Daniel Aisenberg
DMA, Clarinet
Daniel Aisenberg is in the first year of his DMA in Clarinet Performance at UT. He completed his Masters of Music at UT in May of 2024 and his Bachelors of Music at Indiana University in 2020. Daniel is one of the Clarinet Teaching Assistants for the Longhorn Band and also serves as the Bands Music Librarian.
Originally from Chicago, Daniel has been playing clarinet for nearly 17 years and has performed in venues across the country such as Carnegie Hall, Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavillion, Ravinia Festival Stage, thr Harris Theater, and the Grand Ole Opry. You can hear Daniel performing on numerous UT Wind Ensemble and Orchestra concerts as well as on recording projects with Density512 and UT composers.
Daniel has been running a successful private lesson studio for five years teaching clarinet, first at Carmel High School in Indiana and currently at Danielson Middle and Glenn High School in Leander, TX.
T.j. Anderson
DMA, Wind Conducting
T.j. Anderson (he/him) is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Wind Conducting and serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Texas at Austin. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from Coastal Carolina, where he honed his
percussion skills under the mentorship of Dr. Jesse Willis. During his time at Coastal Carolina, T.j. demonstrated his leadership abilities as the Drum Major for the Chanticleer Regiment for two seasons and also served as a conductor for the university pep band. While at Coastal, he sought conducting guidance from Garrett Griffin, and Dr. Timothy Koch.
Continuing his education, T.j. pursued a Master’s Degree in Instrumental Conducting at Appalachian State University. There, he studied under the guidance of Dr. John Stanley Ross, Dr. Jason Gardner, Dr. Regulo Stabilito, and Dr. Alexandra Dee. T.j.’s role as a graduate teaching assistant allowed him to contribute to the University bands in many fashions. He served as a teaching assistant and instructor for undergraduate conducting, band literature, and band methods courses. He also served the Marching Mountaineers working as a winds instructor in his first year, and in his second year serving as a percussion instructor, arranging music and writing drill on various occasions. He also assumed the role of Musical Director for the Appalachian Concert Band and was a conductor of the Basketball Pep Band.
Formerly, he held the position of Artistic Director and Conductor of the Festive Brass, as well as Assistant Conductor of the Carolina Master Chorale. His commitment to music education is reflected in his professional affiliations, which include memberships with CBDNA, NAFME, SCMEA, NCMEA, TMEA, and Pi Kappa Lambda. Additionally, T.j. is an Honorary Brother of Kappa Kappa Psi, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and a Sigma Alpha Iota Friend of the Arts.
Justin Cooperman
MM, Percussion
Justin Cooperman (b. 1998) is a percussionist, composer, and educator currently living in Austin, Texas. His music blends a background rooted in video game music with the ever evolving climate of contemporary percussion. Justin has been commissioned by various universities and public schools across the country and recently had his music premiered by The University of Texas Percussion Ensemble.
Justin was recently selected as a semi-finalist for the 2024 Great Plains International Marimba Competition. He is also a member of the chamber group, The Austin Percussion Collective and recently performed as a guest artist with the 6A mixed honor choir at the 2024 Texas Music Educators Association Convention.
As an educator, Justin is currently a Teaching Assistant at The University of Texas where he teaches and arranges for the Longhorn Band Drumline as well as teaches the Longhorn Percussion Ensemble. Previously, Justin served as the Assistant Band Director and Percussion Director at Killeen High School from 2021 to 2023 leading the group to various successes, including multiple accolades at the State Solo and Ensemble contest, a first for the Killeen High School Percussion Ensemble in program history. Along with that, Justin frequently teaches masterclasses as well as private lessons in the Austin area.
Justin is currently working towards his master’s degree at the University of Texas and received his undergraduate degree from Sam Houston State University in 2021. Justin has had the privilege of studying with Thomas Burritt, Ivan Trevino, John Lane, and Brian Graiser. In his free time, Justin enjoys playing video games, cheering on the Dallas Stars, and spending time with his wife, Haylie.
Tyler Ehrlich 
DMA, Wind Conducting
Tyler Ehrlich (he/him) serves as an assistant instructor and doctoral candidate in wind conducting at The University of Texas at Austin. In this role, he assists with conducting and administrating the university’s concert bands, athletic bands, new music ensemble, and conducting and wind literature courses. Tyler also curates and hosts 89.5 KMFA’s “From the Butler School”, a weekly program that brings student and faculty performances to the station’s 100,000 weekly listeners.
