About Me
I grew up in the small town of Hanley Falls, MN (20 minutes north of Marshall). My parents enjoy living a quiet life on the family farm. I have one brother, who is 3 years older than me and lives in Sioux Falls.
I attended Yellow Medicine East High School (under the direction of Monica Kasel) in Granite Falls, MN. Following graduation, I became a Jackrabbit at South Dakota State University. I studied percussion under Mr. James McKinney and Mr. C. Stephen Tobin. I was active in the Pride of the Dakotas Marching Band by playing snare drum in the drumline. During my 5 years, we marched in Washington, D.C. in July of 2000 and the Rose Bowl parade in Pasadena, CA in January of 2003. I also participated in percussion ensemble and symphonic band.
I marched snare drum for 6 seasons with Su Fu Du, a drumline based out of Sioux Falls, from 1999-2004. I was section leader for the 2003 and 2004 seasons. I joined the board of directors after I retired from playing holding positions as Member-at-Large, President (2 years), Past-President (3 years), and Secretary (2 years).
I student-taught in the Spring of 2004 in Adrian, MN under the direction of Mr. Jon Loy. Mr. Loy is an energetic director who has excelled in building both instrumental and choral programs.
After graduation in May of 2004, I substitute taught at R-T-R (Russell-Tyler-Ruthton) High School in Tyler, MN to finish out their school year. I was called back to long-term sub for the 2004-2005 school year in which I taught band and choir for two-thirds of the school year. We had a lot of success with starting the RTR "Knight Fire" Drumline and presented the "Drumline Jam" clinic. The award-winning drumline marched throughout Minnesota performing their "Don't Drum and Drive 2005" tour.
I taught in both Parkston and Ethan School Districts during the 2005-2006 school year. Following that year, I taught full-time for 2 more years in Parkston were I kept busy with 4th grade band, high school band, pep band, marching band, jazz band, 4th-8th grade percussion and brass lessons, music appreciation, and developed the award-winning Stickshot Drumline.
In 2008-2009, I taught grades 5-12 instrumental music at both Sanborn Central School District in Forestburg and Woonsocket School District. We combined the two separate school districts to develop one marching band that competed at the River City Band Festival held in Chamberlain, SD.
This year is my 16th year teaching grades 6-12 instrumental music at West Central. We have 3 middle school bands and 1 high school band. I direct the marching band, concert band, high school jazz band, drumline, percussion ensemble, musical pit, and give weekly lessons to middle school students. During 1st semester, I teach a piano course to high school students. In 2nd semester, it switches over to a small ensemble class. In addition to being an Apple Certified Teacher, I was honored as the West Central Teacher of the Year during the 2016-2017 school year. In 2018, the National Band Association awarded me the Citation of Excellence for outstanding contributions to bands and band music. I was also recently named the 2020-2021 National Federation of State High Schools Association (NFHS) Outstanding Music Educator for the state of South Dakota!
In my free time, I keep busy traveling as a marching percussion clinician, composer, and judging festivals. I played 2 years with the Sioux Falls Stormfront Drumline on snare drum. Stormfront played at all of the home games during the 2008 & 2009 seasons for the now 11-time National Champion Sioux Falls Storm Indoor Football Team. I completed my Master of Arts in Education degree from Augustana College in December of 2012 and my Master in Music Education degree through Northern State University in June 2014. I'm proud to be a member of the educational team for both Vic Firth and Zildjian. In 2019, I signed an endorsement to be an exclusive artist with Yamaha! I enjoying golfing, riding motorcycles, playing drums with the worship team at Embrace, and spending time with my family. My wife and I have a 12 year old son and a 10 year old daughter.
