Gretna Bands
STAFF
Alex Woodside
Head High School Director
Alex Woodside is currently in his first year as the head band director at Gretna High School and his 6th year in education. His teaching responsibilities include co-directing the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Freshman Band, Marching Band, Jazz Bands, and Pep Bands. He also assists in directing the bands at Gretna Middle School and Aspen Creek Middle School. He has previously served as one of the 5-12 grade band directors for Lexington Public Schools in Lexington, NE.
In addition to his regular teaching, Mr. Woodside is also active as a clinician, adjudicator, and percussion instructor around the state of Nebraska. He was selected to direct multiple selective percussion ensembles including the 2022 Class C All-State Percussion Ensemble. Mr. Woodside has worked as a percussion and drumline instructor for various groups across the state including the Kearney Area Percussion Ensemble and the Kearney High School and Lincoln East High School Drumlines. Mr. Woodside is an active member of the Nebraska Music Educators Association and the Nebraska State Bandmasters Association.
Alex Woodside has performed with a number of ensembles all around the country. Most notably, he performed as a member of the UNL Percussion Ensemble and was part of their 2016 PASIC showcase performance and their performance at the 2014 McCormick Marimba Festival. He has also been a member of the Cornhusker Marching Band and the UNL Wind Ensemble. Mr. Woodside has had the pleasure of learning from many percussion teachers including Dr. Dave Hall, Anthony Falcone, Leigh Howard Stevens, and Ben Coleman.
Noah Hickman
Assistant High School Director
Noah Hickman is currently in his first year as the assistant band director at Gretna High School and 5th year of teaching. His teaching responsibilities include co-directing the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Freshman Band, Marching Bands, Jazz Bands, and Pep Bands. He also assists in directing the bands at Gretna Middle School and Aspen Creek Middle School. Previously, he served as the 5-12 band director for Woodbury Central Community School District in Moville, Iowa.
During his tenure at Woodbury Central, he led his bands consistently received excellent or superior ratings and high praise from judges in Iowa and South Dakota. In 2020, the Woodbury Central Jazz Band was one of 14 groups from across the state to be selected to perform at Iowa Jazz Championships in Class 1A. He also gave a presentation at the 2022 Iowa Bandmasters Association Annual Conference.
As a performer, Noah Hickman has had the opportunity to travel to many unique places. In 2013, he successfully auditioned to be a part of the United States Army All-American Marching Band. While studying at Wartburg College, he traveled across the nation and Europe performing with the Wartburg College Wind Ensemble, Castle Singers (chamber choir), and Ritterchor (tenor-bass choir). He is currently working on a Masters Degree in Music Education through American Band College and hopes to complete the program in Summer 2023.
Seth McKenzie
Percussion Instructor
Seth McKenzie is excited to be back at Gretna Public Schools! He is currently in his tenth year of teaching and fourth year teaching at Gretna Public Schools. His responsibilities include teaching the percussion curriculum district wide, leads the percussion sections in each ensemble, as well as co-teaching the large ensembles at the high school level.
Chris Tucker
Gretna Middle School Band Director
Chris Tucker is in her 36th year in the Gretna Public Schools. She is currently the Director of Middle School Bands at Gretna Middle School and assists both the Varsity and Freshmen Bands at the high school. She received her Bachelor of Music in Education (1987) with Highest Distinction, and her Master of Music (1992) from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In 1993, Chris was awarded the Jack R. Snider Young Band Director Award, and in March of 2004, she received the Distinguished Service Award from NSBA for serving on its Executive Board for nine years in the role of Treasurer. Chris has presented clinics at both the NMEA Conference and the NSBA conventions. In addition, she has been a frequent adjudicator for many area contests and guest conductor and clinician for regional schools and honor band festivals. Chris was the Associate Director of the Nebraska Wind Symphony from 2001 – 2012, and she served as Interim Director for the Omaha Area Youth Orchestra’s Conservatory Orchestra in 2010. In 2022, Chris was a member of an all adult marching band that performed in the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day. In addition to NSBA and NMEA, other professional organizations include Nebraska State Education Association, National Band Association, and Phi Beta Mu, an international honorary society for band directors.
Amber Malone
Aspen Creek Middle School Band Director
Amber Malone is in her tenth year with Gretna Public Schools and serves as the Director of Bands at Aspen Creek Middle School and Assistant Director of Bands at Gretna High School. Mrs. Malone serves as a board member for the MTSS (Multi-Tier Support System), ESports coach, and GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) club sponor at Aspen Creek Middle School. She student taught under Chris Tucker and Andrew Norris before receiving her undergraduate degree in Music Education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2013. She went on to receive her Master of Science in Education degree from Peru State College in 2017 and her Educational Specialist (EdSp) degree from the University of Missouri Columbia in 2020.
While at UNO, Mrs. Malone was involved in multiple performing ensembles including: Symphonic Wind Ensemble, University Band, Orchestra, Marching Band and Jazz Band. She also had the pleasure of touring throughout the United State and Europe while a member of the UNO bands. While at UNO, she held several leadership positions such as: Symphonic Wind Ensemble student representative, section leader in the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, University Band, and Marching Band. Mrs. Malone was also an active member of Kappa Kappa Psi where she served as Vice President of Membership and President of the Kappa Iota chapter. Mrs. Malone has also served as a board member for the Omaha Chamber Music Society where she helped with education outreach throughout the Omaha metro area. She has also performed with the Nebraska Wind Symphony, Omaha Symphonic Winds, and the Blair Community Band. Mrs. Malone is a member of the Nebraska State Bandmasters Association (NSBA), Nebraska Music Educators Association (NMEA), National Association for Music Educators (NAfME), National Education Association (NEA), Nebraska State Education Association (NSEA) and Gretna Education Association (GSA). When she is not teaching or directing, Mrs. Malone enjoys spending time with her wife, Aubrey, her son, Jackson (4), and their three dogs.
Our Support Team
What we do would not be possible without the help of these experts with hundreds of hours of experience and a passion for their craft.
