Mary McKay-Gonzales has been a member of the Beeville Community Chorus since 2022 and began serving as Assistant Director in 2023.

She earned her Bachelor of Music Education with an emphasis in Vocal Performance from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2012. While she did not pursue classroom teaching, Mary remained active in music by directing the children’s choir at St. Francis Episcopal Church in San Antonio and teaching private piano and voice lessons until 2019 when she began her nursing career.

In 2020, Mary earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from UT Health San Antonio. She currently works as a dialysis nurse in Beeville and is pursuing her Master of Science in Nursing to become a Family Nurse Practitioner.

Mary continues to share her love of music through leadership and performance within the community.

She is married to Carlos Gonzales, and they have one daughter, Chloe.

Community Connection
Mary believes music enriches the Beeville community by bringing people together and inspiring future generations.

Dr. James Lee – Artistic Director

Dr. James Lee has been a teacher and administrator of music
education for over fifty years and has taught all age levels, kindergarten through college/university.
He received his undergraduate degree in music education from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas, and his graduate degrees from Texas A&M, Commerce, Texas. Dr. Lee has held positions as Director of Choral Music in the Mesquite public school district, Mesquite, Texas, Supervisor of Vocal Music grades K-12 and high school choral director in the Texas City public school district, Head of the Voice Department and Director of Choral Activities at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, Alva, Oklahoma, and Chairman of the Performing Arts Division at Coastal Bend College, Beeville, Texas.

He has taught music (K-8) at St. Mary’s Academy in Beeville, Texas. He is currently the Artistic Director of the Beeville Community Chorus and Director of Music at the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Beeville, Texas. He has taught as an adjunct professor of music at Texas A&M – Corpus Christi and Texas A & M Kingsville.

Dr. Lee is the former Director of Choral Events and Tours for All World Travel
and Tours, a Texas-based travel company in Allen, Texas. His choral groups have performed in the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, the famous Smetana Hall in Prague, Czech Republic, Carnegie Hall in New York City, St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland, and were the first American choir to perform in the Vatican in Rome, Italy, in the year 2000.
Dr. Lee has been very active in several state music organizations and has served on state curriculum committees in Texas and Oklahoma. He is the former Executive Secretary/Treasurer for the Texas Two Year College Choral Directors Association. He is currently the Executive Director of the Texas Association of Music Schools. Dr. Lee has given presentations at state conferences and
conventions and has several research studies and articles on various topics of music education published by the Texas Association of Music Schools, Texas Music Educators Association, and the Texas Music Educators Conference.

He is currently a member of the Texas Music Education Association and is an honorary member of the Coastal Plains Music Teachers Association. He is a former member of the board of directors and chair of the events committee of the Hall-Rialto Preservation Association, a community-based organization working to restore the Rialto Theater in downtown Beeville.