Staff

Laura Sturch

Director of Bands

Little Elm ISD

972-947-9443 (ext. 25108)lsturch@littleelmisd.net

Laura Sturch is entering her 28th year as a band director and her 6th year as Director of Bands at Little Elm High School. In this role, she conducts the Marching Band, Wind Ensemble, and Symphonic Band while overseeing all aspects of the band program.

Prior to her tenure at Little Elm, Mrs. Sturch spent six years in Plano ISD as Director of Bands at Clark High School, seven years in Forney ISD, eight years in Alice ISD, and one year teaching in Florida. Under her leadership, bands have consistently earned superior ratings at UIL contests, “Best in Class” and “Superior” honors at regional festivals, and national recognition in the Mark of Excellence National Wind Band Contest.

Mrs. Sturch has also been deeply involved in Drum Corps International (DCI). She performed as a member of Dutch Boy (1992–1993) and The Cadets of Bergen County (1994). She later served on the brass instructional staff for The Glassmen (2005–2010) and The Troopers (2018–2020).

She holds both a Bachelor of Music Education and a Master of Music Education degree from The University of Southern Mississippi. Professionally, she is an active member of the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) and the Texas Bandmasters Association (TBA), and is a provisional member of the Texas Music Adjudicators Association (TMAA). Her service to the profession has included work as Assistant Region Band Chair for TMEA Region 24 and as a band organizer within the region.

Beyond music, Mrs. Sturch is passionate about health and fitness, often training for and competing in races. She and her husband, Greg, currently reside in McKinney, Texas.

Kyle Bond

Associate Director of Bands

Little Elm ISD

Kyle Bond is in his 4th year as Associate Director of Bands at Little Elm High School. His teaching responsibilities include conducting the Symphonic Winds and Jazz Ensemble II, along with co-teaching the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and the Lobo Marching Band.

Before coming to Little Elm, Mr. Bond gained experience teaching marching bands in the DFW metroplex, including the Wakeland High School Marching Band, Coppell High School Marching Band, and Creekview High School Marching Band. These bands became finalists at multiple BOA Regionals, BOA Super Regionals, and UIL State Marching Contests. Mr. Bond also serves as a saxophone player for various professional groups in the DFW metroplex.

Mr. Bond attended the University of North Texas where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Music Education. During his time at UNT, he studied classical and jazz saxophone with Dr. Eric Nestler and Andrew Larsen respectively. He also served 3 years on the leadership team for the UNT Green Brigade, performed in 5 concert ensembles, and was invited to perform at the 42nd Annual Navy Band Saxophone Symposium in 2020.

Mr. Bond holds professional affiliations with TMEA and TJEA. He loves spending time with his beautiful wife Sarah and their two cats, Tobi and Nora, and in his free time Mr. Bond enjoys fitness, cooking, and watching all kinds of sports.

Matt Neal

Assistant Director / Percussion Director

Little Elm ISD

972-947-9443 (ext. 25109)sneal@littleelmisd.net

Matt Neal has been a percussion director since 2005, he began teaching for Little Elm ISD in 2017. Mr Neal's campuses include Little Elm High School and its two feeders, Strike and Walker Middle School. Previously, he taught in Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, Rockwall ISD, and North Lamar ISD. Mr Neal's ensembles have received recognition for many performances, including top 3 finishes at marching percussion competitions, best percussion awards at marching band contests and top 3 finishes at percussion ensemble festivals.

Mr Neal has a Bachelor of Music Degree in performance from Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, Oklahoma, and a Master of Music degree in performance from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association and The Texas BandMasters Association. Mr Neal believes that holding each student to the highest standard to help them reach their utmost potential while fostering a positive nurturing relationship is essential to program development. Mr Neal resides in Little Elm, Texas with his wife Angela, an Orff and Kodály specialist. Mrs Neal is the elementary music teacher at Prestwick Elementary in Little Elm ISD.

Kristen Zotti

Color Guard / Winter Guard Director

Little Elm ISD

972-947-9443 (ext. 25109)kzotti@littleelmisd.net

Kristen Zotti is the Guard Director at Little Elm High School. She is originally from Cheshire, Connecticut, where she began her marching career with the Cheshire High School Band and their Scholastic World Class Winter Guard from 2005-2009. During high school, she independently participated in the Connecticut Hurricanes DCI drum and bugle corp from 2007-2010. Following high school, Ms. Zotti performed with the Independent World Guard, Alter Ego, from 2010-2012. She then moved to Dayton, Ohio, to be with the Zydeco Winter Guard for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

As well as her winter guard endevors, Ms. Zotti marched with the DCI corp, the Blue Stars, for two years. During her summers, Kristen Zotti serves as a camp clinician for Fred J. Miller camps. She has worked with many high school guards in Connecticut and Ohio, such as Cheshire, Southington, and Lakota West High Schools.

Frank Felice

Director of Fine Arts

Little Elm ISD

972-947-9340 x10107ffelice@littleelmisd.net

Frank Felice serves Little Elm ISD as the Director of Fine Arts . Prior to his appointment to this position, Mr. Felice served as the Director of Bands at Little Elm High School for seventeen years. In this capacity, he oversaw the band program district-wide, while also serving ten of those years as Fine Arts Coordinator and department chair at Little Elm High School. Mr. Felice's bands have competed in the Bands of America Concert Band Festival, Dallas Wind Symphony Invitational at the Meyerson Symphony Center, National Adjudicators Invitational Festival in San Antonio, the All-American Music Festival in Orlando, Magic Music Days in Orlando, The Breckenridge Music Festival, the Gulfcoast Showcase of Music in South Padre, and many other various festivals throughout the country. Mr. Felice's bands have received numerous Sweepstakes and "Superior" ratings from the University Interscholastic League and throughout the states of Texas and Louisiana.

Over the past twenty-six years, Mr. Felice has served as a guest honor band clinician, adjudicator, marching clinician, drill instructor, low brass technician, and summer band camp conductor. He is also currently the Associate Conductor of one of the premier civic wind ensembles in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, the Metropolitan Winds. In this role, Mr. Felice serves both as conductor and performer on euphonium. Mr. Felice has also performed throughout Louisiana and Texas as a guest performer on euphonium, trombone, and tuba.

Frank Felice received both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Louisiana State University and holds membership in the Texas Bandmasters Association, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Music Adjudicators Association, and the Texas Music Administrators Conference. In his free time, Mr. Felice loves to spend time travelling with his family and cooking outdoors. He and his wife, Ginger, are most proud of their two children, Claire and Ryan.