Mr. Joe Sipzner is entering his fifth year at Downing Middle School in Lewisville ISD, and his ninth year teaching. He is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Orchestra Directors Association, and he currently serves as the TMEA Region 2 Orchestra Chair. Recently he has presented multiple professional development clinics at the Texas Music Educators Association Convention and has served as a student teacher mentor for Lewisville ISD. He has co-authored a study published in the Journal for Research in Music Education.

Native to upstate New York, Mr. Sipzner began playing the violin at age 9. He earned his Bachelor of Music Education degree from The Ohio State University, where he was mentored in string pedagogy Dr. Robert Gillespie. He received his Masters of Music Education degree from the University of North Texas.

Prior to working with the musicians of Downing Middle school, Mr. Sipzner taught in Plano ISD as well as in Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, where he received the Elementary Strings New Teacher of the Year Award in 2020 from the Fairfax Orchestra Directors’ Association.

Outside of teaching, he enjoys spending time with his wife, cooking, composing music, and going on walks with their dog Tabitha. He also runs the youth curling program for the DFW Curling Club.