05/22/2026
We are proud to announce Dr. Jordan Stern as the new Director of Bands at Claudia Taylor Johnson High School!
Dr. Stern returned to CTJ in 2025 as an Assistant Band Director after nine years of teaching at Texas State University. He previously served as an Assistant Band Director at Johnson from 2013–2016 and has been connected to the CTJ band program since the school opened in 2008 as a private lesson instructor. Prior to his time at Johnson, Dr. Stern helped open Brennan High School in 2010 as an Assistant Director. His extensive teaching experience also includes serving on the instructional staff of the Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps and Winston Churchill High School.
A passionate advocate for lifelong learning, Dr. Stern holds four degrees, including Bachelor of Music degrees in Music Performance and Music Education, a Master’s Degree in Music Education from Texas State University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Music Education from Boston University.
In addition to his teaching career, Dr. Stern has performed in a variety of musical settings. His experiences include performing with the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps, participating as an orchestral fellow at the International Festival Institute at Round Top and the Immanuel and Helen Olshan Texas Music Festival, and performing with the Austin Symphony Orchestra and Midland-Odessa Symphony Orchestra. A versatile multi-instrumentalist, Dr. Stern has also performed as a clarinetist, drummer, and pedal steel guitarist in numerous ensembles and professional groups.
Dr. Stern has presented clinics and educational sessions at the Texas Music Educators Association Clinic and Convention, the Texas Bandmasters Association Convention, the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the Four States Bandmasters Association Annual Meeting, and teacher in-service events across Texas. He is also a published author, with work featured by Oxford University Press, GIA Publications, the Journal of Band Research, and Agogic Press.
A San Antonio native, Dr. Stern has lived in the Johnson community since 2009. His wife, Sigrid Stern, formerly taught music at Cibolo Green Elementary, and their daughter Gillian is currently a clarinetist at Tex Hill Middle School.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Stern on this exciting new role. We look forward to the continued excellence, growth, and success of the CTJ Band program under his leadership.
