Steve Ballard

Steve Ballard has been an itinerant Elementary and High School Band Director for the Fairfax County Public School system in Fairfax, VA since 2003. He is also a Vic Firth Sponsored Percussion Educator. He was an instructor for the 2002, 03, and 04 Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps Pit and then moved on to teach the 2006 Colts Drum and Bugle Corps Pit and serve as assistant caption head. He was also a percussion consultant for the 2001 Rochester Crusaders Senior Corps and the 2001, 02, and 03 Syracuse Brigadiers Senior Corps (DCA World Champions in 2001 and 02). Steve has spent the last 10 Years as a high school percussion arranger and instructor for schools in New York, California, Connecticut, and Virginia. He is currently the percussion caption supervisor and music arranger for the Thomas Jefferson HSST drumline in Alexandria, VA and serves as the assistant director for the band program.

Steve was a member of the 1996, 97, and 98 Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps pit primarily playing keyboards, and later, the 2000 and 01 Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps pit as the timpanist. He was the runner-up in the 2001 DCI Marimba I & E competition. Four of those five years he studied under the instruction of James Ancona.

Steve spent 6 years at Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY from 1997 through 2003.  He received a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Music Performance (percussion) as well as a Master of Music in Music Education. He spent his time at Ithaca studying percussion performance as well as some composition technique with world renowned marimbist, percussionist and composer Gordon Stout.