2021-2022 CRHS Band Directors & Staff
- Director of Bands: Patrick Butler
- Associate Director of Bands: David Shives
- Percussion Director: Chris Smith
- Front Ensemble Instructor: Lauren Ogle
- Battery Percussion Instructor: Jamey LaFevers
- Battery Percussion Instructor: JC Calhoun
- Color Guard Director: Matthew McCurley
- Color Guard Instructor: Jenna Nun
- Visual Caption Head: Scot Mitchell
- Band Instructor: Melissa Burroughs
- High Brass Instructor: Keenan Harmon
- Low Brass Instructor: Nathan Hudson
- Woodwind Instructor: Jordan Laird
- Saxophone Instructor: Matt Castner
- Flute Instructor: Brian Culler
- Clarinet Instructor: Connie Akers
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
Chris Smith is a native of Denver, NC and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina. During his time at Western Carolina University, he was a regular performer with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra and was an active educator in the Asheville and Sylva, NC areas. Mr. Smith taught at Hilton Head Island Middle School, and East Lincoln Middle School. He also served as the Director of Percussion at East Lincoln High School. During his time at ELHS, he led the percussion ensemble to a bronze medal in the Percussion Scholastic Concert Open Class (PSCO) in 2019, the first accomplishment of its kind in the school districts history. Mr. Smith is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the Percussive Arts Society (PAS), and is an education artist for Salyers Percussion. He has served on the Advisory Council for Winter Guard International (WGI) and currently serves on the Advisory Council for the Carolina Winter Ensemble Association (CWEA). He currently resides with his wife in Mt. Holly, NC and remains active as an educator, audio/visual engineer, and composer.
Jamey LaFevers – Battery Percussion Instructor
Mr. LaFevers has been involved in percussion education for 30 years. He has worked with many programs in North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Ohio. He graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Industry Studies. While attending ASU he also served as the percussion instructor for the Marching Mountaineers. Since graduating he has been teaching, judging and has worked for both Dynasty and Ludwig in sales and product development. He is the founder and program director of Revelation, an independent marching percussion ensemble. He is the owner of REVELATIONPERCUSSION.COM which is a marching arts product manufacturer. Jamey LaFevers proudly endorses Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets, REMO drumheads, and Ludwig/Musser Percussion.
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!
Jenna Nun – Guard Instructor
Jenna Nun is the assistant color guard instructor at Catawba Ridge High School and played a role in establishing the color guard program when the school first opened. Jenna had been a dancer her whole life, but found a particular joy for color guard when she joined the Nation Ford High School Marching Band. Jenna attended college in Charleston but eventually made her way back to Fort Mill to pursue a degree in nursing which is when she officially started teaching color guard to high school students. Prior to CRHS, Jenna was a color guard instructor at her alma mater, Nation Ford High school. Jenna is entering her 5th year teaching color guard while also finishing her studies in nursing.
Melissa Burroughs – Band Instructor
Melissa Burroughs is a National Board Certified Teacher in Early and Middle Childhood Music teaching at River Trail Elementary. She is an Orff Schulwerk Certified educator trained in elemental movement and music. Mrs. Burroughs is an alumnus of Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps 1997 and 1998 where she played lead mellophone. She has formerly taught middle school and high school band as well as served on other area band staffs throughout the years. This will be her second season with the Catawba Ridge High School Band.
Keenan Harmon – Brass Instructor
Keenan Harmon is a trumpeter in the Carolinas performing regularly with the Halton Theater at CPCC, the Children’s Theater of Charlotte, and subbing for orchestras throughout the Carolinas. He is a founding member of the Charlotte Brass, a quintet dedicated to performing brass literature and promoting education in the surrounding areas. As a teacher, he is in demand for masterclasses and his students have achieved accolades in both North and South Carolina in All-State Bands, Region and District Bands, the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra (CSYO), Junior Youth Orchestra (JYO), and the Charlotte Youth Wind Ensemble (CYWE). Mr. Harmon studied trumpet with Dr. Ian Pearson at Winthrop University.
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.
Connie Akers – Woodwind Instructor
Connie Akers is a graduate of East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN with a Bachelor’s of Music Education with additional certification in elementary education. She has worked with several band programs in Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina in the area of woodwind instruction. Her students have won numerous awards, region and all-state band recognition, and consistently receive college assistance for their musical ability.