Director of Bands - Jonathan R. Hinkle, PhD
Jonathan Hinkle joined the music faculty at Colorado Mesa University in 2012 as the first Director of Athletic Bands, which included the responsibility of starting and directing the University's first marching band, the Maverick Stampede. In only a few seasons, this group grew to include 155 members and is now also housed in their very own rehearsal facility (turf field, storage/meeting room, and observation tower) know as the Stampede Center. In 2016, he also formed the Rowdy Brass Band, a small 21st Century ensemble performing both on and off campus and for professional engagements. Both groups are now in high demand throughout Colorado. In 2021, Dr. Hinkle was reapointed as Director of Bands which includes leading CMU's Wind Symphony and overseeing the complete band program. He also teaches courses in music education and applied trumpet, growing enrollment in both of these additional programs. He maintains an active schedule as a band clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States.
Before moving west, Dr. Hinkle was an active music educator, band director, and trumpeter in the Southeastern United States. This experience included five years as a high school band and orchestra director at Sebastian River High School (Sebastian, FL) and Melbourne High School (Melbourne, FL), leading marching bands, concert bands, jazz ensembles, and string orchestras to state and national recognition. He returned to the Florida State University College of Music for the Master of Music Education degree earning a University Fellowship for his work starting and directing the first jazz big-band specifically for music education majors, Seminole Swing Machine. Encouraged to continue his graduate work, he later earned the Ph.D. in Music Education under the mentorship of Dr. Clifford Madsen. At FSU, Hinkle was responsible for teaching and leading various music courses
as a graduate student and later as an adjunct faculty. As both an undergraduate and graduate student, he served as principal and lead trumpet with many of the University's top performing ensembles including the Wind Orchestra under the direction of Richard Clary and Jazz Ensemble I, under the direction of Leon Anderson, giving world premiere performances with both groups on national stages. Hinkle's professional performing experience also includes being a lead trumpeter at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, as the principal trumpeter with Orchestra Mia in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as a member of the Colorado Mesa University Faculty Jazz Quintet, and in a variety of freelance appointments.
[email protected] (970) 248-1325
Interim Associate Director of Bands - Andrew Bajorek
Andrew Bajorek joins the Maverick Band Family where he will serve as the I
nterim Associate Director of Bands. Prior to his appointment at Colorado Mesa University, Mr. Bajorek was a band director and music supervisor for schools in Central Florida.
Mr. Bajorek has an extensive background in the marching arts. He served as an instructor, arranger, and drill designer for the University of Florida “Pride of the Sunshine”Marching Band. He was a marching member of the world champion Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps in 2004 and 2005, and he has served in leadership roles for the Indiana University of Pennsylvania “Legend” marching band, and has taught award-winning marching ensembles in Pennsylvania and Florida. He is sought after as a clinician and arranger for ensembles throughout the country.
Mr. Bajorek is a doctoral candidate in Music Education at the University of Florida where he is researching teachers’ perceptions of the National Core Music Standards. He holds a Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting from the University of Florida, where he studied conducting with Dr. David Waybright, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. He has studied with Dr. Jack Stamp, Dr. Gary Bird, Dr. Daniel Burdick, and Dr. William Bauer.
Maverick Stampede Staff
Drumline - Mr. Isaac Lavadie
Mr. Isaac Lavadie is the Director of Bands at Grand Junction High School in Grand Junction, Colorado. Mr. Lavadie received his undergraduate degrees in K-12 Instrumental Music Education and Percussion Performance from Mesa State College in 2007. While at Mesa State College, Mr. Lavadie had the privilege to perform with Mark Ford, Nancy Zeltsman, and Lisa Pegher. He was also the 2006 MSC Concerto Competition winner and performed the “Concertino for Marimba” by Paul Creston with the Mesa State College Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Lavadie has also been a percussion member of the Grand Junction Symphony since 2002.
During his tenure at Grand Junction High School, Mr. Lavadie has grown the band program to a membership of over 200 students, with classes including: Freshmen Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, three jazz bands, Jazz Combo, the Tiger Pride Marching Band, Percussion Ensemble, Music Theory, as well as numerous chamber ensembles that meet throughout the school year. The bands have participated in multiple adjudicated festivals throughout the state, receiving only Excellent and Superior Ratings. The band program has received the Colorado Bandmasters Association Exemplary Band Award every year since 2007. Mr. Lavadie was recognized in “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers” and was selected as the 2015 University of Colorado Outstanding Colorado Educator. His professional affiliations include: Phi Beta Mu, National Association for Music Education, Colorado Bandmasters Association, and the Percussive Arts Society.
Mr. Lavadie enjoys arranging music, playing all kinds of percussion instruments, and walking his dogs, Rocky and Ratamacue, with his wife, Rachel, during his free time.
[email protected] (970) 623-3223
Color Guard - Mr. Francisco Castaneda
Francisco Castaneda is really excited to be the first color guard coach at Colorado Mesa University. He has been involved in marching band since 1995 and for the last 11years has been the head color guard coach at Central High School in Grand Junction Colorado. He has also been the head coach at Fruita Monument High School, and assisted at Grand Junction High School and Palisade High School. During the summer of 2003 he marched on the Sabre line for Fever Drum and Bugle Corps from Modesto California.
He is currently in his eighth year of teaching at Grand Mesa Middle School as the Orchestra and Choir Director. A native of Central California, he received his music degrees from Modesto Junior College in Modesto California and Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction Colorado. Mr. Castaneda has been a Bassoonist for 19 years and plays for various groups including the Grand Junction Symphony and the Colorado Mesa University Wind Symphony.
[email protected] (970) 778-2908