2026 Corps Staff

Nicole Salas (she/hers) has been an instructor at RCR Winter Guard since 2019, and is beyond excited to join the team at Minnesota Brass this summer. She began performing in high school with the 728 Cadets and River Valley Winter Guard. Once out of high school, she was a member of the world class winter guard Lux Independent, and is a charter member of River City Rhythm Drum and Bugle Corps. Nicole marched with MBI Winter Guard in 2017, taking home a silver medal at WGI in Independent A Class.

Nicole has taught at River Valley Winter Guard, 728 Cadets, Eastview High School Marching Band and RCR Winter Guard. When not at guard, Nicole enjoys reading, bowling, skiing and spending time with her husband and their three dogs.

Andrew Sims (he/him) first joined Minnesota Brass (MBI) as a volunteer driver in 2023. With several years of experience providing professional driving services for Minnesota performing arts programs, including Eden Prairie Bands, River City Rhythm, and MBI. Andrew is now stepping in as the Operations Manager at MBI. His passion for the performing arts began at Brownsburg High School as a performer and continued through his involvement with the University of Kansas Marching Jayhawks.

Andrew has also contributed as a brass and visual tech for Pike High School Marching Devils, Franklin Central Marching Flashes, Del Rio Marching Rams, and Eden Prairie Eagle Marching Band. Outside of the marching arts Andrew serves in the United States Air Force Reserves as a C-130 pilot.

Katie Langer (She/hers) earned her undergraduate degree from the College of Saint Benedict and her Master’s and Specialist degrees from Minnesota State University Moorhead. She currently serves as a school psychologist in North Branch, Minnesota, supporting students from birth through age 22.

Her percussion journey started in 2011 at River Valley Percussion Theatre. She has performed with Minnesota Brass for four summer seasons, most recently in 2024 where she was named Member of the Year for the percussion section. She has over a decade of experience teaching high school front ensembles across Minnesota, including Sauk Rapids-Sartell, Minnetonka, Champlin Park, and River Valley Percussion Theatre.

Mike Palmer (He/Him) continues with MBI for the 2026 season supporting logistics and equipment management, leveraging together his extensive marching arts career with his experience as a seasoned trainer and team lead in distribution center operations.

Getting his start through a comprehensive marching career with Burnsville HS and River City Rhythm competitive drumlines, Mike also pursued a passion in education alongside his logistics career, supporting marching arts instruction at both Chops Percussion Indoor as well as SoWashCo Indoor and local high school ensembles.

Dr. Kara Metzger (She/her) is originally from Waukesha, WI and currently serves as the Director of Bands at Central Methodist University in Fayette, MO. At CMU, Kara teaches marching, concert, and jazz band. She also teaches applied trombone and courses in music education. She has earned a bachelor’s in music education and a certificate in adaptive music from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Kara earned graduate degrees from the University of Minnesota Duluth (MM-Music Education) and the University of Iowa (DMA-Wind Conducting). Whilst earning her graduate degrees, Kara was a teaching assistant within both schools’ band departments, teaching/conducting concert bands, assisting with the athletic bands, and performing many other supportive roles at both institutions. Throughout her time at the University of Iowa, Kara also served as Director of Symphonic Band at Grinnell College in Grinnell, IA.

Anthony Gilleland is a performer and educator based out of Northern Kentucky. He is currently the Percussion Director for Ryle High School in Union, KY where he teaches percussion methods, lessons, and marching ensemble rehearsals. He also designs for many ensembles in the TriState area.

Anthony is currently on the front ensemble staff at the Mandarins. He has also been involved with groups such as Carolina Crown, The Cadets, Blue Stars, Pulse Percussion as well as the design team for George Mason University Indoor Drumline.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in percussion performance from California State University, Fullerton, and is an Educational Artist with Vic Firth and Zildjian.

