BRYN ROBERTS - DIRECTOR OF BANDS
Bryn Roberts was honored to be hired as the first band director of Emerson High School! She has been a band director since 2005.
Ms. Roberts was an assistant band director at Reedy High School from the time it opened in 2015 until she came to Emerson in 2021. During Ms. Roberts’s time at Reedy, her ensembles consistently received first division ratings at UIL Marching Contest and UIL Concert and Sightreading Contest. The Reedy marching band was named a finalist at the 2019 UIL Area Marching Contest.
Before coming to FISD, Ms. Roberts spent seven years as an assistant band director and color guard director at Westlake High School in Austin. During Ms. Roberts’s time at Westlake, the Westlake marching band advanced to the UIL State Marching Contest four times and made finals three times. They also made the finals at the BOA San Antonio Super Regional four times. In 2012, they won the Sudler Shield recognizing outstanding marching bands. The Westlake Wind Ensemble was selected to play at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago in 2013. In addition, all four Westlake concert bands received Sweepstakes awards at UIL Concert and Sightreading Contest for six consecutive years, and all four bands performed at Carnegie Hall in 2009 and 2013.
Ms. Roberts graduated Summa Cum Laude from Texas Tech University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Music. During her time at Texas Tech, she served as principal flautist of the Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Color Guard Captain of the Goin’ Band from Raiderland. She also performed with the Texas Tech Flute Choir and the Symphony Orchestra, and she was the winner of the Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition in 2003. In 2014, Ms. Roberts received a Master of Music Education, also from Texas Tech.
Ms. Roberts’s professional affiliations include Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Tau Beta Sigma. She has had articles published through Texas Music Education Research, the Southwestern Musician, Band Directors Talk Shop, and SmartMusic. She has presented clinics at the TMEA, TBA, and Midwest conventions. She and her husband Justin, a software engineer, live in Frisco.
KELSIE DUNHAM - ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Kelsie Dunham began her love of music locally, in Carrollton, TX. She had a great experience in public music education at Hebron High School, where she performed at the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago, as a member of the All-State Band, and as a member of the TMEA Honor Band with the Hebron Wind Symphony. She then pursued her degree in Music Education at Baylor University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude, and was a frequent performer in the National Trumpet Competition solo and ensemble divisions. She marched lead trumpet with Carolina Crown in 2014 and has toured summers with the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps as a brass teacher and administrative assistant. She has taught in Plano ISD at Bowman Middle School and most recently worked as the Assistant Director at Wylie East High School. In her four years at Wylie East High School she oversaw the visual program, and helped grow the Wylie East marching band a 5A UIL State Marching Band Finalist. Her concert ensembles have received consistent UIL Sweepstakes ratings and in 2019 the Wylie East Wind Ensemble received the Citation of Excellence. Outside of school, she loves spending time running, traveling, and playing with her three dogs, Pepper, Paprika, and Peanut.
.jpeg)
SEBASTIAN LOPEZ - PERCUSSION DIRECTOR
Sebastian Lopez is excited to be a part of Emerson High School and serve as the Director of Percussion. Prior to joining the Emerson team, he served as Assistant/Associate Director of Bands and Director of Percussion at Barbers Hills High School in Mont Belvieu, TX. During his time at Barbers Hill, Mr. Lopez helped build the band program from 120 students to over 250. The Soaring Eagle Marching Band has been a consistent Area finalist for the past 10 years and was crowned the Area E Champion in 2021. They advanced to the UIL State Marching Championships in 2013 and 2015. While at Barbers Hill, concert bands under Mr. Lopez’s direction have received consistent superior ratings at UIL Concert and Sight Reading. As Director of Percussion at Barbers Hill, his students have advanced to the UIL State Solo and Ensemble contest and have been awarded the “Outstanding Soloist” award. His percussion students have consistently earned spots in the All-Region Band and have advanced to the Area and State levels in both 5A and 6A classifications.
​
Mr. Lopez graduated Summa Cum Laude from Stephen F. Austin State University in 2008 with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education. In 2010, he earned a Master’s degree in Percussion Performance from the University of New Mexico. He had the distinct honor of studying with Dr. Scott Harris, Fred Allen, Dr. David Campo, Scott Ney, and JD Shaw.
Sebastian’s professional affiliations include Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, Percussive Arts Society, and Kappa Kappa Psi. He is a Vic Firth Education Artist/Marching Percussion Specialist. He and his wife Ashley and their two daughters are looking forward to making the Frisco area their new home.
ASHLEY PEDERSEN - ASSISTANT PERCUSSION DIRECTOR
Ashley Pedersen's percussion career began at Victor J. Andrew High School in Tinley Park, Illinois. She continued her studies in music education at Coastal Carolina University, South Carolina and Jacksonville State University, Alabama.
Ms. Pedersen has a wide variety of DCI and WGI experience. She played quads at Music City Drum Corps (2011-2012), front ensemble at Carolina Crown (2013-2015) and front ensemble with Music City Mystique (2015).
​
As an educator, Ms. Pedersen has been working as a lesson teacher, front ensemble tech, and drumline tech in Frisco ISD since 2021. In 2023 Ms. Pedersen began working in the Emerson Cluster as the Assistant Percussion Director.
Before Ms. Pedersen relocated to Texas she worked as a consultant and technician in percussion for many schools and WGI groups in the mid south. Before she lived in the mid south she lived in Illinois and worked as an Adjunct Professor teaching Piano and Percussion at Moraine Valley Community College, She is also trained in the Suzuki Method (piano) and worked in early childhood music.
In her free time Ms. Pedersen enjoys traveling, making pottery and spending time outside. Ms. Pedersen is very excited to be a part of the Emerson team!
BRYAN AYALA - COLOR GUARD DIRECTOR
Mr. Ayala started his color guard career in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has participated with the marching arts for 10 years, performing with ensembles such as Interplay winter guard, Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps, Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps, and Onyx winter guard, in which Mr. Ayala was also a WGI Independent World Class champion.
Before moving to Texas, Mr. Ayala was the director of Lake Orion high school in Michigan. During his time there, he helped direct them to their first WGI finals appearance in school history. Shortly after, Mr. Ayala moved to Florida to compete against some of the best directors in the nation and to take over as the color guard director for Sebastian River high school. Mr. Ayala spent 3 years in Florida, and while he was there he helped Sebastian River get promoted from A class to Open class and guided Sebastian River to their first WGI Open class finalist appearance.
Most recently, Mr. Ayala taught in Lewisville ISD with the Flower Mound high school color guard as their assistant color guard director. Mr. Ayala also works with multiple groups across the nation as a choreographer and weapon technician. These groups include: Flower Mound HS, Pearl HS, Clear Brook HS, Bridgeland HS, Origins World, and Colts Drum and Bugle Corps.
Aside from teaching color guard, Mr. Ayala likes to go hiking, explore new restaurants, collect trading cards, and spend time traveling the world.