George Ishii

George Ishii currently serves as Assistant Band Director and Jazz Band Director at Granbury High School where he is an instructor for the “Pride of Granbury” Pirate Marching Band, Concert Band, and Pirate Jazz Band. Prior to his appointment at Granbury High School, he was a graduate student at Texas Christian University where he earned a Master of Music in Wind Band Conducting under Professor Bobby R. Francis. In addition to his coursework there, he assisted with many aspects of the TCU Bands including instruction and logistics for the Horned Frog Marching Band, the TCU Basketball Band, and the undergraduate conducting courses, as well as rehearsing and conducting the TCU Wind Symphony and Symphonic Band in concert performance.

George obtained a Bachelor of Music from the University of Texas at Arlington where he studied clarinet under Deborah Fabian, Kenneth Krause, and Dr. Cheyenne Cruz, as well as conducting under Dr. Douglas Stotter, Dr. Clifton Evans, and Dr. John Zastoupil. While he was studying there he had many performance experiences, serving as the principal clarinetist for the Wind Symphony during its performances at the 2016 CBDNA Southwestern Division Conference and the 2017 TMEA Convention, as well as principal clarinetist for the Symphony Orchestra. He was also a member of the Jazz Orchestra during its participation in the 2017 Hawaii Jazz Institute hosted by Iolani High School. George was named one of six finalists for the 2017 Kappa Kappa Psi National Solo Competition and a member of the Dallas Civic Wind Ensemble. He was a founding member of the UTA Quattratonic Clarinet Quartet; during his tenure, the group was invited to perform at the 2018 International Clarinet Association Convention in Ostend, Belgium.

After earning his degree from the University of Texas at Arlington, George was a band director at A.C. New Middle School in Mesquite, Texas. During that time he was selected to serve as a Regional Chair for the Young Band Directors of Texas.

George has also been involved with the marching arts throughout his musical career.  He was selected to serve as drum major and then undergraduate staff member for the University of Texas at Arlington Maverick Marching Band. He was also a member of the 2014 Guardians Drum and Bugle Corps, and a marching technician for schools in the DFW area including Aledo High School and Saginaw High School.

An active performer in the DFW area, George is a member of the Dallas Asian Wind Ensemble under the direction of Jung-Moo Lee, and has previously performed with the Carrollton Wind Symphony under the direction of Jim McDaniel.

His professional affiliations include the Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, the Jazz Education Network, Young Band Directors of Texas, and Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity.