Alto Saxophone

Claire Timphony​

Claire Timphony is currently a junior Music Education student at Southeastern Louisiana University. As a saxophonist, she studies with Professor Brina Faciane and is active in many of the ensembles in the department. She is the principal saxophonist in the Wind Symphony, plays Lead Alto in the Jazz Band, and performs in one of the saxophone quartets. Additionally, she is one of the members of The Spirit of the Southland Marching Band, and one of the student conductors for that ensemble, as well as the Basketball Band. This past year, she took on the role as one of the Undergraduate Assistants to the Marching Band. Recently, she participated in the 2025 CBDNA Louisiana Intercollegiate Band. She is a member of Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity. As an educator, she has worked with the Northshore High School Marching Band this past fall. An alum of Mandeville, she is looking forward to working with their program this coming summer.

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Director of Bands

Rossi DiBenedetto​

Rossi DiBenedetto
Director of Bands | Music Educator | Percussion Specialist
Mandeville

Professional Summary
Accomplished high-school band director and percussion specialist with extensive experience leading award-winning marching, concert, and jazz bands. Proven track record in mentoring student musicians and developing competitive programs. Experienced music educator with leadership roles in Louisiana music organizations, including District IX LMEA Director and LMAA Board Member.

Education
Master of Music in Percussion Performance
Southeastern Louisiana University – Graduate Assistant for marching band, symphonic band, basketball band, percussion methods, and world music.

Bachelor of Music
University of Akron – Percussion instructor for award-winning “AA” marching bands.

Professional Experience
Director of Bands – Mandeville High School, Mandeville
Dates: 2011-Current

Leads marching band, concert band, jazz band, and percussion programs.
Ensembles consistently earn Superior ratings, Sweepstakes awards, and captions for percussion, guard, and overall band.
Mentors student musicians for state and regional competitions.

Instrumental Music Teacher – Newark High School, Ohio
Directed bands achieving Superior ratings at state marching band finals.

Band Director – Mount Gilead Schools, Ohio
Directed grades 6–12 bands; ensembles reached state competitions and won Grand Champion awards.

Awards & Recognition
Teacher of the Year (2017–2018) – Mandeville High School
Multiple Grand Champion and Superior rating awards with school band programs

Professional Leadership & Memberships
Louisiana Music Educators Association (LMEA) — District IX Director
Louisiana Music Adjudicators Association (LMAA) — Board Member
National Association for Music Education (NAfME)
Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity

Additional Roles:
Music adjudicator for USBands marching competitions.

Award-winning music educator with decades of experience, recognized for developing highly competitive and consistently superior-performing band programs, mentoring students, and serving in leadership roles that shape Louisiana’s music education community.

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Low Reed

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Front Instructor

Skylar Murray

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DIRECTOR OF JAZZ STUDIES

Jonathon Lyons​​​

​Jonathan Lyons is a native of Ponchatoula, LA. Mr. Lyons continued a family tradition in music by pursuing a career as an educator and performer. A graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University, Mr. Lyons is continually pursuing excellence both in and out of the classroom. In 2016, Mr. Lyons was a recipient of the LMEA Young Educator of the Year award and since then, his Concert and Jazz Ensembles have consistently recieved Superior ratings at adjudicated events. Mr. Lyons has had the distinct honor to serve as guest clinician for Parish and District honor ensembles throughout Southeast Louisiana. As a saxophonist, Mr. Lyons is a frequently performing and recording musician in the New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Gulf South Region and has performed with internationally acclaimed artists including The Temptations, Marc Broussard, and Marcus Printup of The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Mr. Lyons currently serves as Band Director at Mandeville Junior High School and resides in Hammond, LA with his wife Sarah and daughter Eliza

baritone

Jake Lodato​

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Asst Guard Instructor

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Tuba

Rylan Frank​

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Guard Instructor/Guard and Band Body Coach

Maci Burt

Maci Burt is an alum to Mandeville High School and was a member of the color guard and winter guard. After graduating from MHS and NOCCA in 2016, she chose to go to Northwestern State to receive a BFA in Dance. She was a member of the dance line serving as co-captain and captain for a year each. She was also a member of the pom line, the NSU Dance Company, and a member of Tri Sigma Alpha Zeta. Maci received an award for “Most Outstanding Student in Dance” before graduating in 2021. She also attended the Joffrey Ballet Summer Intensive in New York City, she has performed with JPAS in the Nutcracker, and currently teaches dance at Danceworks in Slidell. She most recently choreographed the MHS Drama Club’s production of SpongeBob the Musical and loved working with everyone.

