Band Staff
Tyler Nettestad
Tyler Nettestad is a 2010 graduate of South Dakota State University where he earned his Bachelor of Music Education Degree. Before teaching at Brandon Valley, he spent seven years teaching in Lennox, SD. He is currently in his fourth year teaching high school band at Brandon Valley. He teaches three concert ensembles: Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and Concert Band. In addition, he directs the Marching Lynx, jazz band, jazz combo, and pep band.
Mr. Nettestad is an active trumpet performer in the region, regularly performing with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Augustana University Orchestra, and the Sioux Falls Municipal Band. Mr. Nettestad is the recipient of the 2016 Dennis Hegg Outstanding Young Band Director Award. He holds membership with the South Dakota Bandmasters Association and the South Dakota Music Educators Association. In his free time, he enjoys running, completing projects around the house, and spending time with his wife, Carmen, and his two children, Ari and Isla.
Devon Melillo
Devon Melillo joins the faculty in Brandon Valley as an active music educator from Sioux Falls, SD. Mr. Melillo graduated from South Dakota State University with his Bachelor of Music Education and minor in Spanish, where he led the SDSU Pride of Dakotas Marching Band Drumline, as well as served as principal percussionist in collegiate-level Wind Ensembles and Intercollegiate Bands. In Brandon Valley, Mr. Melillo directs the Middle School Bands, serves as Assistant Director of the Marching Band, and directs the Brandon Valley Winter Percussion Ensemble (a national finalist competitive indoor drumline).
Mr. Melillo has been an instructor of Brandon Valley’s band and percussion since 2015; before joining full-time, he student-taught at Rosemount High School in Rosemount, Minnesota, and then became the High School and 5th Grade Band Director in Lennox, SD. He is currently the Artistic Director of the non-profit parade drumline, SuFuDu. Additionally, Mr. Melillo marched in River City Rhythm Drum & Bugle Corps in 2015 and 2018. In his senior year of college, he was awarded the Schultz-Werth Research Grant Award based on his published paper, The Impact of Percussion from John Cage, and he was named SDSU School of the Performing Arts Honoree.
Mr. Melillo has been a teacher and clinician for scholastic and independent marching programs in the Sioux Falls/Twin Cities area and was invited to present performance clinics at Minnesota’s 2020 “Day of Percussion” event. He is also a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. In his free time, Mr. Melillo enjoys finding new recipes in the kitchen, tending to the vegetable garden, and spending time with his family.