Jeffrey Willner
Jeff Willner began his teaching career in and taught Orchestra, Band and Competitive Marching Band at various high schools in the south bay and peninsula before landing at Paly in the fall of 2000. He has been there ever since. A trumpet player, Mr. Willner received his BA in Music Education at San Jose State University and his MA in Music Ed, at The Ohio State University. He also holds an MA in school administration from Santa Clara University.
Since college and while teaching Mr. Willner has continued playing trumpet in the San Jose Wind Symphony, San Jose Municipal Band and the Foothill Symphonic Winds under former Paly director Dave Adams. Mr. Willner has performed under some of the greatest band conductors of the past century including Dr. Vernon Read, Col. Arnold Gabriel, and Frederick Fennell, the band director of band directors.
While in high school, Mr. Willner spent two years in the Concord Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps, winning a national championship one of those years. That experience inspired his work with the Paly Pep Band for the home football games.
Over his nearly forty years as a music educator, Mr. Willner still gets thrilled every day by the sounds created by his students and the interactions that he is allowed to have with them musically and personally on a daily basis. Mr. Willner lives in the South Bay in a very old house with his wife Inger and their four children, twins David and Celia and other twins Anne and Isabel. Yes, everyone plays an instrument.
Katie Gilchrist
Katie Gilchrist is currently in her 7th year of teaching, and is an instrumental music teacher at Palo Alto High School and Greene Middle School in the Palo Alto Unified School District. She previously taught in the Santa Clara Unified School District and the East Side Union High School District. She holds a Master’s degree in Music Education from the University of Michigan, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education with an emphasis in saxophone from San Jose State University.
In 2024, Katie was awarded the Gilbert T. Freitas outstanding band educator award by CMEA Bay Section. In that same year, she was also awarded the 2023-2024 Outstanding Teacher Award by the Peterson Middle School PTSA.
Katie serves as the California All-State Honor Ensemble coordinator, and is also the secretary for the Santa Clara County Band Directors Association. She has also served on the CMEA Bay Section board, CMEA State Collegiate Council, and the California Band Directors Association board.
Katie is also very involved with the marching arts in the San Francisco Bay Area. She marched mellophone in the Vanguard organization. She has worked as a visual and music staff member for numerous high schools in the South Bay as well as a visual tech for the Vanguard Cadets. She currently works on the staff of the Monta Vista High School marching band.