Leadership
Dr. Jake House - Director of Bands
Dr. Jake House is a graduate of Hazel Green High School. He holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of North Alabama and completed his doctorate in Music Education with highest distinction from Liberty University. During his time at UNA, Dr. House marched snare with the Pride of Dixie Marching Band, performed in the UNA Symphonic Band, played with the Shoals Symphony Orchestra, and was an active member of various percussion ensembles. He completed his internship under the mentorship of esteemed music educators Clay Sloan and Regina Raney at Austin High School and Austin Junior High. While pursuing his master’s degree, he returned to Hazel Green High School to serve for two years as the percussion instructor alongside his former director, Patrick Harper.
Dr. House spent three years as a band director in the Limestone County School System, where he taught marching band, symphonic band, percussion ensemble, and jazz band. He is a member of the Alabama Music Education Association and the National Educations Association.
Fun fact: when he was in high school, Dr. House performed with the Buckhorn Indoor Percussion and even joined the Buckhorn Band on a Disney trip—making it especially meaningful for him to now help lead the program.
Outside of teaching, Dr. House enjoys playing hockey, bowling, and spending time with his family. His wife, Laura, is also an educator and will be teaching sixth grade language arts at Riverton Intermediate School.
Dr. House is honored to continue the culture of integrity, tenacity, artistry that Mr. Jacob Souder so carefully established within the Buckhorn Band program.
He looks forward to many great seasons ahead.
Kristen Daugherty - Assistant Director of Bands / Choir Director
Kristen Daugherty is a graduate of Sparkman High School and Auburn University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Music Education in 2023, with both choral and instrumental certifications. Her passion for and expertise in music first developed as an instrumental student and later further flourished through both her choral and instrumental studies in high school and college. Ms. Daugherty performed with several university ensembles including the Women’s Chorus, the Trumpet Ensemble, and the nationally renowned Auburn University Marching Band. She was selected to lead and serve as a section leader in the AUMB and performed with the University Choir at Cadogan Hall in London - two of the highlights of her undergraduate studies.
During her time at Auburn, Ms. Daugherty worked with musicians of all ages, including volunteering with various honor band festivals where she taught both middle and high school students. As a member of Tau Beta Sigma National Honorary Band Sorority - an organization that provides a wide range of services for collegiate bands across the nation - she served as her chapter’s treasurer. Ms. Daugherty completed her internships at Woodland Pines Elementary, Auburn Junior High & High School.
Ms. Daugherty lives in Madison County, is very involved with her church, and made an immediate positive impact jumping into teaching our two week intensive marching band camp immediately after accepting this position. She is very excited to begin her career very close to home as Choral Director & Assistant Director of Bands here at Buckhorn.
Leah Farris - Percussion Program Coordinator; Front Ensemble / Mallet Percussion Instructor
Leah Farris is a graduate of S.R. Butler High School in Huntsville, Alabama. From a young age, she flourished in musical studies and is a highly accomplished pianist. Throughout high school, her concert and marching percussion studies became highly developed. Leah went on to the University of North Alabama as a Music Education major on an instrumental music scholarship. There she studied with Dr. Iain Moyer, performing both as a member of the marching band's bass line as well as a keyboardist in the front ensemble. Leah was also a top performing percussionist in the Wind Symphony and Studio Lab Jazz Band both on piano and percussion.
Mrs. Farris received the high honor of being accepted to the "Leigh Howard Stevens' Summer Marimba Seminar", a highly competitive and prestigious two-month long camp in New Jersey. There she studied with Leigh Howard Stevens (pioneer of the innovative four-mallet grip); Michael Burritt of the Eastman School of Music (Rochester, NY); Eric Sammut of the Royal Academy of Music (London); and Gordon Stout from Ithaca College. Leah received her Bachelor of Science in Music Education from UNA and taught at Buckhorn Middle School (2011-2012) before getting married and starting a family. Mrs. Farris is a Life Member of Tau Beta Sigma, National Honorary Band Sorority, works for the government, and resides in New Market with her husband Paul and daughter, Riley.
