John Benzer semi-retired, after twenty years as an Instrumental Music Education and University Bands Affiliate faculty member at the University of Houston’s Moores School of Music in 2020, where he taught undergraduate woodwind instrument pedagogy classes and band director methods classes, and assisted the performing ensembles. Through the music education department, he was the Student Teacher Coordinator and was very active in providing beginning teacher job placement in school districts throughout Texas. Currently, he is a full-time band clinician/consultant and adjudicator, and provides conceptual brass and woodwind instrumental pedagogy information—as well as woodwind instructional teaching videos—through johnbenzer.com.  He continues to serve as the Texas Area and State Honor Band Adjudicator Coordinator.

Before moving to Houston in 2000, he taught for twelve years at Griffin Middle School in The Colony, which is part of the Lewisville ISD.  He served as Associate Director of Bands for two years before being named Director of Bands in 1990.  He is a 1984 honor graduate of Plano Senior High School, and a cum laude graduate of North Texas State University, where he received his Bachelor of Music Education Degree in 1988.   He completed his Masters Degree in Applied Music in 2004 at University of Houston.  Mr. Benzer is co-author of Essential Musicianship-Ensemble Concepts, a published band method consisting of three textbooks which are on the Texas state-adopted textbook list for instrumental ensembles. 

During his ten years as Director of Bands, the Griffin MS Symphonic Band was twice named the Texas Class CC Middle School Honor Band, in 1993 and 1997.  In 1997, the Griffin Middle School Band Program was awarded the Sudler Silver Cup, the most prestigious international award to recognize junior high and middle school band programs of outstanding musical excellence.  Mr. Benzer’s primary teachers are Tom Bennett and the late Eddie Green, and he is furthermore grateful for the mentorship and guidance of Marion West, Bobby Floyd, Dick Clardy, Kathy Johnson and Joe Dixon over the course of his career.

At the 1995 Texas Bandmasters Association Convention, Mr. Benzer was named the 1995 “Texas Young Bandmaster of the Year.”  In 2001 he was inducted as a member of the Alpha Chapter of Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity, and was honored as the Distinguished Alumnus in Music Education through the UH Moores School of Music in 2012.  In December of 2022, he was recognized and presented at Midwest as an Honorary Member of Women Band Directors International for his mentorship and support of women band directors across Texas and our country.  Most recently, Mr. Benzer received a Meritorious Achievement Award at the 2023 Texas Bandmasters Association Convention.

He was a guest conductor at the Indian Springs MS TMEA CCC Honor Band Concert in 2016, the Arbor Creek MS Honors Band Midwest performance in 2017, the Killian MS TMEA CC Honor Band Concert in 2018, the Killian MS Honors Band Midwest performance in 2019, the Creek Valley MS Midwest performance in 2022 and the Arbor Creek MS Honors Band Midwest  performance in 2023. 

Mr. Benzer has presented band director inservices and workshops in numerous school districts, and various clinics at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Conference, the Texas Music Educators Association Convention, the Texas Bandmasters Association Convention, the Arkansas Bandmasters Association Convention, the New Mexico Music Educators Association Convention, the Colorado Music Educators Association Convention, the Utah Music Educators Association Convention and the Utah Bandmasters Association Convention.

Mr. Benzer’s professional affiliations include Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, Texas Music Adjudicators Association, Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity and Women Band Directors International.