Gatesville ISD hires new band director James Trammell

Gatesville ISD has turned to James Trammell to lead a band program that is already one of the district’s brightest calling cards, and the hire raises the stakes for students, families and Friday night crowds across Coryell County.

Trammell, a bassoonist and trombone player with seven years of music education experience, was named the new head band director at Gatesville High School. He began teaching in 2019 as an assistant band director at Timpson Independent School District, where he helped the band win two state military marching silver medals and one bronze medal. Gatesville students will step into the fall under his leadership after a season of continued visibility for the program on the state stage.

That matters because Gatesville’s band is not starting from scratch. The program made three straight UIL state marching contest appearances and kept climbing each year, moving from 18th in 2022 to 12th in 2023 and then to 8th in November 2024, the highest finish in program history. The district also listed the program as a 2025-2026 Texas Music Educators Association Program Spotlight, a recognition that underscores how much attention the Fightin’ Hornet Band now draws well beyond Gatesville High School.

For parents and band families, the expectation is clear: the new director inherits a program that has already proven it can compete at a high level and stay there. Gatesville High School’s Symphonic Band is described by the district as the premier performance group and has earned numerous UIL and Outstanding Performance Series awards, along with a TMEA 4A Honor Band State Semi-Finalist designation. That makes Trammell’s job about more than keeping the music strong. He is stepping into a program where musicianship, discipline and public performance are part of the school’s identity.

The band’s reach extends into the wider community, too. Gatesville Band Boosters support the program morally and financially, including by running concession stands at football and soccer games. The group’s work helps fund the kind of participation that keeps students on the field, in the stands and on stage, while local fans see the band as part of the soundtrack of Gatesville’s school year.

The high school band also includes a jazz band that performs two to three concerts each year, including a Christmas concert, a jazz festival and a spring concert. With Trammell now in place, Gatesville ISD is asking a new director to protect what has been built while pushing the band’s next round of students to meet a standard that has already risen sharply.