Ridgeline Music Staff

Mr. Eric Parker

Director of Bands and Orchestra

Mr. Parker received his Bachelors of Arts in Education in 2002 from Eastern Washington University in Cheney, WA. In 2010, Mr. Parker received his Masters in Conducting from Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas. After serving as the band director at East Valley Middle School from 2002 - 2003, he became Co-Director of Bands at Central Valley High School from 2003 - 2005. Mr. Parker was assigned as the Director of Bands at Central Valley High School from 2006 - 2021. During his 15 years, the band served as ambassadors of Central Valley High School and Spokane Valley community throughout the Pacific Northwest. The marching band was awarded the Northwest Association of Performing Arts Grand Championship during the 2011 marching band season. And in 2013, the band was asked to represent the state of Washington at President Barack Obama's 2013 Inaugural Parade in Washington, D.C.

He has been a clinician, consultant and designer for various bands around the western United States of America. Mr. Parker has been named Eastern Washington Music Educator of the Year, a Central Valley School District Meritorious Service Award Winner, was recognized by School, Band & Orchestra Magazine as one of the 50 Teachers in 50 States Who Make A Difference, and has been nominated by the Chase Youth Awards for Program Builder. Mr. Parker is proud to serve the community at Ridgeline High School, and to help students find their passion as performers and artists while always remembering that service is the path to all expression.

eparker@cvsd.org

Eastern Washington University, 2002Sam Houston State University, 2010

Room F - 105

Mr. Skylar Belfry

Music Assistant and Electronics Coordinator

Mr. Belfry is currently the Director of Bands and Orchestras at Greenacres Middle School right here in the Central Valley School District. In 2014, Skylar received his Bachelor of Arts in Education from Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington and one year later finished a Master's degree in teaching through Eastern Washington University. He was the Assistant Director of Bands at Pasco High School in Pasco, Washington from 2015 - 2018 where he taught beginning band and strings, as well as high school band.

Mr. Belfry was the drum major of the Central Valley High School Marching Band, and was a performer and conductor of both the Spokane Thunder Drum and Bugle Corps and the Seattle Cascades Drum and Bugle Corps. He has bbe a staff member with the Spokane Thunder Drum and Bugle Corps and the Columbians Drum and Bugle Corps from Pasco, Washington.

In his free time, Mr. Belfry enjoy spending time with his wife Laura and their young son and newborn daughter, watching Mariner games, cheering for the Seahawks, and this fall the Seattle Kraken!

skbelfry@cvsd.org

Nate Hunt

Percussion Coordinator

A proud alum of the Central Valley High School class of 2008, Nate began his teaching career at University High School in 2010. He returned to his alma mater in 2012 and continued from 2014 - 2020 as the Percussion Coordinator for the Central Valley High School Marching Band. During his time at Central Valley High School, Nate helped co-found the wildly-eclectic performing ensemble, Central Valley Indoor Percussion which was an award winning group, highlighted by their 3rd place finish at the NWAPA Indoor Percussion Championships in 2018. As a performer, Nate has had roles with the Spokane Thunder Drum and Bugle Corps, Spokane British Brass Band, the Idaho-Washington Symphony and the Coeur d'Alene Symphony. In 2013, Nate has served as a percussion specialist for the Spokane Thunder Drum and Bugle Corps and was the Co-Caption Head of Percussion for the Columbians Drum and Bugle Corps in 2018 and 2019. Currently, Nate is the drumline instructor and co-music arranger for the Eastern Washington University Marching Band.

Nate is a for-hire composer/arranger for marching percussion, and is excited to work as Percussion Arranger and Consultant for Ridgeline High School, Central Valley High School, University High School, Mead High School, Enumclaw High School, and Eastern Washington University.

Aside from marching band, Nate also teaches private percussion lessons through Hunt Percussion Studios, a percussion education company that Nate started in 2014. You can find more information at huntpercussion.com. Ridgeline High School is excited for Nate to work with our fantastic students.

nahunt@cvsd356.org

MADI BINYON

Assistant Percussion Coordinator

Madi comes to the Ridgeline HS staff from an extensive career in the drum and bugle corps activity; performing with Spokane Thunder (2015 - 2016), the Oregon Crusaders (2017 - 2018) and then aging-out with the world-class Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps from Fort Mill, South Carolina (2019 - 2021). Madi is a mallet keyboard specialist who served as the People' Front Ensemble section leader for Carolina Crown's 2021 season, "Project 21."

Madi's teaching experiences include Cheney HS, Mead HS, Central Valley HS and Mt. Spokane HS and was the front ensemble coordinator for Central Valley HS Indoor.

In 2021, Madi graduated from Whitworth University with a degree in Computer Science and a minor in English Literature. She works full-time with F5 in Liberty Lake, WA as a Systems Support Analyst and is extremely excited to continue her teaching as a member of the Ridgeline High School staff team.