Amy Allison-Rivera is in her 27rd year of teaching and her 25st year in Leander ISD.  Ms. Allison opened the Canyon Ridge MS Band program in 2004 and is the first and only head band director the school has known in its 20 plus year history.  Under her direction, the CRMS Band Program was recently named by the Texas Bandmasters Association as the Exemplary Band Program of 2021 and was awarded the Sudler Silver Cup from the John Philip Sousa Foundation in December of 2017. This year, the Honor Band was invited to perform at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, having performed there once before in 2014, and was also an Invited Band performing at the Virtual TMEA Convention in 2021. Ms. Allison brought the Honor Band to the TBA Convention in 2015 to give a demonstration clinic on rehearsal strategies and practice techniques and again in 2023 to demonstrate the new UIL Sight-Reading procedures. The band program placed tenth at the state level of the CC Honor Band competition in 2006 and has been named a National Winner in the National Wind Band Honors through the Foundation for Music Education for the past several years. Throughout her teaching career, her bands have consistently received sweepstakes ratings at the Texas UIL Concert and Sight-reading Contest. 

Before her time at Canyon Ridge, Mrs. Allison-Rivera taught at Cedar Park Middle School, Leander Middle School, and at DeSoto West Junior High. She was selected as the First Year Teacher of the Year for DeSoto ISD in 1998.

Mrs. Allison-Rivera received her Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Stephen F. Austin State University. She performed as the piccolo player with the American Wind Symphony Orchestra in Pennsylvania before pursuing her career in teaching and is currently the piccolo player for the Cedar Park Winds. Mrs. Allison-Rivera is a regular clinician throughout the state of Texas. She was inducted into Phi Beta Mu, the International Bandmasters Fraternity, in 2011, and she served as the Region 26 Middle School Coordinator from 2006-2009. She lives in Cedar Park, Texas, with her husband, Bert, and their Boston terrier, Winston.

A native of Ohio, Mr. Steven Myers is in his 19th year teaching, and his seventh at Canyon Ridge. An alumnus of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and the 2000 Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps, Mr. Myers' work on bass, tuba, trombone, steel pan, and voice has taken him all around the globe as both performer and educator. He first came to Texas in 2008 by way of the Lopez High School Band in Brownsville, under the direction of Mr. George Trevino. The Lopez bands advanced to state in both UIL Marching and the TMEA Honor Band competition, Mr. Myers' low brass students earned numerous honors in the region, area, and all-state jazz and concert ensembles.

Mr. Myers took the plunge into to teaching middle school in 2012 as Director of Bands at Palo Alto Middle School in Killeen, TX. During his tenure, the band program enrollment grew sunstantially and the Wind Ensemble brought home the program's first Sweepstakes award in 20 years; only the second in the history of the school! Mr. Myers spent his first years in Killeen teaching at Shoemaker High School where he lead the Symphonic and Jazz Bands as well as reviving the Winter Guard, which earned a Silver Medal at TCGC State Finals in 2011. 

After leaving Killeen, Mr. Myers headed the middle school band program in Burnet CISD where the middle school bands grew and gave Sweepstakes performances every time out, and the Burnet High School Marching Band returned to the UIL State Marching Band contest in 2018 after a 4-year absence.

Mr. Myers resides in Cedar Park with his wife, Jenny - a first grade teacher in LISD. Along with their Aussie-doodle, Rudy, they enjoy spending time outdoors and on the water, travelling, and taking in all the great art, food & drink, BBQ, and live music Austin has to offer. Mr. Myers is also active as both clinician and performer; most notably in Tubalele, an eclectic trio comprised of fellow performing arts teachers, and the Cedar Park Winds community band with whom he had the honor to perform at the 75th Annual Texas Bandmasters Association Conference as well as the Midwest International Band & Orchestra Clinic in 2017 and again in 2024.

Please join us in welcoming the newest member to the band crew; Mrs. Anna Saenz!

Anna Saenz brings over 20 years of experience as a passionate music educator, teaching band students from grades 6 through 12 in the Austin area. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Texas State University and a Master’s in Wind Conducting from Texas Tech University.

Before joining the staff at Canyon Ridge Middle School, Mrs. Saenz served as both Assistant and Head Band Director in several highly regarded programs, including Connally High School, Westlake High School, and most recently Bastrop Middle School. Her ensembles have consistently earned superior ratings at UIL Concert and Sightreading contests, and she has been part of six appearances at the UIL State Marching Contest. Mrs. Saenz also trains student leaders and drum majors from across the country through her work with SASI – The Leadership People. 

Along with teaching, Mrs. Saenz’s greatest joy is spending time with her husband, Drew, and 5 year old son, Apollo. The Saenz trio is looking forward to moving back to Austin and very excited to join the Canyon Ridge Band family! 

Maryland-native Tim Shuster has been teaching in the Austin area since 2015, and is currently in his 5th year as the Percussion Specialist at Canyon Ridge Middle School where he instructs  the beginning percussion class, percussion sectionals with all three 7th and 8th grade bands, and teaches private lessons.  In addition to his duties at CRMS, he also teaches private lessons at Four Points Middle School and Vandegrift High School.

Mr. Shuster has deeply immersed himself in the Austin music scene, having performed with a multitude of ensembles including the Austin Civic Orchestra, Cedar Park Winds, Conspirare, Central Texas Philharmonic, The Kraken Quartet, line upon line percussion, Panoramic Voices, and Tetractys New Music.  He has performed at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic (2017) and Percussive Arts Society International Convention (2017).

During the summer, Mr. Shuster works in artistic production as Percussion Manager at the Music Academy of the West, a prestigious orchestral training institute in Santa Barbara, California.  He holds degrees in percussion performance from Louisiana State University and the Ohio State University.

Outside of teaching and performing, Mr. Shuster is an avid road cyclist, runner, and surfer.  He lives in Austin with his fiance Sarah, and their cat Mondo.