Band Directors

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Director of Bands

A veteran with 15 years of music education experience, Christopher Loyd is entering his 4th year as Director of Bands for Rockwall-Heath High School.

A native of Little Rock Arkansas, Mr. Loyd graduated from Benton High School in 2000 where he was a two-time All-State musician.  He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, AR, graduating Magna Cum Laude in the spring of 2005.  After his undergraduate studies, Mr. Loyd continued his education at the prestigious Jacob’s School of Music at Indiana University, completing his Master of Music Degree in 2007.  Mr. Loyd’s primary instrument is trombone, and he has had the privilege of studying and performing with some of the finest musicians in North America.

Prior to his appointment as Director of Bands at Rockwall-Heath, he served as a member of the band staff at Lakeview Centennial High School in Garland ISD for 6 years (4 years as Director of Bands).  He also served as Director of Bands at O’Banion Middle School for 4 years, and assistant Band Director at Pewitt CISD in Omaha, TX for 2 years. 

Mr. Loyd is an active member of the Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, and a member of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity.

Mr. Loyd and his wife, Rebecca, just celebrated their 18th anniversary.  Mrs. Loyd teaches elementary music at Galloway Elementary in Mesquite ISD.  They have a 15 year old son, Jacob, who will be in 10th grade this year; 3 year old twin daughters, Emma and Natalie, and a 3 year old German Shepherd Dog named Loki.

Director of Percussion 

Rod Kosterman is the Percussion Director at Rockwall-Heath High School and Front Ensemble Technician at Vigilantes Indoor Percussion. He also served on the front ensemble staff at Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps from 2011-16 and was Front Ensemble Caption Manager in 2015 and 2016. In 2015, Mr. Kosterman was the Education Program Director for the Blue Knights Percussion Ensemble. As a staff member for the Blue Knights organization, Mr. Kosterman was mentored by some of the all-time greats in the world of percussion in pageantry, such as Ralph Hardimon, Mike Jackson and Kevin Shah.

Mr. Kosterman graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Percussion Performance from UNT and was awarded Outstanding Undergraduate in percussion for the graduating class of 2010. As a students at UNT, Rod studied with Mark Ford, Christopher Deane, Paul Rennick, Ed Soph, Ed Smith, Jose Aponte and Poovalur Sriji.

After graduating, Mr. Kosterman was the recipient of Indiana University's Artistic Excellence Scholarship and served as the department's Graduate Assistant in 2011-12. His percussion professors included John Tafoya, Kevin Bobo and Michael Spiro and graduated magna cum laude in 2012. In the Fall of 2012 and Spring of 2013, Mr. Kosterman studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music under the guidance of Richard Weiner and Paul Yancich.

Mr. Kosterman's composition for marimba and cello, in nebulous suspension held, won third prize in the 2010 PAS Composition Contest and is now published by Mostly Marimba. Song for Monica, a vibraphone solo, is available through Tapspace publications.

Mr. Kosterman loves to teach, compose/arrange music, hang out with his cat, Spooky, and study Spanish on Duolingo. His favorite food is pizza, favorite drink is fancy water, and his favorite candy is minty gum in a blister package.

Assistant Band Director 

Trevor Kay is proud to serve as an Assistant Band Director at Rockwall-Heath High School.  Mr. Kay's responsibilities include directing the Non-Varsity ensemble, and assisting with the marching band, other RHHS performing ensembles, and at Cain Middle School.  Concert and marching ensembles under Mr. Kay's direction have consistently earned Superior ratings at UIL Contests throughout his career.

Prior to his appointment at Rockwall-Heath High School, Mr. Kay was the Director of Bands at Terrell High School in Terrell, TX from  2020-2021.  In the fall of 2021, Mr. Kay began coursework towards a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of North Texas.

The majority of Mr. Kay’s career was spent in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, where he served as the Director of Bands at Newman Smith High School from 2013-2019, and as the Associate Director from 2011-2013.  While at Newman Smith, Mr. Kay served as the Fine Arts Department Chair, director of the Wind Symphony, and was the primary director of the NSHS Trojan Marching Band.  Under his direction in 2013, the Trojan Marching Band made its third consecutive appearance at the UIL 5A Texas State Marching Band Contest.  Prior to Newman Smith, Mr. Kay was an assistant band director at Burleson Centennial HS and Elgin HS in the Austin, TX area.

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Mr. Kay holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Texas Tech University.  While at Texas Tech, Mr. Kay studied horn with Christopher M. Smith and was a member of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Sarah McKoin.  In addition, Mr. Kay performed with the award-winning “Goin’ Band from Raiderland“.  In 2005, Mr. Kay was a performing member of the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps from Madison, Wisconsin.

