Connie Truong

FRONT ENSEMBLE CAPTION HEAD

After graduating from James Logan High School in the Bay Area, Connie moved to Southern California to pursue her music performance degree at Cal State Long Beach. She continued to be very active in the marching arts performing with various groups including Pulse Percussion (2015-2017), Blue Devils B (2012) and the Santa Clara Vanguard (2016). Upon aging out of both WGI and DCI, she also finished her Bachelor’s of Music in Percussion Performance.

She has worked with Phantom Regiment (2023 - DCI Finalist), Sacramento Mandarins (2019-DCI Finalist) and the Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets (2018-2020, 2022, Open Class Champion-2018, 2022). Currently, Connie is the Percussion Caption Head at Pacifica High School and a front ensemble instructor at El Dorado High School.

2025 is Connie’s 4th season with Dark Sky and 2nd as our Caption Head.

Andrew Kolbe

FRONT ENSEMBLE INSTRUCTOR

Andrew is an alumnus of Dark Sky Percussion and the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps. He has worked with El Camino HS, Carlsbad HS, Vista HS, and Mission Hills HS as a front ensemble educator. Andrew is a lifelong resident of Oceanside, CA, and has his BS in structural engineering from UCSD.

This is Andrew’s third season as a Dark Sky instructor.

Taylor Smith

FRONT ENSEMBLE INSTRUCTOR

Taylor is a performer and educator based out of Fresno with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education, currently working on their teaching credential. Taylor has marched with various independent groups including Bakersfield College Drumline, Golden Empire Drum and Bugle Corps, and Redwave Indoor.

Taylor is currently the front ensemble caption head at Torres High School and Desmond Middle School, as well as previously working with groups such as Redwave Indoor, the Fresno State Marching Band, and various schools across the Central Valley.

This is Taylor’s second season with Dark Sky.

Allie Huerta

FRONT ENSEMBLE INSTRUCTOR

Allie Huerta is a SoCal native and grew up in Arcadia, California. After graduating from Arcadia High School, Allie performed with Mandarins Drum and Bugle Corps, and Broken City Percussion.

In 2023, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from CSULB and is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Chapman University. Allie has been a percussion instructor since 2019.

Currently, she works at Pacifica High School in Garden Grove, California. 2025 will be Allie’s 1st year instructing for Dark Sky.

Nathan Huxtable

FRONT ENSEMBLE INSTRUCTOR

Nathan Huxtable (he/him) is a front ensemble instructor based in Riverside, CA. Originally from Illinois, Nathan moved to California in 2021 to pursue graduate studies in Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Riverside.

Nathan's performance experience includes stints with The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps, the Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps, Cavaliers Indoor Percussion, and Green Thunder Percussion.

He has instructed middle, high school, and college age marching arts programs since 2015, and is currently the percussion caption head at Citrus Hill HS (Perris, CA), as well as the front ensemble coordinator at Martin Luther King HS (Riverside, CA) and Frank Augustus Miller MS (Riverside, CA). 

Grant Bubar

FRONT ENSEMBLE CONSULTANT

Grant Bubar is a freelance percussionist and educator based out of Tarzana, CA and joined the DSP staff for the 2020 season. As an advocate for the education of percussion as a complete art form, Grant has enjoyed performing in, and teaching a wide range of ensembles of varying styles.

Besides competing in WGI with Dark Sky Percussion (2017, 2019), Grant has performed with orchestras, wind ensembles, and chamber groups, including the West Coast Symphony and the TEMPO new music ensemble. He also works as the percussion director for Canyon High School (Santa Clarita), where he instructs both marching and concert percussionists.

Grant is currently living in Thousand Oaks, has completed his undergraduate degree in music education from Cal State Northridge and plans to pursue a Graduate degree in Percussion Performance, but FIRST - his band, Sad Park has been signed to a record deal and will be on tour for the next few years!

Steven Ornelas

SOUND ENGINEER

Steven started his percussion career in 2014 at La Mirada High School. He soon then started marching with independent lines such as Odyssey Percussion, Vessel Indoor Percussion, and RCC Fall. He’s also been actively teaching in the percussion community at schools such as La Mirada, Serrano, Artesia, and Los Altos High School. He currently is involved with the front ensembles at Bonita High School and Valencia High School.