Abby Cersosimo - Front Ensemble / Mallet Percussion Instructor
For Huntsville native Abby Cersosimo (Mrs. C.), it all started in her dad's 1997 Acura Integra and the Moving Pictures Rush album.
Appreciation for musical technicality, complexity, and expression blossomed from then. Eventually, lots of concert-going and hours of Guitar Hero developed into a very surprising (and very random) commitment to the Buckhorn Bands. Although she had never played an instrument or read music prior to eighth grade, Mrs. C. has always been a champion of good-ole'-fashioned intrinsic competition, and during her freshman year she was marching marimba. From there, she went on to become the front ensemble section leader during the following indoor season. Mrs. C. maintained her role in leadership for the rest of her high school career, and was a member of the very first Buckhorn Wind Ensemble AND the very first L.O.O.T.S. group. It wasn't until later that she realized that the "very surprising and very random commitment" was placement. The Buckhorn Band program was a place to belong.
Her determination for fulfilling achievement transferred to a multitude of disciplines in her life. After graduating from Buckhorn in 2017, Mrs. C. attended Auburn University. During her first year at Auburn, she was a member of the AUDL (Auburn University Drumline) front ensemble and adored every second of it. Her subsequent years were spent in research at the School of Forestry and Wildlife Science, where she was partnered with the CDC. She studied One Health, zoonotic diseases, and parasites in feral island cats and lemurs. [In 2018, she even traveled throughout South Africa and Madagascar to further study forest, animal, and human health!] Mrs. C. was also a writing consultant at the Miller Writing Center, aiding both undergraduate and graduate students in any (and all) forms and methods of writing. In 2021, Mrs. C. was named the Auburn University Creative Writer of the Year -- an award that had only been given to one person prior. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in creative writing (non-fiction and poetry) and public health. She is published both academically and creatively throughout various journals.
And just when she thought her music career was "over," Mrs. C. began to work with the Buckhorn High School percussion program in 2021. Since then, she has been over the moon about education and working with the students at Buckhorn -- to give back to the community that built her. In 2024, Mrs. C. graduated from the University of North Alabama with a master's in secondary education -- ELA and summa cum laude again! Now, she is an English teacher at Buckhorn High School and still head-over-heels for the band program. She loves to push and encourage the students to be the best musicians, performers, and people that they can be. Every day is a better day knowing that she is home.
She says: "The best part is always the students. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing young minds begin to find themselves and their place of belonging -- to witness their growth, to experience the highest highs and lowest lows, and to watch how their perceptions of intention and success shift for the better. I love the students here at Buckhorn, and I hope that every day they find new goals, new knowledge, and new gratitudes."
Mrs. C. lives in Huntsville with her husband Santiago (a Buenos Aires native) and their two furry, oddly cat-like children -- Oliver and Oakley.
Chandler McCoy - Battery (Marching Percussion) Instructor
Chandler McCoy is originally from North Alabama and currently resides in Huntsville. Chandler currently works in the up-scale food-service industry as well as an adjunct percussion instructor for local high schools and private lesson tutoring.
A graduate of Grissom High School's nationally-renowned instrumental music programs, Chandler went on to study at Jacksonville State University where he performed with the "Marching Southerners" battery (drumline).
In addition to his educational background, Chandler also earned contracts with several independent ensembles in the marching arts including Drum Corps International's Music City Drum Corps (Nashville), Phantom Regiment (Rockville, Illinois), as well as the World Class (WGI) Indoor Percussion group Music City Mystique.
After completing his performance career as a participating member, Chandler was offered instructing positions with WGI's Mystique and DCI's Spirit of Atlanta. He has since worked with various high schools across the Tennessee Valley including Fred J. Page (TN), North Paulding (GA), Bob Jones, and Grissom high schools.
Joining Buckhorn's staff in Fall 2021, Chandler states "I am excited to be stepping in as the battery (marching percussion) instructor at Buckhorn, and I look forward to contributing to the already stellar history of excellence that has been built in this program!"