Tyler previously lived in Atlanta, Georgia where he served as conductor of the Emory University Wind Ensemble, director of bands at Decatur High School, and associate conductor of the Atlanta Wind Symphony. He has given invited talks on topics including exoticism, pedagogy, and interpretation at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, the World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles International Conference, the College Band Directors National Association National Conference, and the Texas and Georgia Music Educators Conferences.
Ehrlich has a Master of Music degree from the University of Georgia and a Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude from Cornell University. He lives with his partner Brent and their dog Milo. Tyler’s website is http://tylerehrlich.com
Destiny Lerma
MM, Clarinet
Destiny Lerma is a clarinetist based in Austin, Texas. She is currently in her last year of the master’s program for Clarinet Performance at The University of Texas at Austin’s Butler School of Music, where she is studying with Professor Jonathan Gunn. Amidst her studies at UT, she has played in many concerts with the Wind Ensemble led by Jerry Junkin and has participated in clarinet masterclasses with Cecilia Kang and Guy Yehuda, and Jeremy Reynolds. Currently, Destiny is working as a Teaching Assistant with the Longhorn Marching Band and Longhorn Pep Band for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Previously, Destiny completed a double degree in Clarinet Performance and Music Education (Instrumental) during her undergraduate studies at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. There, she studied with James Campbell, Luis Rossi, Andrea Levine, and Gabor Varga. During her time in Indiana, Destiny had the opportunity to perform with the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, and The Louisville Master Chorale. Additionally, Destiny had the unique opportunity to serve as the solo clarinetist for the IU Latin American Ensemble “Orquesta Escuela Vieja”, where she played popular and folkloric music from the Caribbean, Central, and South America.
This past summer, Destiny was selected as a 2024 U.S. Air Force Diversity Fellow, spending a week collaborating and performing with the members of the U.S. Air Force band. Shortly after, through an intense auditioning process, Destiny was offered a position working with the US Air Force Band of the West based in San Antonio, TX.
Cody Ray
DMA, Wind Conducting
Cody Ray is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Wind Conducting at the University of Texas where he studies with Prof. Jerry Junkin and serves as a Teaching Assistant for the University of Texas Bands. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Music Education (‘18) from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in Birmingham, AL under the mentorship of Dr. Sue Samuels, Dr. Gene Fambrough, Dr. Cara Morantz, and Dr. Sean Murray, and a Master of Music in Wind Conducting from the University of South Carolina (’24) studying under Dr. Cormac Cannon, Dr. Jay Jacobs, and Dr. Quintus Wrighten.
Before graduate study, Cody served as the Assistant Director of Bands at Cairo High School in Cairo, GA from 2020-2022. Before coming to Cairo, he also served as Director of Bands at Sipsey Valley High/Middle School from 2019-2020 and Director of Bands at Sulligent High School from 2018-2019. During his time at UAB, he maintained an active performing career by performing with the UAB Wind Symphony, UAB Percussion Ensemble, the Sound of the Magic City, UAB Steel Band, and the UAB Pep Band.
Throughout his professional career, he has emphasized his growth as a musician and conductor through active participation in conducting workshops and private lessons. Through these experiences, Cody has studied with Dr. Emily Threinen, Dr. Robert Carnochan, Dr. Jamie Nix, Dr. Kevin Sedatole, Professor Michael Haithcock, Dr. Damon Talley, Professor Craig Kirchhoff, Dr. Scott Boerma, Professor Jerry Junkin, Dr. Alexander Jiménez and Col. Thomas Palmatier. His professional affiliations include the National Association for Music Education, the College Band Directors National Association, and the National Band Association.
Jimmy Santos-Rivera
MM, Wind Conducting
Jimmy Santos-Rivera (he,him) is pursuing his Master’s in Music in Wind Conducting and serves as a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Texas at Austin. In this position, he assists with conducting and administrating the university’s concert bands, athletic bands and conducting courses. Santos earned his Bachelor’s in Arts in Music Education with a minor in percussion from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus. His birthplace, upbringing, and career has been developed in the island.
Prior to moving to Austin he worked eight years in the Department of Education with a teaching position in the Escuela Especializada en Bellas Artes Pablo Casals. There he taught concert band, percussion and music theory. He served as a substitute player in the percussion section of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, section percussion player in the Puerto Rico Wind Symphony and Puerto Rico Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2019, Santos enlisted as a member of the 248th Army Band in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Currently serving as a percussion player in the marching band, jazz and latin music ensemble, brass ensemble and principal conductor in the concert band. Some of his mentors include: Carlos Ávila, Eddy Marcano, Karlo Flores and Carmen Acevedo.
