Patrick Butler – Director of Bands
For the eight years prior to coming to Catawba Ridge, Mr. Butler was the Director of Bands at Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte, NC. Mr. Butler grew the Ardrey Kell band program to over 300 students in four concert bands, two jazz ensembles, two winter guards, indoor percussion, winter winds, and marching band. Under Mr. Butler’s direction, the Ardrey Kell band program received many local, regional, state and national honors.
More importantly many his students have gone on to perform with their college bands in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Indiana, California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Utah and Georgia.
Prior to his position at Ardrey Kell High School, Mr. Butler was Director of Bands at Pulaski County High School in Dublin, VA, for 11 years.
Mr. Butler is graduate of Virginia Tech with a B.A. in music with concentrations in music education and performance. He holds professional memberships in National Education Association, National Association for Music Education, and is an honorary member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. He resides in Waxhaw, NC, with his wife Kourtney, dogs Titus and Bailey, and cats Joi and Lulu.
David Shives – Associate Director of Bands
Prior to his position at Catawba Ridge, Mr. Shives spent 8 years as the Director of Bands at Community House Middle School and Associate Director of Bands at Ardrey Kell High School in Charlotte, NC.
As the band director at Community House, his bands earned consistent superior ratings at local and regional band competitions. In 2017, the Community House Middle School 8th grade band was awarded the Charlotte Musical Showcase Award of Excellence for most outstanding middle school musical ensemble in Charlotte.
Mr. Shives has also served as director of the Ardrey Kell Indoor Winds. Ardrey Kell Indoor Winds were second in Scholastic A competition at the WGI Winds World Championships in 2019, and have won several WGI regional events across the southeast.
Mr. Shives is a graduate of Appalachian State University with a B.A. in Music Education and a B.A. in Euphonium Performance. Mr. Shives is also a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a M.M. in Music Education. He holds professional memberships in National Education Association, National Association for Music Education, Society for Music Teacher Education and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. He lives in Fort Mill with his wife Kati, their daughter Maggie, and their two dogs Lily and Grace.
Chris Smith – Percussion Director
Before assuming his current position at Catawba Ridge High School, Mr. Smith held influential roles as the Director of Bands at East Lincoln Middle School and as Assistant Director of Bands & Percussion Director at East Lincoln High School in Denver, NC. Notably, Mr. Smith’s tenure as the Percussion Director at ELHS saw the percussion ensemble achieve remarkable success. Under his guidance, they secured a WGI bronze medal in the Percussion Scholastic Concert Open Class in 2019, marking a milestone in the school district’s history.
Continuing his dedication at Catawba Ridge High School, Mr. Smith has driven the percussion ensemble to unparalleled achievements and growth. Their accomplishments include captivating performances at the South Carolina Music Educators Association Professional Development Conference and garnering prestigious Percussion Scholastic Concert World Bronze and Silver medals at the 2022 & 2023 WGI World Championships. Notably, they have also held the title of Carolina Winter Ensemble Association PSCW Champions for two consecutive years.
Mr. Smith is a native of Denver, NC and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina. He is an active member of professional organizations such as the Percussion Arts Society, National Association for Music Education, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and is an Innovative Percussion artist. He currently represents Catawba Ridge on the Percussion Advisory Councils for Winterguard International (WGI) and the Carolina Winter Ensemble Association (CWEA).
Matthew McCurley – Color Guard Director
Matthew McCurley has been teaching, designing, and performing in the pageantry arts since 2005. He received his music education degree from Winthrop University in 2008, and has been teaching elementary music since. He currently teaches at Springfield Elementary in Fort Mill, SC. Matt currently writes drill, design and provides choreography for multiple groups in NC, SC, VA, and TX. The groups he has worked with have received accolades both locally and nationally including state finals appearances and a Virginia State Class Champion in 2017. Matt strives to provide exciting and accessible programs for the groups he works with.
From 2010-2016 Matt was the lead choreographer for Aria Winter guard from Greensboro, NC. Over the 7 years with Aria they were WGI Regional Champions multiple times in A Class as well as 2 time national semi-finalists and 2 time national finalists. After moving to open class in 2014 they were semi-finalists in 2014 and finalists in 2015. Most recently Matt was the guard director at Fort Mill High School from 2014-2019. During his time there the band won a state championship, two BOA Regional Championships, and had two visits to BOA Grand National Semi-Finals. The winter guard was named the CWEA National A Class Champion in 2017, the WGI Knoxville Regional Champion and a WGI SA Finalist in 2018, and a WGI SA Semi-Finalist in 2019. Matt currently lives in Fort Mill, SC with his husband James and their cat Ovie. He is excited to be starting a new adventure with Catawba Ridge High School!
Jordan Laird – Woodwind Instructor
Jordan Laird is currently the Director of Bands at Forest Creek Middle School in Fort Mill. Prior to teaching at FCMS, Ms. Laird taught at Greer Middle School in Greenville, SC. During her time at Greer Middle School, the bands received Superior ratings at the Carowinds Music Festival, Trills and Thrills Festival, Solo & Ensemble performances, and the Honor Band received Superior with distinction ratings at the SCBDA Concert Performance Assessment. The band received the Outstanding Performance Award for the first time in Greer Middle School history during the 2017-2018 school year and again in the 2018-2019 school year. She was awarded “Emerging Teacher of the Year” during the 2018-2019 school year. Ms. Laird received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina in Music Education with a performance certificate in Clarinet. She recently completed her Master of Music Education from Florida State University. Her professional affiliations include South Carolina Band Directors Association, the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), and a life member of Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Band Service Fraternity.
