Our Instructors
Dr. Curtis Melton - Director Section Leader Camp
Dr. Curtis Melton - Director Section Leader Camp
Curtis Melton is the Director of Bands at Legacy High School, in Las Vegas, NV, as part of the Clark County School District.Prior to his appointment as director of bands at Legacy High School, he was the Director of Bands at Cimarron-Memorial HS and Boulder City High School in Boulder City, NV from 2005-2008.~ He was also the choral director for one year while at BCHS, during the 2007-08 school year. Additionally, he is an alumni of Silverado High School in Las Vegas.
Curtis received his Bachelor of Music in Music Education in December of 2004, from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and his Master of Educational Leadership in July of 2008. In the Fall of 2012, he received his Doctor of Educational Leadership degree. .
As a UNLV undergraduate, he performed in numerous ensembles including: the UNLV “Star Of Nevada” Marching Band, the UNLV Symphonic Winds, played the electric bass, keyboards, drums, and alto saxophone for the UNLV "Runnin' Rebel" Basketball Pep Band, and performed in numerous percussion ensembles, including marimba bands and steel drum ensembles. For his 2004 junior recital, he performed an original work for jazz combo entitled “Enflarage”.
Curtis received his Drum Major Elite certification in June of 2001, and was on the instructional staff for the UNLV “Star of Nevada” Drum Major and Marching Auxiliaries Camp in 2002 and 2003. He is currently on the teaching staff of the Las Vegas Student Leadership Camp from 2009 to present, which prepares and trains drum majors and student leadership from high school bands across Clark County.
Mr. Melton was honored in the December 2009 issue of School Band and Orchestra Magazine (SBO Magazine), in their annual “50 Directors That Make A Difference” feature. In this article, one band or orchestra director is chosen from each state. In 2009, Mr. Melton was chosen for the state of Nevada as one of the 50 directors honored from across the country.
Mr. Melton is also a published composer and active arranger. His original marching band shows “Boundaries” and “Twisted” are published through Gary P. Gilroy Marching Band Publications.
Under Curtis’ direction, his bands have earned numerous honors and caption awards from local Las Vegas marching band competitions in the 2005 through 2011 seasons. For the first time in at least 10 years, the Cimarron-Memorial High School Band scored high enough in preliminary competition to perform in the Finals Competition at the 2010 Las Vegas Invitational.
The symphonic bands have also performed well under Mr. Melton’s direction. His bands have received consistent "Superior" & “Excellent” ratings at the annual CCSD Band Festivals.
Additionally, he has appeared in the faculty musical scholarship productions at CMHS. In 2009 he was the Wizard in “Once Upon A Mattress”, in 2010 he was Rapunzel’s Prince in “Into The Woods”, and in 2011 he was honored to play the role of Willy Wonka in “Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory”.
He has been a member of The National Association for Music Education since 2005, and served as President of the Southern Nevada Band Association for the 2010-2011 school year. In 2009-2010, he served as Co-Vice President.
