Dr. Jeff Vanderlee

Director of Music, Jeff@StMattsAustin.org;

Dr. Jeff Vanderlee serves as Director of Music at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas, where he is honored to lead a ministry that weaves together sacred music, community, and worship. His work is grounded in a lifelong passion for choral music and a deep belief in its ability to inspire, connect, and uplift people of all ages and backgrounds. Jeff is a proud graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a BM in Music education. He went on to receive a MM in Conducting from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ, and later completed his DMA in Conducting at the University of Arizona. These experiences shaped not only his musical expertise but also his vision for music as a form of service, teaching, and spiritual expression.

From 2021 to 2025, Jeff served as Director of Music at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church in Tucson, Arizona, and as Assistant Professor of Practice in the Choral Department at the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ. His career has also included directing choirs in the Presbyterian Church and the United Church of Christ, teaching high school choir and middle school orchestra, and working with countless young musicians as a clinician, mentor, and adjudicator.

Jeff’s history with St. Matthew’s is especially meaningful. From 2012 to 2014 he served as Choir Director, and his grandmother was a longtime parishioner whose ashes rest in the church’s memorial garden. Returning now as Director of Music feels like a homecoming, as he seeks to build on the strong legacy of music at St. Matthew’s and nurture a ministry that is both excellent and welcoming. He believes that sacred music is both vocation and joy—an art that brings people together and draws hearts closer to God.

Outside of his professional life, Jeff and his husband, Miguel, who were married in March of 2014, enjoy life in Austin with their beloved greyhound, Peter. They are also lovers of travel, whenever they can get the chance. Jeff can often be found swimming at Lake Travis, attending concerts, or eating a spicy meal at any one of his many favorite Austin restaurants.