Band staff

Juan Galdamez

Assistant Percussion Director

Juan Galdamez is an active music educator and performer in the DFW area. Juan received his Bachelor's Degree in Music from the University of North Texas in 2020. While at UNT, he studied with world-class musicians such as Mark Ford, Paul Rennick, Ed Smith, Stephen Barnes, Mike Drake, Poovilar Sriji, and Jose Aponte. On top of Juan’s classical percussion studies, he dedicated much of his studies to Latin percussion with his mentor Jose Aponte.

At the University of North Texas, Juan played Congas and Timbales with the UNT Latin Jazz Lab band and performed on and off campus, including the Denton Arts and Jazz Festival. Juan was also an active performer with the UNT Jazz Singers, Brass Band, Wind Ensemble, 2 O’Clock Steel Band, Advanced Afro Cuban Ensemble, Brazilian Ensemble, South Indian Ensemble and the Green Brigade Drumline. Outside of college, Juan had the opportunity to march Quads with the Boston Crusaders Drum & Bugle Corps and perform at the 2016 DCI finals competition.

As a freelance musician, Juan performs on drum set and percussion in live performances and recordings with groups such as Terence Bradford and Congo Square, Abram Olivas y Outro-speccion, Andrew Popham’s Rewind Band, Nobles of Note Big Band, and many other great local musicians. On top of Juan’s obligations as a performer, he has established himself as an avid private lesson instructor and drumline technician throughout the metroplex. He has assisted with the percussion programs at Richardson High School, Keller Central High School, Timber Creek High School, Celina High School, Pilot Point High School, Friendship High School, Richardson West Junior High and Westwood Junior High.

Because of the lifelong impact his mentors have had on him, Juan is very passionate about education and hopes to provide the same experience for his students. Juan believes that music is a voice of expression that should be accessible to anyone, no matter the skill level.

Marching Band Tech Staff

Ken Nguyen

Lucas King

Allison Durocher

Bianca Rivadeneira