Green Hope High School Band Staff  

Creighton Flowers - Band Director

Creighton Flowers holds the Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music in wind conducting degrees from the East Carolina University School of Music. He studied conducting with Dr. Scott Carter and trumpet with Dr. Britton Theurer and Dr. Tom Huener. Mr. Flowers began his teaching career as band director at SouthWest Edgecombe High School in Pinetops NC where his bands earned superior ratings at the Eastern District Concert Band Festival and marching bands won many regional contests.
 
He was previously Director of Bands at Sanderson High School in Raleigh NC where he served as Chairman of the Fine Arts Department. His bands have performed extensively across North Carolina, Virginia Beach VA, Washington DC, and Atlanta GA. Each year the Sanderson Band hosted marching bands from across the state at the Capital City Band Expo. In June of 2019 he became director of bands at Green Hope HS in Cary NC.
 
He has performed with the Triangle Wind Ensemble as a trumpet player at the annual convention of the North Carolina Music Educators Association in Winston Salem NC. Mr. Flowers’ professional affiliations include National Association for Music Education, North Carolina Music Educators Association, North Carolina Bandmasters Association, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. Mr. Flowers is a National Board Certified Teacher and has served as Central District Representative on the NCBA Marching Band Committee as well as served as host to the Central District All District Band. In 2013 he was elected to the American School Band Directors Association.
 

 JESSE RACKLEY - BRASS INSTRUCTOR, MUSIC ARRANGER 

 

Jesse Rackley is an accomplished tenor trombone and euphonium performer and educator. He is the Principal Trombone of the Fayetteville Symphony and Second Trombone with the Carolina Philharmonic.

 

He has performed with the North Carolina Symphony, Charleston Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Wilmington Symphony, Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, and Eastern Music Festival Orchestra. As a soloist, Jesse has been featured with the Triangle Brass Band, Triangle Youth Brass Band, 440th US Army Band, East Carolina Tuba Ensemble, and numerous high school and community ensembles.

 

Jesse is the Artistic Director and conductor for the Triangle Youth Brass Bands, a British-style brass organization that serves approximately 100 brass and percussion students throughout three performance ensembles. The Youth Brass Band program is one of the premier youth brass programs in the United States. As an educator, Jesse maintains a large and active private studio of over 20 students throughout central North Carolina. His students consistently receive top honors in the NC All-District and All-State Bands and participate in various summer festivals.

 

Jesse is in frequent demand as a soloist, clinician, and adjudicator throughout North Carolina. Jesse was the winner of the 2009 and 2007 Southeast Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference’s solo euphonium competition, runner-up in the 2002 International Tuba Euphonium Conference’s Young Artist solo competition, semi-finalist in the 2002 Leonard Falcone International Tuba Euphonium Competition.

Josh Sheppard - 

 
Josh Sheppard is originally from Newport, North Carolina.  He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he performed regularly with the UNC Wind Ensemble and the UNC Tuba Quartet.  Josh actively performs in the Triangle Area with groups such as the Triangle Brass Band and other ensembles in the community.

AUSTIN GREENE - VISUAL INSTRUCTOR

 

Austin Greene is a professional visual designer and arranger for numerous high schools and universities. Mr. Greene is an adjudicator for Bands of America, Winter Guard International, Drum Corps International, and numerous local circuits. He served as an instructor and Visual Caption Head for The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps from 2012-2015.

 

Previously, Mr. Greene has served as Director of Bands at Concord High School in Concord, NC, and Director of Bands and Performing Arts Department Chair at Durham School of the Arts. In 2010, he was hired as an adjunct instructor at the Dublin Institute of Technology's National Conservatory of Music in Dublin, Ireland. He has served for four years as a program consultant for the Bands of America Grand National Finalist Kennesaw Mountain High School Marching Band and works with the Western Carolina University “Pride of the Mountains” Marching Band.

 

Mr. Greene attended Western Carolina University and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education in 2003. He went on to earn his Master of Music in Conducting Degree from the University of Connecticut in 2006. Mr. Greene is in regular demand as a designer, clinician, and adjudicator throughout the United States.

NATE CAMPBELL - PERCUSSION

Nate Campbell is a percussion specialist in North Carolina. He is currently the Percussion Director at Green Hope High School, Marching Percussion Instructor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Percussion Instructor at Campbell University, and Owner/Instructor of NC Drum Studio.

