hall & Lincoln Center. She was also the assistant director at Brandeis High School in 2022, the year the orchestra won Grand Champions at the National Orchestra Cup in New York City. In 2022, she became the orchestra director at Sotomayor High School where she started the new orchestra program. Ms. De Leon has also served as TMEA Region Chair of Region 29 Orchestra. She is a camp counselor and conductor for the Florida Southern College Summer Camp and adjudicator for Texas Music Festivals. She has performed with the Laredo Philharmonic Orchestra, Kingsville Symphony Orchestra, and Heart of Texas Concert Band.
