Dr. Paul Spellman
Department Head, Music 
Wharton County Junior College
911 Boling Highway
Wharton, TX 77488
Ph: (979) 532-6300
1-800-561-9252 ext. 6300
Email: pauls@wcjc.edu

Dr. Paul Spellman
Department Head, Music 
Division Chair of Communications and Fine Arts 

Dr. Paul Spellman has been an instructor of History for eight years and Division Chair of Communications and Fine Arts since 2001. Dr. Spellman has a Ph.D. in American History as well as a graduate degree in school administration. His undergraduate degree was in American Literature with a minor in Theatre. He is the author of four books on Texas History, the most recent published in 2006. Paul also has an extensive background in music and drama performance and brings these to our division as chair. Paul and his wife are active in church and civic affairs.

Lee Lemson
Choir Director

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. for further information about the choirs, Mr. Lemson can be contacted by phone (1-800-521-9252 ext. 6447 or 1-979-532-4560 ext. 6447), by e-mail (leel@wcjc.edu) and by mail (Wharton County Junior College, Music Department, 911 Boling Highway, Wharton, TX  77488).

Joe Waldrop
Instructor of Music/Band Director

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. He can be contacted by phone (1-800-561-9252, Ext. 6366 or 979-532-6366), by e-mail (waldropj@wcjc.edu) and by mail (Wharton County Junior College, Music Department, 911 Boling Highway, Wharton, TX 77488)

Dr. Jason Lester
Instructor of Music/Choir Director

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.