Rebekah Salas(She/Her) brings a background in color guard from the Pacific Northwest. She started teaching in 2002 at her alma mater then various high schools throughout the Puget Sound. During those years, she also performed with the Seattle Cascades Drum and Bugle Corps, Full Circle of the Sound, and Rhapsody Winterguard. In 2014, she moved to Minnesota, where she began teaching after taking a hiatus. Although, she has had the privilege to teach/direct at multiple schools/organizations throughout the Midwest, she has dedicated most of her time to RCR Winter Guard and is excited to once again join the design team this summer with MBI.

Joel Matuzak (He/Him) has degrees from St. Cloud State University and Concordia University Saint Paul. He has been the Director of Instrumental Music at Highland Park Senior High School in Saint Paul, Minnesota since 1997. Joel was the Program Coordinator for Minnesota Brass from 2003-2019, and Percussion Caption head from1997-2021. During his time with MBI, the corps won four Drum Corps Associates Percussion titles, and was the 2011 DCA Open Class Champion. Joel was the Design Coordinator for the MBI winter percussion ensemble, an Independent Open Winter Guard International 2011 Silver Medalist and 2012 WGI World Class finalist. Joel is also the Director of the Sköl Line, a Drumline for the Minnesota Vikings NFL franchise, and the Minnesota Wild Stickhandlers Drumline.

Justin Mons is an Arizona native, and has been involved in the marching arts for 16 years as an instructor, adjudicator, and visual designer. After marching 7 years at The Arizona Academy, he joined the visual staff at the Mandarins. Justin served the Mandarins as a field tech in 2013, Assistant Visual Caption Head ’14-’16, and ‘17-22 returned back to a lead field tech position. Justin also spent a part of the 2015 summer on visual staff for the Academy. Most recently in the 2024 season, Justin was on the visual staff for the Blue Knights, and was the Drill Designer for the All Age Class A champions, Govenaires.

In the world of indoor percussion, Justin served as Visual Caption Head and was a designer for Vision Percussion 2017-2020. During his time with Vision he helped them grow from Independent A to Independent Open, and became WGI San Bernadino regional Finalists in both the A and Open. During his time with Vision, they also took Winter Guard Arizona (WGAZ) gold in A class 2016, Open class ’17, ’19 and silver in Open ’18. Justin has also been a visual analysis judge for the WGAZ circuit from 2018-2020 and MPA from 2021-2024

Anson Hanna graduated from St. Cloud State University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Manufacturing Engineering. Currently, he is working as a medical manufacturing engineer and is pursuing a Master’s of Business Administration (Leadership & Management) at St. Cloud State University. Alongside his career, Anson has worked with various schools and programs with his most prominent being the director, arranger, and designer for the Dassel-Cokato High School Marching Arts programs, (2021-Present).

Anson has marched with Minnesota Brass Drum & Bugle Corps from 2022-2025 and the Minnesota Brass Indoor Drumline for the 2022 & 2023 seasons. He also performed in Shadow Drum & Bugle Corps’ 2021 virtual production, and started a drumline program at St. Cloud State University where he instructed, lead, and arranged music for the ensemble.

Sam Kallevig (He/Him) started his marching career in 2015 on bass drum with Minnetonka High School and his love for music and the activity has been growing ever since. He went on to march with Chops Percussion Indoor and Chops Drum & Bugle Corps from 2016-2018. Sam joined the Minnesota Brass family in 2019, aged out in 2022, and continues his involvement with the organization today. During the winter season, Sam has worked as a bass drum technician for 3 seasons with the South Saint Paul indoor drumline, and 2 seasons with the Dassel Cokato indoor drumline. During the summer season, Sam dedicates his time to Minnesota brass. This will be his third  year instructing the bass line for the summer program.  

Outside of rehearsal, you can find Sam enjoying nature, playing video games, experiencing foreign cuisine, and spending time with his dog, Gary!

Vlad Boz is a proud alumnus of South St. Paul High School, where he participated in the marching band and indoor drumline 1997–2002. He also marched with the Pioneer Drum and Bugle Corps (2001–2002), the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps (2004–2006), and the Minnesota Brass Drum and Bugle Corps (2003, 2007–2008). He has been teaching South St. Paul High School since 2009, Rosemount High School since 2011 and Minnesota Brass since 2010, in addition to having taught several other local groups in the past. And he’s been president of the Minnesota Percussion Association since 2015. Vlad has a degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota and works in marketing and communications. In his spare time, he enjoys petting strangers’ dogs and writing his bio.

