Giovanni Fuentes joined the Garcia Middle School Orchestra family in 2017 as the assistant orchestra director. Together, with co-director Sara Holtgrewe, the GMS orchestra has grown to well over 250 students, consisting of 5 orchestras. In 2018, the GMS Orchestra was named the Commended Winner for the Mark of Excellence National Orchestra Honors in the Middle School Full Orchestra division. In 2019, the GMS Chamber Orchestra was invited to perform at the prestigious 2019 Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois. As of the 2024-2025 school year, Mr. Fuentes accepted the head director position after the position became available. 

Giovanni Fuentes is a born and raised Houstonian. Growing up in the southeastern part, Giovanni attended La Porte ISD, in which he met the orchestra directors that would later encourage him to take up a career in music education.

In 2016, Giovanni graduated summa cum laude from the Moores School of music at the University of Houston. Since then, he has held an assistant orchestra position in both Humble ISD, and then Fort Bend ISD. He is now the head orchestra director at Macario Garcia Middle School in Sugar Land, Texas. He holds a firm belief that every child has the innate ability to be musical, and that it is educators’ duty to reach that student in any way they can. Giovanni is excited to fulfill this philosophy, and see what he can bring to the GMS Orchestra program as Fort Bend ISD continues to grow.

Sara is from Houston, Tx and was raised in the Cypress area. She attended the University of North Texas where she studied Violin Performance under Dr. Felix Olschofka and Eunice Keem. During her time at UNT, she worked at the Music Library, taught students, played in the Concert Orchestra, and was part of the Chamber Music program. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance in 2021. Upon her return to Houston, she worked part-time with the Houston Ballet and the Houston Grand Opera as well as teaching privately. She started at Garcia Middle School in 2024 and is excited to grow in her role as an Assistant Orchestra Director.