Joe Waldrop
Instructor of Music and Band Director
Wharton County Junior College
911 Boling Highway
Wharton, TX 77488
Ph: (979) 532-6300
1-800-561-9252 ext. 6300
Email: waldropj@wcjc.edu

Joe Waldrop attended Tyler Junior College where he received his Associates of Arts Degree in 1980 and the University of Texas at Tyler where he earned his Bachelors of Fine Arts Degree in 1984. He taught in the public school system of Texas for 14 years as a band director. He received his Masters in Music Performance-Theory from Southwest Texas State University in 1995 and his School Administrators Certificate from Texas A&M University in 2003.

Mr. Waldrop joined the staff of Wharton County Junior College in August of 2004, where he directs the Pioneer Concert Band, WCJC Jazz Ensemble, teaches music theory, ear training and sight singing, and applied lesson on percussion and woodwinds.

Lee Lemson received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music in 1969, and his Masters of Education in Music degree in 1972 from San Diego State University.  He directed up to seven ensembles for five years at La Jolla High School in the San Deigo City School District.  He received a Master of Sacred Music degree from Southern Methodist University in 1979. 

Mr. Lemson joined the faculty at Wharton County Junior College in the fall of 1989 where he directs the Concert Choir and Chamber Singers.  He also teaches piano class, music theory, and voice.  Mr. Lemson is a member of "Who’s Who among American Teachers".  Mr. Lemson has taken the choir on tours to Carnegie Hall in New York City; Branson, Missouri; the Bahamas and Cozumel, Mexico on cruise ships; and to Sea World and Disney World. 

His wife, Debra Lemson, is the Music Department's staff accompanist. The Lemson's have one son, Jason.

A native Texan, bass-baritone Jason Lester has proven to be an accomplished performer in a variety of musical styles, including opera (with over twenty-five roles performed), concert works, and recitals.  Dr. Lester has performed with such companies as Glimmerglass Opera, Berkshire Opera, Opera in the Heights, Woodlands Symphony Orchestra, Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra, Florida State Opera, Opera Theater of Lucca, Italy, Tallahassee Bach Parley and has been heard on NPR’s World of Opera. 

Some of the operatic roles Dr. Lester has performed include Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Méphistophélès in Faust, Raimondo Bidebent in Lucia di Lammermoor, Dr. Grenvil in La Traviata, Padre Guardiano in La forza del destino, Capellio in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, and Father Trulove in The Rake’s Progress.  As an active concert soloist, he has been seen in Mozart’s Requiem, Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzer, Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Saint-Saëns Oratorio de Noël, and Bach’s Christ lag in Todesbanden among others. 

Dr. Lester received his Doctor of Music from Florida State University, his Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and Bachelor of Music Education from Baylor University.   

Debra Lemson received her Masters degree in Sacred Music from Southern Methodist University and has been on our Music staff since 1979. She currently teaches Music Appreciation, Survey of Music Literature, Sight-Singing and Ear Training classes, and music major piano lessons, as well as accompanying the WCJC Concert Choir and Chamber Singers in rehearsals and performance.

     Part-time

Kevin Klotz received his Bachelor of Music degree from Houston Baptist University, his Masters in Music degree from the University of Houston, and is currently completing a doctoral degree in Musicology from the University of Houston. Kevin is the conductor of the Sugar Land Choral Society, and has taught Music Appreciation courses at WCJC for three years.

Lewis Pilot received his Bachelor of Arts in Music (summa cum laude) and Master of Music from Colorado State University and has completed his doctoral coursework in musicology from the University of Colorado at Boulder where he also held the position of Student Representative for the American Musicological Society, Rocky Mountain Chapter. Mr. Pilot has taught music appreciation for Wharton County Junior College since 2009.

Rick Spitz has taught as adjunct instructor of Music at WCJC for six years; he also teaches in Alief ISD. Mr. Spitz’s master of music degree and his professional doctorate in music education were earned at USC after completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mr. Spitz is a well-known trombonist in the Houston area, has worked with the Houston Grand Opera and the Houston Ballet to name just a few, and has recorded and toured with America Brass Band.