Ronnie Gleason is in his twenty seventh year of teaching instrumental music and is currently the Director of Bands at Kaplan High School in Kaplan, Louisiana. Mr. Gleason received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1993. Prior to teaching at Kaplan High School, Mr. Gleason was most recently the Associate Director of Bands at Lafayette High School from 2006-2015. Throughout his teaching career Mr. Gleason’s bands have consistently received superior ratings in marching, concert and jazz festivals at local, state, and national events. In 2008 and 2011 Mr. Gleason’s Band performed at the National Concert Band and Orchestra Festival held at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and in 2013 his Lafayette High School Symphonic band was selected to perform at the National Concert Band Festival held in Indianapolis, Indiana. Mr. Gleason has performed with many ensembles over the years including the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, Acadian Wind Symphony and the Skyliners Big Band. His professional affiliations include Phi Beta Mu, National Association of Music Educators, Louisiana Music Educators Association, Southwestern Louisiana Band Directors Association, and Phi Mu Alpha.
Ty Lege is a 2004 graduate of Erath High School in Erath, Louisiana. He earned his bachelor’s degree in music education from Northwestern State University in 2009, where he studied saxophone under Dr. Sherri Oyan and Dr. Paul Forsyth. During his college years, he served as both an assistant drum major and head drum major for the “Spirit of Northwestern.” Mr. Lege has held a graduate assistantship at Northwestern where he completed a Master of Music Degree in 2017.
In 2010, Mr. Lege was appointed Interim Band Director at Tioga High School and was named Director of Bands in 2011. Since accepting this position, his bands have routinely earned superior ratings at marching contests and festivals in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. The band has also been awarded a number of “Best in Class” and “Best Overall” distinctions in marching competition. Under Mr. Lege’s leadership, the symphonic band has earned superior ratings and sweepstakes awards at the district and state music assessments. Additionally, Tioga boasts of annual placements in the LMEA All-State Bands since 2010. Aside from his work at Tioga, Mr. Lege has also guest conducted honor bands in Rapides Parish, Caldwell Parish, and at Northwestern State University. He also served as the president of the District II Band Directors’ Association from 2011 to 2018.
Mr. Lege was named “Band Director of the Year” by the District II Band Directors’ Association in 2013 and 2018. His professional affiliations include the National Association for Music Education, Louisiana Music Educators’ Association, Louisiana Bandmasters’ Association, Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity, the District II Band Directors’ Association, and Phi Beta Mu.
Tim McMillen is the Director of Bands at Sulphur High School in Sulphur, La, after 15 years at W.W. Lewis Middle School, and the director of the jazz band at McNeese State University, teaching as an adjunct instructor since 2004. Previously, Mr. McMillen served as an arranger and trombonist in the United States Air Force band program, where his music was featured on numerous Air Force Band recordings. He has written over 350 commissioned arrangements and original compositions for orchestra, concert, jazz, and marching bands across the world, including orchestral arrangements for the Holiday Notes From Home series on the Great American Country channel and the Armed Forces Network, with works for artists Clay Walker and Little Big Town. Tim is also an active trombonist and the lead trombonist for Kris Berg’s Metroplexity Big Band in Dallas, TX. As a performer he has been privileged to share the studio with the likes of Wayne Bergeron, Phil Woods, Denis DiBlasio, and the stage with The Temptations, The Four Tops, Percy Sledge, among others, along with regular appearances with the O’Jays. Mr. McMillen holds a B.M. from McNeese State University, and a M.M. from the University of North Texas, where his original compositions can be heard on the One O’Clock Lab 90 and Lab 91 recordings. Tim is married to Rebecca McMillen and has two children, Gabby McMillen, a veterinary assistant, and Mathew, a high school band director. When he used to have free time, Tim enjoyed fishing and working on cars. He is now just happy to get to cook out every once in a while.