Staff

Mr. Brown has served as band director at University High School since 2009. He holds a B.M.E. in Music Education and Political Science, magna cum laude with honors, from the Florida State University. An alumnus of the Boston Crusaders Drum & Bugle Corps and the Phantom Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps, he worked in 2009 as Director of 9-12 Bands at Space Coast Junior/Senior High School in Cocoa before joining the music faculty of University High School as Associate Band Director. He became head director in 2013. Since then, the University Band has earned accolades throughout the State of Florida and across the country. The number of students making the OCPS All County Band has more than doubled; University's wind ensemble, big band, and marching band have consistently been rated "superior" ensembles by the Florida Bandmasters' Association; the band has become a consistent finalist in FMBC and BOA events, earning multiple FMBC Regional Championships and a BOA Regional Class Championship; and the band has given performances on the national stage in Chicago, Illinois; Norfolk, Virginia; Savannah, Georgia; and Washington DC. Mr. Brown is the owner and programmer of bandOffice LLC, a management web application for band directors.

Jeffrey L. Willis has been a music educator since 2004. He earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Central Florida, where he studied with Jeff Moore, Clif Walker, and James Yakas. Mr. Willis also earned a Master of Music in Percussion Performance from Texas Christian University in 2006, where he studied with Dr. Brian West, Dr. Richard Gipson, Paul Rennick, and Joey Carter. Mr. Willis' tenure at TCU as a Graduate Teaching Assistant involved instruction with the Horned-Frog Marching Band, assistance with the percussion studio, as well as co-directing the Steel Drum Ensemble. He joined the faculty of University High School in 2015, serving as Associate Band Director and Director of Percussion. Under his leadership, the Symphonic Band and Jazz Ensemble have consistently been rated "superior" ensembles by the Florida Bandmasters' Association and the Percussion Ensemble has experienced success in multiple areas including a featured performance at the 2018 Sandy Feldstein National Percussion Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana. University earned "Best Percussion" at the 2018 and 2019 FMBC Championships, and the Indoor Percussion Ensemble was named the 2021 FFCC Scholastic Open Champion.

Anna Rankin is an alumna of Lake Howell High School and currently pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science at UCF, graduating in Spring 2027. Anna joined color guard in 2019 and still continues marching with independent winter guards. She performed with Pegasus A in 2024, Pegasus World in 2025, and FIU Pegasus World in 2026, and has had the privilege to perform in finals at WGI all three years. Anna joined the University High School Band staff as the color guard director in 2025.

An alumnus of Cypress Creek High School, Mr. Guzman has been involved in the marching arts since 2002. He performed with both the Teal Sound Drum & Bugle Corps from 2006 - 2009, and with RPT Percussion in 2009 and 2010, returning to teach both groups as a staff member. Mr. Guzman has been on the visual staff with Infinity Percussion since 2011, teaching their award-winning Independent A, Open, and World Class ensembles. He joined the University High School Band staff as visual caption head in 2018.

John Marsden holds degrees in Economics and Music Composition from Bates College, and an Associates Degree in the Recording Arts from Full Sail University. An Emmy award winning producer and engineer, he spent over 14 seasons as a composer/arranger for PBS's Barney & Friends. He also provided scoring for other children's shows including Bob The Builder and The Wiggles. His clients include PBS, McDonalds, Boeing, Seaworld, Roland, Peavey, Great Wolf Lodge, Darden Restaurants, Texeco/Chevron and HEB foods. He also provides original music for theme park attractions located worldwide, as well as multiple video games including Telltale Game's Tales of Monkey Island. A lover of straight ahead jazz, he has provided engineering and production services for Blue Note/Mosaic records, and Sony/BMG. John has had two daughters go through the band program at University High School and has been sharing his talents with the band since 2013.

Josh Brenneis is a visual clinician, adjudicator, and drill designer from Coral Springs, Florida. His DCI experience includes Magic of Orlando in 2004 and The Cadets from 2006-2007. He has taught visual for Teal Sound and Crossmen, and returned home to teach The Cadets for three years starting in 2015. He returned to the Cadets in 2020 as Visual Caption Manager. Mr. Brenneis served as visual caption head at Park Vista High School and Jupiter High School, both of which earned FMBC state championships in 2014, 2015, and 2016. He also became visual caption head at West Broward High School in 2018.

Mr. Brenneis has also served as visual caption head for STRYKE Wynds, STRYKE World Percussion, Infinity World Percussion, Timber Creek High School Indoor Percussion, and park Vista High School Indoor Percussion. He has been the drill writer for University High School since 2019.