Isaac Steffen started his marching career at Farmington High School (2015-2018). He then went on to do Chops Drum and Bugle Corps (2016, 2018), Chops Percussion Indoor (2016-2017), Minnesota Brass Drum and Bugle Corps and Soundsport (2017, 2019, 2023, consulting for 2024 and 2025), MBI Indoor Percussion (2019-2022, instructing for 2024 and 2025), The Cadets (2021-2022), and Rhythm X (2023). He has also been the bass tech at Eden Prairie High School since 2019.

Aside from Band, Isaac likes to play video games, hang out with friends, cook tasty food, and pet his cat, Nathan. He is very excited for this upcoming season, and can’t wait to clean some beats!

Sophie Seegar grew up in Farmington, Minnesota, and started performing in the Farmington Tiger Marching Band in 2015. After graduating, Sophie went to Minnesota State University Mankato, where she got a bachelor’s degree in Music Education and participated in the Wind Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, and continued marching with the Maverick Machine for three seasons. She continued her marching career, marching with MBI indoor percussion for two seasons, aging out in 2025. 

Sophie has taught with multiple ensembles such as the Farmington Tiger Marching Band, Rosemount High School Marching Band, Lakeville Area Percussion, and is excited to be joining the MBIDBC team for the 2026 season! Sophie currently teaches Elementary Music in Lakeville, Minnesota.

Sierra Appleby is a Twin CIties based artist and educator with a rich background in percussion performance and education. Originally from San Jose, California, Sierra moved to Reno, Nevada, to pursue an education in music. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance and spent the following 3 years focusing on teaching percussion throughout the Reno area. She taught a range of ages while teaching a multitude of genres, including marching and classical percussion, most notably working with the Pride of the Sierra Wolf Pack Marching Band. She also had the opportunity of playing drum set in an all-women’s jazz band named Sapphire Jazz.

After her time away from academia, Sierra chose to further pursue her education in music. She recently enrolled in the music program at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and is working towards her Master’s in Music Performance. Here she plans to expand upon her knowledge and hone her skills as a musician and a teacher.

Andy Nguyen is a percussionist from Anoka, MN. He began his marching career as a member of the Anoka High School front ensemble in 2018. Andy currently lives in Nashville, TN. As a performer, Andy marched with the River City Rhythm Drum and Bugle Corps (2022) and the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps (2023-2025). In WGI, he performed with River City Rhythm indoor percussion (2019-2024), MBI indoor percussion (2025), and Music City Mystique (2026).

Outside of the marching arts, Andy enjoys solving puzzles and is currently pursuing a degree in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota. Andy will be moving back to Minnesota in Spring 2026 and is looking forward to being a part of the MBI percussion staff.

Jackson Weinberg grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He started marching with chops from a young age and would complete 5 seasons with them before continuing onto Minnesota brass, where he marched 9 seasons with their multiple ensembles, before aging out with the Colts drum and Bugle Corps in 2024. Outside of the marching arts, Jackson received a formal education in orchestral percussion and has led multiple local bands in varying genres and styles from jazz to metal. Jackson now owns RedEyeExteriorCleaning.com, where he provides exterior cleaning services with an emphasis on environmental sustainability and community development.

Ryan Collins grew up in Andover, MN. He marched trumpet/mellophone for 6 years with Minnesota Brass Drum and Bugle Corps between 2010 and 2016, including the Open Class DCA World Championship winning season in 2011.

For the past 16 years, Ryan has been a marching arts instructor/designer in the Twin Cities Area. During that time, Ryan has worked with Andover, Blaine, and Anoka high schools as a visual/brass tech and visual caption head. He has also been on staff with MBI Winds since it’s first year in 2023.