Desert Vista High School is a 5A senior high school serving the South East Valley area in the Tempe Union High School District. The Band Program participates in the AMEA North-Central region and includes many diverse groups, such as Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Percussion Ensembles, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Steel Drum Band, Percussion Spring Training, and Winter Guard.
DV Band is supported by the Desert Vista Band Boosters, a non-profit organization of volunteers who lend their time and talents, not only to raise funds, but also for supporting tasks such as equipment transportation, uniform alteration, photo and video production, meal provisions for game days, and more! See Committee Descriptions for details.
Director of Bands: Bryan Malone
BMalone@TempeUnion.org
Bryan Malone is honored to serve as Director of Bands at Desert Vista High School and is excited to join the ThunderBand family.
A native Arizonan, Mr. Malone was born and raised in Prescott, where he discovered his passion for music during his high school years. He went on to study Music Education at Arizona State University, performing in a variety of instrumental ensembles with a primary focus on trumpet. Throughout his collegiate career, his experiences as a performer and educator solidified his passion for band and inspired him to pursue a career in music education.
Mr. Malone began his teaching career in the Peoria Unified School District, working with upper elementary and middle school students before serving as Assistant Band Director at Peoria High School. Most recently, he served as Director of Instrumental Arts at North Canyon High School, where he directed the marching band, concert band, percussion, and orchestra programs. During his tenure, the program experienced significant growth and earned notable achievements, including the school's first "Excellent" concert festival ratings in 6 years, an invitation to the Arizona State Concert Festival, and a 3rd place finish at the Arizona State Marching Band Championships.
As an educator, Mr. Malone believes music is about much more than performance. He is passionate about creating an environment where students are challenged to achieve musical excellence while developing confidence, leadership, discipline, and meaningful relationships. He strives to build a culture where every student feels valued, supported, and inspired to reach their full potential, often reminding students that "band is a family."
Mr. Malone is excited to continue Desert Vista Thunderband's long tradition of excellence while helping students create lifelong memories through music, leadership, service, and community. He looks forward to partnering with students, families, alumni, and boosters as the program continues to grow and thrive.
Director of Percussion: Vicente Lopez
Front Ensemble Instructor
ViLopez@TempeUnion.org
Vicente Lopez earned his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Percussion Performance from the University of Arizona. Mr. Lopez earned his teaching certificate in Texas, and has most recently been the Director of Percussion for Bel Air High School in El Paso, TX. He joined Desert Vista HS as Director of Percussion in 2016.
A Tucson native, Vicente is a former Director of the University of Arizona Drumline, and has also served as a judge for AZPAS festivals and regional band auditions. He has worked with Dark Sky Percussion, Pueblo, CDO, Rincon/University, Empire, Cienega, Sabino, and Mountain View High Schools. In 2001-2003, he marched The Academy on the same Drumline as Mr. Morales (previous DV Director of Percussion).
kcasey@tempeunion.org
Keith Casey earned his Bachelors of Arts in English from Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville AL. He then earned his Bachelor of Science in Secondary English Education from Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw GA. Mr. Casey has been an English teacher since 1998 and currently serves as the Senior English Level Chair here at Desert Vista HS.
He marched the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps (1987-1988), the Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps (1989-1992), and the State Street Review Winterguard (1993). He has taught at Southwind and Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps. He has been teaching Color Guard since 1991 and has taught programs at Sprayberry HS, Lassiter HS, Pope HS, and Mesquite HS. He currently serves as our Asst. Band Director and Auxiliary Co-Caption Head.
Cari Eng, originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, started out in the marching arts as a clarinet player turned color guard member. She was a member of the band and guard at Franklin Central High School, where she had the honor of being a member of the WGI Open Class World Champion team in 2000. After high school, Cari joined the staff of the Franklin Central HS World Guard until she moved to Phoenix in 2003, following her graduation from Indiana University with a BS in Computer Science.
In 2003, Cari joined Teach For America and began teaching and coaching here in Arizona, where she earned her Master's Degree from ASU in Curriculum and Instruction. She currently works as the Director of External Data for the Arizona Department of Education. Cari has been actively involved in the Arizona Color Guard community since 2003. She previously lived in the northwest valley where she primarily worked as the color guard director at Mountain Ridge High School, but also supported Goldwater, Deer Valley, Boulder Creek and Peoria High Schools intermittently, as needed. Cari joined the Desert Vista staff in 2019 where she has served as the Co-Caption head.