Mr. Kay is an active judge throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and his professional affiliations include the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Music Adjudicators Association, and the Texas Bandmasters Association.  He currently resides in Garland, TX with his wife Ashley, who is also a band director.  When he is not teaching music, he is either cycling or helping others buy or sell real estate, as he is a licensed Realtor® in the state of Texas!

Assistant Band Director 

Kelley Powell is honored to serve as an assistant band director at Rockwall-Heath High School. Her responsibilities include directing the sub non-varsity ensemble as well as assisting with the marching band, other RHHS performing ensembles, and at Cain Middle School. 

Ms. Powell was previously Director of Bands at West-Oak High School in Westminster, SC, where she directed the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble, and co-directed Oconee County Concert Percussion. Ms. Powell was the only first-year teacher in South Carolina to receive the 2022 SCBDA Outstanding Performance Award for the program’s success at State Marching Contest Finals, Concert Performance Assessment, Solo & Ensemble, and Region & All-State Band auditions.

Originally hailing from Naperville, Illinois, Ms. Powell attended Waubonsie Valley High School where she was a two-time All-State musician. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of South Carolina, where she studied instrumental and choral music education as a member of the Honors College. She sang and performed on flute in various ensembles at USC and had the honor of serving as Drum Major for the Carolina Marching Band for two years.

As a leadership specialist, she has worked alongside the staff of Smith-Walbridge Drum Major Clinics, Drum Major Leadership Academy, the University of South Carolina Drum Major Clinic, and many other outstanding music programs. She specializes in engaging practices for high school and collegiate student leaders that allow them to better understand themselves and their impact in their communities.

Ms. Powell is an active member of the Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, and a member of Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity. When not teaching music, Ms. Powell is passionate about running, group fitness, reading, psychology, and mental health advocacy.

Percussion

Quincey Jarmon, aka “Mr. Q”, has been an active percussionist for over 40 years, and is currently the Assistant Percussion Coordinator for the Rockwall-Heath high school percussion program. In addition, he also conducts private lessons in the surrounding area. Originally from San Diego, California, Mr. Q moved to Texas at the age of 12, and began band in the 6th grade in Cleburne, Texas. While attending Cleburne Junior High, and Cleburne High School, Mr. Q was under the direction of Dick Helmcamp, Alan G. Reed, C. Randy Jones, Susan Ishii, Carl Kling, Todd Dixon, and Leon Ewell. He marched in the award-winning “Golden Pride of Cleburne High” band, played drumset for the Cleburne “Transition” Jazz Band, and played in the Wind Ensemble for all 4 years. After high school, Mr. Q attended Hill College in Hillsboro, TX, Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, TX (B.A.- Music Education), and did postgraduate work at Southwestern Adventist University in Keene, TX. He marched with DCI’s Madison Scouts in 1999, and has performed with several recording artists throughout his career, including Kirk Franklin, Hezekiah Walker, Clay Walker, and Jamie Foxx. His major musical influences/mentors include Terry Baker, Larry Lawless, Derrick Logozzo, Mike Drake, and Jeff Moore.

Mr. Q has instructed several percussion programs over the last 27 years all over the state of Texas, earning various accolades at competitions, and placing many students in the All-Region, All-Area, and All-State bands in the TMEA and ATSSB organizations. He resides in Fate, TX, with his "better half", Janine. Outside of his very busy teaching/performing schedule, he enjoys fishing, sports, traveling, and spending quality time with his family. Mr. Q is a proud endorser of the Tama/Bergerault, Gon Bops, Sabian, Remo, Salyers Percussion, and Encore Mallets companies.

Color Guard

Laurie L. Riker started pageantry at the age of 4, where she twirled baton with her 8 other siblings in Castor Valley, California.  At 12 years of age she started twirling rifle and flag with a local drum and bell corps from San Leandro, California. At 15 she became a member of the World Champion Concord Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps. She performed 6 years with the Blue Devils, winning the DCI Championship title 3 times.  For the next 12 years she was a staff member for the Blue Devils Color Guard and movement instructor for the Blue Devils Horn Line.  Those corps achieved the DCI High Color Guard award 5 times and DCI World Championships 3 times.  Laurie then started teaching high school color guard at Clayton VAlley, Beyer, Bullard, Clovis West and Buchanan high schools. Since then, Ms. Ricker has taught the esteemed System Blue Commerce Leadership Camp as well as Black Gold Independent World Guard, LV Berkner High School and Sunnyvale High School.  Laurie currently serves as the Color Guard Caption Head, Program Coordinator/Designer and Winter Guard Director at North Garland.