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Band Camp Staff 

Faculty

Visual Design

Mark Rivero

Mark Rivero has been a color guard and visual designer for over 35 years, staging and choreographing numerous scholastic and independent programs both on the field and indoor venues throughout the U.S.  He is former member of the 1981 DCI Class A Champion Louisiana Southernaires, Sky Ryders Drum and Bugle Corps, and the 1986 WGI Class A Champion, Final Analysis Winter Guard.  He was a charter member of the GCGPC West Division (Currently LMCGPC) and served on the Board of Directors of the LCGPC, acting as Executive Director for 3 years.  Mark is currently a associate member of the Gulf Coast Judges Association as a Design Analysis Judge.  In his life away from pageantry, Mark is a Compliance Officer with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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Full Year Staff

Flute

Anna Kate Zimmer​

Anna Zimmer, voted Northshore’s Best Music Teacher in 2024 and 2025 and a nominee for St. Tammany Woman of the Year 2026, is the visionary founder and owner of Middle C Music, the Northshore and Southshore’s Leading In-Home Music School and Performing Arts Studio located in Covington, Louisiana. A classically trained flutist who studied at Berklee College of Music and The Boston Conservatory and refined her artistry in Paris, France, Zimmer brings world-class training and a transformative approach to every student she teaches.

Since 2019, Zimmer has built Middle C Music into a thriving school for music education, offering private lessons, group classes, performance workshops, masterclasses, and community programs. Celebrated for her hands-on leadership, mentorship of professional instructors, and commitment to inclusivity, Zimmer empowers students of all ages to develop discipline, confidence, and a lifelong love of music, cementing her reputation as one of the region’s most respected and influential music educators.

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Percussion Caption Head/Front Ensemble

James Kennedy

James Kennedy is percussion educator and drill writer bases out of Mandeville, Louisiana and an alum to Mandeville High School. He has been working with the Mandeville High School Band since 2017. He has worked and written for multiple High Schools along the Gulf Coast, as well as multiple independent percussion ensembles. In 2003 he worked with St. Martin Independent Percussion as a battery and visual instructor for their show "Retrospect". St Martin Independent would travel to Dayton, Ohio for WGI world finals where they place 2nd place in the nation in the Percussion Independent A Class.

James started his professional marching career when he was 16, performing with Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps for their 2016 season. In 2018 he marched with the Louisiana Stars Drum and Bugle Corps during the 2018 season. He also performed with Elite Independent Percussion for their 2016, 2017, and 2018 season. In 2019 James auditioned and was cast in Cap City Percussion, a world class percussion ensemble based out of Columbus, Ohio. He would spend the 2019 Indoor season living in Centerville, Ohio and performing with Cap City Percussion. They would go on to compete at WGI World Class Finals in Dayton, Ohio where they would place 13th in the world.

James is currently pursuing a BS in Accounting at Southeastern Louisiana University and hopes to be a CPA candidate soon.

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Asst. Director of Bands

​Peyton Johnson

Peyton Johnson is excited to begin his teaching career as Assistant Director of Bands at Mandeville High School, where he has worked with the program previously as a trombone and marching instructor. He recently earned his Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from Louisiana State University, where he participated in many of the offered ensembles, including the Symphonic Winds, Wind Ensemble, Trombone Choir, Undergraduate Brass Quintet, Bengal Brass Basketball Band, and the LSU Marching Band. our paragraph here.

Battery Instructor

Luke Walker

Luke Walker is an Mandeville alumni from the University of Lafayette, Louisiana He is a part of UL’s marching Band, symphonic concert band, percussion ensemble, and jazz combo band. He also is a gigging producer and dj hoping to use his skills to produce for Grammy winning artist one day. 

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Band Camp Staff 2026

Trumpet

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Trombone

Kristan Boyll​

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Asst Guard Instructor

Aylse Taylor

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Clarinet

Na'imah Harley​

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