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 is an active music educator in the Brandon Valley School District and comes from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Devon 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, Devon directs the middle school bands, high school percussion ensemble, serves as assistant director of the marching band and directs Brandon Valley Indoor, a PSW national semi-finalist competitive indoor drumline. 

Devon has been a music instructor in Brandon Valley since 2015; before joining full-time, he student taught at Rosemount High School in Rosemount, MN, and then became the high school and 5th grade band director in Lennox, SD. He has served as the Artistic Director of the nonprofit parade drumline, SuFuDu, and marched bass drum 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. In 2022, Devon was nominated for Schmitt Music Educator of the Year, and he was selected as Minnesota Percussion Association's 2022 Instructor of the Year. Devon is a vibrant clinician for scholastic and independent marching programs in the Sioux Falls/Twin Cities area and was invited to present performance clinics at MPA’s 2020 & 2023 "Day of Percussion" event. He co-authored the method book, The Bass Book, alongside Calvin Lipetzky, to bolster the education & art of modern bass drumming. Most recently, Devon joined the Phantom Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps as bass technician. He is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. In his free time, Devon enjoys finding new recipes in the kitchen, finding new chess strategies and spending time with his wife and family.

Max Outland

Max Outland is entering his second year as an assistant director for the Brandon Valley Band program. After graduating from BV in 2019, Mr. Outland studied Music Education and Multimedia Entrepreneurship at Augustana University in Sioux Falls. While at Augie, Outland shifted from his high school woodwind roots towards the brass world, performing as a bass trombonist with nearly every instrumental ensemble available. Other notable collegiate involvement included serving as the head drum major of Viking Marching Band’s inaugural 2021 season and serving as the Chairperson for the 2022 Augustana Band Festival. Additionally, Outland was a sought-after music educator during his time in college, teaching with the Brandon Valley Marching Lynx, Brandon Valley Indoor Drumline, Music City Drum Corps, and Groove Pursuit, among others. He holds memberships with the South Dakota Music Educators Association, South Dakota Bandmasters Association, and is a proud alumnus of the DCI World Class Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps.

At Brandon Valley Middle School, Mr. Outland directs the 7th-grade band, the jazz program, and teaches private and small group lessons. At Brandon Valley High School, he serves as an Assistant Director of the Marching Lynx, the Visual Coordinator for Brandon Valley Indoor Drumline, and teaches General Music Theory. Mr. Outland also maintains a low brass private lesson studio. In his free time, Max enjoys cooking, hiking, camping, and spending time with his wife, Grace, and their three cats, Peanut, Goose, and Westley.