Hollyn Occhiline - Color Guard and Winter Guard Program Coordinator, Instructor
Mrs. Occhiline started her Visual Ensemble (Color Guard & Winter Guard) journey in 7th grade and quickly advanced in the activity, marching with the Seminole High School Band, just north of Orlando, Florida. Her band was a frequent BOA (Bands of America) Regional and National Championship qualifier. During her freshman year, she earned the opportunity to march in the Tournament of Roses in Pasadena, California, also known as the Rose Bowl Parade. Hollyn participated in her school's highly competitive Winter Guard program all four years of high school. During her junior year, her Winter Guard team placed 3rd at WGI (Winter Guard International) Open Class Championships advancing them to "Scholastic World Class" her senior year. They made Finals at WGI Championships that year as well, in the World Class Division. After high school, Hollyn performed two seasons with Drum Corps International's Spirit of Atlanta and fulfilled a personal dream getting to perform a Winter season with Northeast Independent Winter Guard. They placed 4th in WGI World Class Championships that year.
After her performing career, she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Business and married her husband Ron. Together they have a son, Daelan. They traveled the country while Ron served in the military. Before moving to the South, Hollyn opened and operated a home daycare in Colorado. In 2017, they relocated to New Market to be closer to family, where her younger siblings were members of the Buckhorn Band. Hollyn joined Buckhorn Band staff that Fall and is excited to be a part of the community!</p
Hollyn earned her Master's degree in Social Work from the University of Alabama in May 2022 and currently works as a school-based therapist for Madison County Schools.
Aubrielle Smythe - Color Guard and Winter Guard Instructor
Aubrielle began her performance career right here at Buckhorn High School at 14 as a freshman. She joined the Marching Band in 2016 and continued in the program through her junior year. She participated in the Varsity Winter Guard program from 2017-2019. In the summers of 2018 and 2019 Aubrielle earned contracts with the Spirit of Atlanta Drum Corps (DCI circuit). She was the youngest member of the world class color guard in 2018 at 16-years old and was honored to serve Spirit of Atlanta as one of three captains in 2019 at 17-years old. Aubrielle then earned the opportunity to perform with Eklipse Open Winter Guard in Nashville, TN in 2020. Eklipse won several first-place trophies and competed on the world stage (WGI) before the pandemic. At the same time, she was on track to become a member of the nationally-hailed Bluecoats for the 2020 season, but the season was also cancelled due to the pandemic. In 2021, Aubrielle was contracted with the top color guard in DCI at the time: the Boston Crusaders.
After high school, Aubrielle attended college at Middle Tennessee State University and received a Bachelor’s in Science degree in Psychology, with minors in both Criminology and Homeland Security in May of 2024. Following her undergraduate degree, Aubrielle has plans to obtain her Master's and Doctorate degrees in Psychology. Until then, she is happy to be back home to continue working with the guard programs where her long and successful performance career began.
Shalanda Locklear - Color Guard Instructor
Shalanda Locklear is a native of Huntsville, Alabama, and a proud alumna of Buckhorn High School, graduating with the Class of 2020. Her color guard journey began at Buckhorn in 2016 as a freshman, where she quickly discovered a deep passion for the sport of the arts. Shalanda performed all four years of high school and served on the leadership team during both her junior and senior years.
After high school, she continued her academic path at the University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama, where she pursued a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. While attending UNA, she earned a coveted spot on the UNA Marching Pride Color Guard and performed with the group for three years. Balancing the demands of nursing school with color guard practices and performances demonstrated her dedication and work ethic. Although she was unable to perform during her senior year due to the intense time and commitment required to complete her nursing degree, her love for color guard never faded.
At just 19 years old, Shalanda began instructing color guard, working with several local high schools in the Florence area. Her early start in teaching allowed her to share her knowledge and passion for the activity with young performers while continuing to grow as a leader and mentor. She is also a proud alumna of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, where she developed lifelong bonds and a continued commitment to service.
In December 2024, Shalanda earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from UNA and went on to pass the NCLEX, officially becoming a Registered Nurse in February 2025. While she remains dedicated to her professional career in healthcare, her heart remains in the world of color guard.
Now, Shalanda is thrilled to return to her alma mater as an instructor for the Buckhorn High School Color Guard. She is honored to give back to the program that sparked her journey and is eager to help guide and inspire the next generation of Buckhorn performers.