 

He has held previous appointments as Professor of Percussion at Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska, and Marching Percussion Instructor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he was featured on the reality television series, “Tommy Lee Goes to College” as Tommy Lee’s drum instructor. He earned his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Music Performance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

 

Nate is active as a clinician, arranger, performer, and adjudicator throughout the country. His studio, NC Drum Studio, is located in Wake Forest, NC, where he also maintains a full private percussion studio.

LAURA BURRELL - WOODWINDS/VISUAL INSTRUCTOR 

Ms. Laura Burrell graduated in the Spring of 2015 with a double Bachelor of Music in Music Education and in Flute Performance from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. After graduating, she served as the middle school band director at Hilburn Academy in Raleigh. Ms. Burrell joined the Davis Drive Middle School faculty in 2021. 

 

Ms. Burrell began playing flute in 6th grade and attended Sanderson High School in Raleigh. Outside of band, Ms. Burrell enjoys being outside, reading, and spending time with friends and family. 
 

MARY HUNTIMER - WOODWIND INSTRUCTOR

 

Dr. Mary Huntimer is an active saxophonist and woodwind teacher in the Research Triangle. She currently teaches saxophone and music education at Meredith College, Cary School of Music, and Green Level Marching Band. She performs with the Triangle Wind Ensemble, the Chapel Hill Philharmonia, Bull City Sax Quartet, and Triangle Afrobeat Orchestra.

 

Highlights of her marching band career include performing at the 2000 A Capitol Fourth with Barry Bostwick and marching in the 2003 Tournament of Roses parade. Dr. Huntimer graduated with a DMA in saxophone performance at the University of Kansas in 2012. She also has a MM in saxophone performance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a BME from South Dakota State University.

 

LE ROY BARLEY - JAZZ DIRECTOR

 

A native of Washington, DC, Le Roy graduated from Duke Ellington School of the Arts in June 1997. In 2001 he earned a Bachelor of Music Degree in Jazz Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from North Carolina Central University located in Durham, North Carolina.

 

While attending North Carolina Central University, he studied under world-renowned artists Tom Browne, Dr. Ira Wiggins, and Jay Meachum. He later obtained a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from NCCU in 2011. Le Roy has performed with a variety of groups, including but not limited to the Temptations, John Brown Quintet, Marcus Anderson Group, NCCU Faculty Jazz Combo, NCCU Jazz Orchestra, and Vocal Ensemble. He currently performs with the North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra, John Brown Jazz Orchestra, The Groove Shop, and the Upper Room “Church House” Band. He has performed all over the world touring, recording, and performing in venues such as Euro Disney, Paris, France; Montreaux Jazz Festival, Geneva, Switzerland; North Sea Jazz Festival, Utrecht, Holland; Vienne Jazz Festival, Vienne, France; and the Virgin Gorda Jazz Festival in Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands.

 

Le Roy has performed with many notable artists such as Nicholas Payton, Roy Hargrove, Terrell Stafford, Wynton Marsalis, Wynard Harper, Davey Yarborough, Alvin Atkinson, Sean Jones, Eve Cornelius, Chip Crawford, Charlie Brown, Vincent Heiring, and Pete LaRoca Simms to name a few.

 

Mr. Barley holds the following teaching positions: Lecture, Director of Jazz Combos at Duke University, Jazz Director at Green Hope High School, Trumpet Instructor at the Musicians Learning Center, Jazz Band Director at North Raleigh Christian Academy, and Band Teacher at Powell GT Magnet School. He is often called upon as a Consultant, Guest Lecturer, and Guest Speaker for various schools and organizations. Further, he has had the opportunity to teach at North Carolina Central University as Adjunct Instructor of Trumpet, Upper Room Christian Academy as both Music and Band Teacher, as an Adjudicator for the 2009 Guitar Center Drum Off, Durham, North Carolina and to be a Clinician and Adjudicator for the “City of the Arts” Annual Jazz Festival, North Carolina.

 

Mr. Barley’s teaching philosophy is simple: everyone should be exposed to music and have a basic understanding of it. The teacher must strive to meet the student where they are, in regards to their learning style and level, and encourage and challenge them as they grow. When a student studies music they should gain a basic knowledge even if they don’t continue music for a long period. The discipline and skills required to play music can be used to better them in life.

 

Recording credits include “Beyond the Horizon,” recorded April 20-27, 1998 and “Central Standard Time,” recorded February 21-22, 1995 by the North Carolina Central University Jazz Ensemble, both “Shiloh,” 2005 and “Worship in the Upper Room: Standing in His Presence,” recorded 2007 by the Upper Room Church of God in Christ Music & Fine Arts Department, “My Everything” by Marshetta Parker, released 2010.