Poteet High School in Mesquite, Texas.
Musicians under Mr. Jones’ direction have received consistent UIL Sweepstakes awards. During his tenure, the Marcus Marching Band has advanced to the UIL 6A State Marching Band Contest Finals five times, earning the Bronze Medal in 2021 and the Silver Medal in 2023. The Marcus Band has performed annually at the Bands of America San Antonio Super Regional Championship Finals and in 2021 at the BOA Grand Nationals Championship Finals. They were honored to receive the Outstanding Music Performance captions at the 2019 BOA San Antonio Super Regional Championship Prelims and the 2021 BOA Grand Nationals SemiFinals.
Away from his active schedule as an adjudicator, clinician, and teacher, Mr. Jones enjoys spending time working with students of all ages to increase their influence through his jonesLeadership consulting firm or driving with the greats of the music profession in his "wife's" Honda Odyssey Minivan. You can learn more at jonesLeadership.com and MaestrosInMinivans.com.
Mr. Jones holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music (summa cum laude) from Texas Tech University and a Master’s Degree in Music Education (magna cum laude) from the University of North Texas.
He and his wife, Bethany, also a Lewisville ISD music educator, reside with their three children, Caitlyn (Oboe), Esther (Flute), and Seth (French Horn), in Highland Village, Texas.
Under his direction, the Marcus groups have received national acclaim both indoors and outdoors, including eleven championship honors at the PASIC Marching Percussion Festival. Marcus earned concert performance opportunities in 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011 through the PASIC “Call for Tapes.”
The percussion ensemble performed as a feature ensemble at the 2006 and 2018 Midwest Clinics and has performed with various artists such as Dave Weckl, Gregg Bissonette, Steve Smith, Ignacio Berroa, Sonny Emory, Alex Acuña, Dave Samuels, Horacio Hernández, Janis Potter, Joel Rosenblatt, Andy Narell, Simon Phillips, She-e Wu, Michael Burritt, Shania Twain, and more.
As a performer, Mr. Wylie has earned acclaim on several percussive fronts. As a student, he won the PAS Collegiate Snare Drum title three times and was a runner-up in the DCI Snare Drum Individual Competition. A member of the Disney All-American College Band, he has also performed as a mallet soloist with the Austin Symphony and San Angelo Symphony. Mr. Wylie is currently a freelance performer in the Dallas-Ft.Worth area as the drummer for the Dallas-based jazz group “Fingerprints.” Mr. Wylie has performed with Bobby Lyle, Ronnie Laws, Freddie Ravel, Marion Meadows, Vic Duncan, Kyle Turner, and gospel artist Larnelle Harris. He was a featured soloist with the Marcus High School Wind Symphony at the 2007 Midwest Clinic.
Mr. Wylie composes and publishes quality percussion literature for the beginning percussionist, including the book Simple Steps to Successful Beginning Percussion. He is active as a clinician and adjudicator and has presented clinics at the Texas Music Educators Association Convention, the Midwest Clinic, the Texas Bandmasters Association Convention, and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention.
Mr. Ishii obtained a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Texas at Arlington where he studied clarinet under Deborah Fabian, Kenneth Krause, and Dr. Cheyenne Cruz, along with conducting under Dr. Douglas Stotter, Dr. Clifton Evans, and Dr. John Zastoupil. While studying at UTA Mr. Ishii served as Drum Major for the Maverick Marching Band, played alto saxophone with the Jazz Orchestra, and held the principal clarinet chair in both the Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra.
An active performer in the DFW area, Mr. Ishii is a founding member of the Dallas Asian Winds under the direction of Jung-Moo Lee and has previously performed with the Carrollton Wind Symphony under the direction of Jim McDaniel.
Mr. Ishii and his wife Alana (also a band director) live in Fort Worth, Texas, along with their Shiba Inu, Koji.
Mr. Ousley received his Bachelor of Music with a Secondary Instrumental Emphasis from Texas A&M University-Commerce. While at TAMUC, Mr. Ousley studied Tuba with Dr. Jeff Baker. He performed as a member of the TAMU-Commerce Wind Ensemble, Brass Choir, Tuba and Euphonium Choir, and several chamber ensembles. In the summers of 2017 and 2018, Mr. Ousley marched tuba with the Santa Clara Vanguard, winning the Drum Corps International World Championship in 2018. He completed his student teaching at Marcus High School and
Downing Middle School in the fall of 2021.
Mr. Ousley’s professional affiliations include the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Bandmasters Association, the National Association for Music Education, and the International Tuba Euphonium Association.
Currently, Mr. Ousley resides in the Dallas area.
As a member of the performing arts, Mr. Martinez performed with the Crossmen (2015-2017) and aged out with the Blue Stars (2018). Mr. Martinez also performed with Color Guard Theatre (CGT) Denton (2018-2020).
Mr. Martinez’s mission is to create a positive and artistic space for every student. He is excited to continue his journey with the Marcus Cluster as Color Guard Director!