Adam Martin is a Phoenix native and an alumnus of the Desert Vista band program, where he played trumpet. He has been teaching marching arts for high schools in the area since 2018, and most recently was Brass and Visual Caption Heads at Mountain Pointe High School, helping to lead them to their first Arizona Marching Band Association championship in class 1A in 2022. He has been given the honor to return to his alma mater and serve as Brass Caption Head at Desert Vista High School, where he has been since 2023.
Adam was a performing member of the Academy Drum and Bugle Corps from 2016-2018, and received his Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from ASU. Outside of band, he works as a process engineer in the semiconductor field.
Ian Grzyb (pronounced Jib) is the director of bands at Akimel A-al Middle School in Phoenix, AZ. He previously served as the band and orchestra director at Centennial Middle School as well as the assistant band director of the Mountain Pointe High School Marching Band.
During his eight-year tenure at Centennial, the band and orchestra programs grew to include over 180 students in grades 6-8. His bands regularly receive superior ratings at local and state festivals. He believes strongly in the power of music in our communities and works to involve as many students as possible in music making.
As a performer, Mr. Grzyb is currently timpanist with the Tempe Winds. In addition, he has performed with the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, the West Valley Symphony Orchestra, in the Northern Arizona University Symphony Orchestra and NAU Wind Symphony, and twice as featured soloist with the NAU Percussion Ensemble. He also serves regularly as a clinician and adjudicator in the Phoenix area.
Mr. Grzyb received degrees in Instrumental Music Education as well as Percussion Performance from Northern Arizona University while studying under Dr. Steven Hemphill. He is a member of the National Association for Music Education, the Arizona Music Educators Association and has served as Vice-President of the Arizona Percussive Arts Society and as a member of the Percussive Arts Society University Committee.
John McClean brings over two decades of experience as a performer, educator, and advocate in the world of marching percussion. His extensive performance career includes five seasons of Drum Corps International (DCI) competition, where he played snare drum for the Troopers (2003–2004), Esperanza (2005), and the Concord Blue Devils (2006–2007). As a member of The Blue Devils in his age-out year, John contributed to their 12th World Championship and 10th High Percussion Award.
In addition to DCI, John has three years of indoor percussion experience, competing with Winter Guard Arizona and Winter Guard International ensembles. He performed with Momentum (2004–2005) and Arizona State University (2007). His professional credits include performances with the Phoenix Suns Drumline and the Arizona Cardinals Drumline, “Big Red Thunder.” Most recently, in 2022, John performed at a sold-out Madison Square Garden with world-renowned electronic artist Kygo.
John has studied under some of the most respected percussion instructors in the nation, including Scott Johnson, Sean Vega, Ben Maughmer, Rich Hinshaw, Pete Sapadin, and John Mapes.
As an educator, John has shaped the next generation of percussionists, teaching drumlines at Desert Vista High School (2003–2004), Maryvale High School (2005–2006), Basha High School (2007–2012), and Mountain Ridge High School (2021–2024). He served as an instructor for the Arizona State University Sun Devil Marching Band from 2012 to 2015 and rejoined their staff in the fall of 2024. John’s work with Percussion IQ, a company he co-founded in 2016, has taken him to clinics across the U.S. and internationally, including a notable workshop in Argentina in 2023.
Outside of music, John is a graduate of Desert Vista High School and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science and an MBA from Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business. He is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and currently works for Empower.
2026-27 Staff
| Battery Caption Head | John McClean | Battery Tech | Zack Borquez
Katherine Lipari Jake Harris |
|
| Front Ensemble Tech | Dustin Roa
Bridget Kloian |
Front Ensemble Tech/Sound | JJ Mixdorf | |
| Brass Caption Head | Adam Martin | Woodwind Caption Head | Ian Gryzb | |
| Guard Caption Head | Keith Casey
Cari Eng |
Guard Tech | Tess Evans
Ian Sheedy Alyssa McClean Victor Rosas Trent Gaiser |
|
| Visual Caption Head | Adam Martin | Visual Tech | Nathan Torres
Daryel Sandoval Thien Pham Logan Burleigh |
|
| Drum Major Tech | Nicole Lipari |
Music Arrangers: Robert Rivero, Chad Heiny, Sean McNulty and David Gronneberg
Drill Design: Andrew Ebert
Visual Design: DV Visual Design Team
Band Costume and Prop Design: Dustin Roa
Band Choreography: Nic Herring-Harmon
Auxiliary Silk and Costume Design: Annette Corso
Auxiliary Choreography: Cari Eng and Victor Rosas