Marching Band Staff
We are extremely fortunate to have the privilege of working with an incredibly talented group of educators on staff to help assist in the growth and development of the students in the PHS Marching Band.The successes of the Paetow High School Band are a direct result of the dedication of the many teachers that educate these students on their musical journey.
Music Arranger
Alex Thode (b. 1994) is currently an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee pursuing a B.F.A. in Music Composition and Technology, and will be completing his degree in the Fall of 2017. He has studied composition with Dr. William Heinrichs, and is currently studying with Dr. Jonathan Monhardt.
Alex enjoys and has experience in writing for all sorts of genres and styles. While writing contemporary music for small ensembles and solos for his studies, he also specializes in writing for the competitive marching band arena. He has been commissioned to write for many high school and college marching bands across the nation. His clients have been State Class Champions and Runners-Up, semi-finalists and finalists and Grand Champions at many local competitions, and have performed at the Bands of America Grand National Championships and various Bands of America Regionals. His arrangements have also been performed in the 2016 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Alex strives to take a musically different and innovative approach when arranging music for marching band. He makes sure that his arrangements are never a mere literal duplicate of the original source material; rather, he enjoys adding his own unique and personal composition style into the music, creating an entirely new, contemporary, but still recognizable product for audiences and judges.
Alex currently helps instruct the Greendale High School Marching Band serving as a music instructor and their music arranger. While attending Greendale High School, Alex was an avid student leader and participant in all areas of their music program, including marching band, concert band, jazz band, choir, and honors choir. He was also the recipient of the John Philip Sousa award in 2012.
Along with composing works for marching band, Alex also has been commissioned to write middle school and high school concert band works. He also enjoys writing for other single groups of instruments, particularly percussion ensembles and choral music. In his spare time he enjoys playing the piano, thinking about what hair products Eric Whitacre puts in his luscious mane, spending too much money things he doesn't actually need, and being with good friends and company. Alex is a member of ASCAP.
Visual Caption Head / Visual Designer
Luke Zamprelli is an Associate Director of Bands at Paetow High School in Katy ISD. He is a Visual Caption Head at the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps where he has served on staff since 2016. He also serves on the Visual Staff at Monarch Independent Percussion in Houston and Juliana Drum and Bugle Corps in The Netherlands.
Prior to this position, he was an Assistant Band Director at Morton Ranch Junior High and Magnolia West High School. Originally from the Atlanta area, Luke is a graduate of the University of Georgia. He was a member of the Phantom Regiment during the 2011 and 2012 seasons. He has served on the instructional staff at the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps, Atlanta Quest Percussion, and Q2 Percussion. He is an active designer for band programs in Texas and Georgia as well as WGI units in the United States and Europe.