Daniel King is in his second year as the Director of Bands at Independence High School.

Before he joined the staff at Independence High School, Daniel spent the first nine years of his career as the assistant director at Lovejoy High School, where he taught the Lovejoy High School Wind Ensemble and was the visual director of the Marching Band. Under his direction, the Lovejoy Wind Ensemble received first division ratings at UIL concert and Sightreading contest every year, and performed at Carnegie Hall in 2019. After he took over the visual instruction of the marching band at Lovejoy in 2018, the marching band never failed to make finals at a marching contest, placing in the top 4 of several area marching contests and, most notably, winning the Wylie Marching Invitational and the Golden Triangle classic in 2019. Daniel also served as the drill designer for the Lovejoy High School Marching Band from 2018-2021 and has arranged music for both marching and concert bands.

A native of Lubbock, Daniel was a three time member TMEA All-State Band on the Tuba, and graduated from Texas Tech University in 2012 with a Bachelor’s degree in Music education. While at Texas Tech, Daniel played tuba in the Texas Tech Symphonic Wind Ensemble, the University Symphony Orchestra, the Texas Tech Tuba-Euphonium ensemble, the "Goin’ Band from Raiderland" and he spent two seasons as the principal tuba with the Big Spring Symphony orchestra. While completing his undergraduate studies, Daniel was a 2007 semi-finalist in the Leonard Falcone International tuba/euphonium solo competition, a semi-finalist in the ITEA Arnold Jacobs mock audition in 2010 & 2012, and was a semifinalist in the Texas young artist competition in 2011.

After graduating from Texas Tech, Daniel attended Indiana University to pursue a Master's degree in Music Performance. While he was at Indiana, Daniel performed with the Indiana University Philharmonic Orchestra, serving as Principal Tuba, and he was one of 4 finalists for "The President's Own" United States Marine Corps Band in Washington DC.

When he's not band directing, Daniel enjoys hiking, mowing the lawn, listening to audiobooks, and spending time with his wife, Kasey, their kids Mark & Paetyn, and their puppy Charlie.

Email Address- kingda@friscoisd.org

Danny Brock is a native of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He is currently striving towards completing a doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of North Texas after earning a Master’s Degree in trumpet performance and a Bachelors of Music in music education from Stephen F. Austin State University.

Mr. Brock was a member of the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps, serving as horn sergeant and earning a bronze medal in the years 2010–2012. He currently serves on the instructional staff of the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps.

Prior to joining the staff at Independence High School, Mr. Brock taught private lessons for Lewisville ISD, Keller ISD, and Northwest ISD. In this role he founded the Timber Creek and Byron Nelson High School Trumpet Ensembles. Both groups were the first pre-college trumpet ensembles to gain entry into the quarter final round of the National Trumpet Competition.

When not at school, Mr. Brock loves training jiu-jitsu, and practicing trumpet! He also loves to be outdoors camping!

Email Address- brockd@friscoisd.org

Born in Texarkana, Texas, Bradley Baird is an avid educator, composer, and performer located in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. He currently serves as Director of Percussion for Independence High School in Frisco ISD and previously served as an Assistant Band Director and Percussion Specialist for Cypress Falls High School in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD. Bradley currently serves as a Bass Drum Technician for The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps and previously served on the Percussion Staff in multiple facets at the Guardians Drum and Bugle Corps for the 2019 Season. 

Under his direction, Bradley’s marching percussion ensembles have achieved success and earned honors at many marching band and marching percussion competitions. Most recently, the Independence High School percussion section earned First Place overall, First Place in their division, and Best Snare Drums/Quads at the 2023 Lewisville Drumline Invitational. Additionally, they earned First Place in their division, Second Place overall, and Best Quads/Bass Drums/Front Ensemble at the inaugural 2023 Lake Ridge Drumline Competition. Other ensemble honors include directing the Cypress Falls Indoor Drumline to compete as a State Finalist within the Texas Color-Guard Circuit and directing the Cypress Falls High School Sub-Non Varsity Band to earn a UIL Sweepstakes award.
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Bradley’s performance endeavors have led him to perform with many different groups around the country. He performed with the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps, where he served as Bass Drum Section Leader, Vigilantes Indoor Percussion, and with the Mesquite Symphony Orchestra where he served as Interim Principal Percussionist. Additionally, he spent the summer of 2018 as a percussionist for the Miami Music Festival’s Symphony Orchestra Institute while studying with Jacob Nissly (San-Francisco Symphony). Lastly, Bradley has performed at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) with the UT-Arlington Percussion Ensemble in 2017 and again in 2019 with the Texas Christian University Percussion Orchestra.

