Jonathan Valentine hails from Bristol, Tennessee is the Director of Bands at Elizabethton High School in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Valentine holds an Instrumental Music Education degree from the University of South Carolina where he also received a performance certificate in Saxophone Performance with Clifford Leaman, and a Master of Music Education degree from the University of Florida. During his tenure as the Director of Elizabethton High Schools “Betsy Band” the band has won two Division II State Championships and been a consistent Finalist of regional events such as Bands of America and Western Carolina University’s Tournament of Champions.
Prior to his acceptance at Elizabethton, he was an Assistant Director at James F. Byrnes, TL Hanna, and the Director of Bands at Berry Shoals Intermediate school. Under his leadership, the Berry Shoals 5th and 6th Grade Bands were a consistent winner of the SCBDA Outstanding Performance Award, a featured performer at the 2014 SCMEA Conference, and a 2019 Division III, high scorer at the National Adjudicator Invitational, held in the Atlanta Symphony Hall. The James F. Byrnes High School rose to become a Bands of America National Semi-finalist and won two 5A State Championships during his tenure. Valentine also served on brass staff of DCI’s world class drum corps, Music City from 2015-2021.
Mr. Valentine is an active clinician for middle school and high school groups in the marching and concert band mediums. He hold professional memberships in NAfME, TMEA, and TBA. He currently lives in Johnson City with his wife Shawnna and his baby girl Sarah Beth.
Jonathan Valentine
Chris Lockhart holds the position of T.A. Dugger Band Director and also serves as assistant and adviser for the Betsy High School Band. Director Lockhart came to T.A. Dugger during the 2000-2001 school year and holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from East Tennessee State University. He is an active member of several organizations including the East Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association, Tennessee Music Educators Association, Music Educators National Conference, and the National Band Association.
Before coming to Elizabethton, Mr. Lockhart taught band for 14 years in Southwest Virginia. He has worked as a clinician and adjudicator in Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
Mr. Lockhart sets a wonderful foundation for the Jr. High students. It is remarkable to see how far the beginner band progresses each year which is evident at the spring concert. By the time the students are ready to move to the High School band, they are proficient in their musical abilities and have been taught a great work ethic which has been an essential part of the High School band’s success. Mr. Lockhart and Mr. Valentine work as a team during the summer Band Camp, and the two work in tandem for both the Jr. High and High School bands.
Chris Lockhart
Michael Lester is the Director of Percussion for Elizabethton High School and a freelance percussionist and educator in the Appalachian Highlands area. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in percussion performance from ETSU and Baylor University, respectively. After graduating from Baylor in 2021, he joined the staff at Elizabethton High School as the front ensemble coordinator, and in 2022, Michael became the full-time percussion director. He strives to make EHS a place for the students to not only become well-rounded percussionists and musicians, but have valuable skills and experiences that will stay with them throughout their lives.
Michael is currently on staff with the ETSU Marching Bucs. He is also the Adjunct Professor of Percussion at UVA Wise and the Percussion Instructor at Emory and Henry College. Prior to this, Michael was on staff with Dobyns-Bennett High School, a 5-time Bands of America Grand National Finalist, from 2017-2019.
One of Michael’s greatest performing interests is percussion chamber music. He is a founding member of Aleph Percussion Group, which is an East Tennessee based percussion quartet that seeks to provide a fun, exciting, and inclusive musical experience. Some of his other performing outlets have been Baylor Percussion Group, the ETSU Percussion Ensemble, and MC² — a percussion duo with his wife, Cassidy. He has performed with the Symphony of the Mountains in Kingsport, TN as well as the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra in Johnson City, TN.
Michael Lester
Cassidy Lester is a percussionist and educator from Kingsport, TN. She is the Director of Jazz Ensembles and Assistant Director of Percussion at Elizabethton High School. Additionally, she is a percussion instructor for the East Tennessee State University Marching Buccaneer Drumline and Front Ensemble who have been selected to perform in the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Cassidy currently serves as the elected Secretary for the Tennessee Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society.
At the 64th Annual TMEA Music Education Conference, Cassidy presented “She Can Drum Too: Encouraging Gender Inclusion.” She also had the honor of presenting “Forward, but not Fast Enough: An Update on the Underwhelming Progress of Female Inclusion in Percussion” at the 2022 National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy. Her presentations focused on research from her 2020 thesis titled, Whence Comes the Lady Percussionist? The Changing Role of Females in Professional Percussion Positions in the United States, 2011-2020. She has also presented at the Southern Regional Honors Council Conference and the Tennessee Collegiate Honors Council Conference. Cassidy is a member of Aleph Percussion Group, a newly formed percussion quartet based in East Tennessee. Because she and her husband, Michael Lester, love to perform together, they have also formed their own duo, MC² Percussion. They will be performing at the 2023 National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy. Cassidy is a section percussionist with the Johnson City Symphony Orchestra and has recently toured with Symphony of the Mountains.
Cassidy is a graduate of East Tennessee State University where she earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance. Her primary instructors were Dr. Matthew Geiger, Dr. Logan Ball, and Dr. Rande Sanderbeck.