Bradley is an alumnus of Texas Christian University where he earned a Master of Music in Percussion Performance while serving as a Graduate Assistant and is also an alumnus of the University of Texas at Arlington, where he received a Bachelor of Music while majoring in music education. Bradley studied composition with Dr. Martin Blessinger and studied percussion with Dr. Brian A. West, Dr. Richard C. Gipson, Mr. Joey Carter, Mr. Jeff Hodge, Dr. Andrew Eldridge, and Dr. Michael Varner. 

Bradley is an Educational Artist for Remo Drumheads, Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets, Zildjian Cymbals, and Balter Mallets. His music can be found published with C. Alan Publications and his professional affiliations include the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society (PKL), Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), the Percussive Arts Society (PAS), and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). During his free time, Bradley enjoys playing golf, collecting sneakers, playing video games, and spending time with his dog.

Email Address- bairdb@friscoisd.org

Taylor Tucker grew up in Mesquite, Texas. She graduated from the University of North Texas in the honors college with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She spun in the Colorguard and Winterguard all four years at North Mesquite High School, and in her first year of college, she marched in the UNT Green Brigade Colorguard. She then marched the White Gold Independent A and Open, and Black Gold Independent World.

Taylor has performed with Colorguard Theatre Dallas, which made open class finals at the Winterguard International World Championships in its inaugural year. She went on to march with Cypress Independent Winterguard, this time making world class finals. Her drum corps experience includes marching with the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle corps.

While in college, Taylor was a tech for Lakeview Centennial High School. She then became the Head Colorguard Director at Naaman Forest High School from 2014-2015.

Taylor has served for three years as the Head Colorguard Director at Sachse High School. During that time, the colorguard received Best Colorguard at marching competitions all three seasons, and jumped from the Regional A division to the National A division at NTCA. Sachse also is a 2017 WGI Dallas and Austin regional finalist.

Taylor joined Melissa ISD in 2017 as head Colorguard Director. She has worked with students in elementary, middle, and high school. All of the Melissa guards have earned numerous awards under her direction. Most notably, Melissa HS is a WGI San Antonio, Dallas, and Tulsa Finalist, and a 2019 and 2022 National A Silver Medalist.

Along with teaching at Melissa, Taylor has taught camps, clinics, and worked with colorguards from all over the world, with students from all ages. She was a flag tech for CGT Denton, and was a designer for Banda Municipal de Zarcero winterguard, a colorguard from Costa Rica. For the 2021 season she served as the assistant director of Black Gold Independent World. She is now one of the Co-Founders of Girasol Winterguard in Costa Rica and works with Puerto Rico Royalty Winterguard. She also served on the Executive Board of Directors as the Member-at-Large SAA-IW for the North Texas Colorguard Association.

This will be Ms. Tucker’s second year at IHS. The Independence colorguard has already received colorguard caption awards under her direction. Ms. Tucker cannot wait to continue her journey at Independence High School!

Email Address- tuckert@friscoisd.org 

Jesse Vela is in his first year as the Assistant Percussion Director for the Independence High School Cluster. Mr. Vela was born and raised in San Antonio, TX, before relocating to Allen, TX, where he attended Lovejoy High School. He completed his BME at Texas A&M University - Commerce. While attending TAMU-C, he had the distinct opportunity of studying under Dr. Brian Zator, Mrs. Sandra Rennick, Ms. Lauren Teel, Mr. Cory Doran, and Mr. Kent Hillman.

As an educator, Mr. Vela has worked at a number of high schools in the DFW area. He most recently worked under Mr. Frank Troyka as a percussion instructor for the TAMU-C Summer Leadership Camp. At Lake Highlands High School in Richardson, Texas, Mr. Vela finished his internship as a student teacher working under Mr. Reagan Brumley. Prior to his student teaching, he resided as the front ensemble instructor for Lake Highlands.

Mr. Vela has had the opportunity to perform and explore music in a variety of contexts. In 2021, he competed with the TAMU-C Chamber Percussion Ensemble receiving a bronze medal at the PASIC chamber ensemble competition. Under the guidance of Dr. Brian Zator, this group most recently won the 2023 International Percussion Ensemble Competition. Additionally, Mr. Vela has played with the renowned TAMU-C University Wind Ensemble under the baton of Mr. Phillip Clements. During his experience in marching band, Mr. Vela has served as the battery section leader for the TAMU-C marching band, as well as playing marimba for The Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps in the summer of 2022.

When outside of the classroom, Mr. Vela spends his time reading, playing video games, staying active, learning new skills, and spending time with friends.

Email Address- velaj@friscoisd.org