Directors

Mr Brian C. Wilson, Director of Bands

Brian C. Wilson is the Director of Bands at Summit Academy in Chandler, Arizona, since 2006. He holds both a Bachelor of Music Education and a Master of Music in Performance from Arizona State University. During his graduate studies, he served as a Graduate Assistant in Tuba/Euphonium from 1998 to 2001 and in Trombone from 2001 to 2002.

Mr. Wilson has been a dedicated music educator since 1999. Prior to joining Summit Academy, he taught in the Kyrene School District. Over the course of his career, he has been an active clinician and adjudicator throughout the Southwest and beyond. He has directed a wide range of honor bands and participated in numerous camps and festivals, including the Tempe Junior High Honor Band, the Mesa Public Schools Elementary Honor Band, NAU's Curry Summer Music Camp, the Yuma High School Honor Band, the Arizona All-State 6th Grade Band, and the AZTEC Tuba Euphonium Camp held in Flagstaff, Mesa, Tucson, and San Diego. He has also worked with students and educators at Benjamin Franklin Charter School, Idaho State University’s Marching Band Camp, and the International Euphonium Festival in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, he has served as a judge and clinician for the Arizona Music Educators Association (AMEA), the Arizona Band and Orchestra Directors Association (ABODA), Gilbert Public Schools, and Scottsdale Public Schools.

Mr Wilson is an Eastman Music Company Artist.

Mr. Nathan Hossenlopp, Percussion Coach

Nathan Hossenlopp is a musician specializing in contemporary percussion repertoire.

As a member of the 2026 World Percussion Group, he has performed as a soloist,

clinician, chamber musician, and teacher across eight countries and at twelve

conservatoires including, the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Conservatoire Maurice

Ravel, and HDMK Stuttgart.

As an active chamber musician and soloist, he has performed recitals at Northern

Arizona University, won the Arizona Percussion Arts Society “Day of Percussion”

Marimba Competition, and competed in the Great Plains International Marimba

Competition with his percussion duo, Chopp Duo.

He previously taught at Arizona State University as a Graduate Percussion Assistant,

where he taught Drum Circle, African Diasporic Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble,

private lessons, and served as the section leader for both the Wind Ensemble and

Symphony Orchestra. He currently teaches at Phoenix Community College and Summit

Academy where he focuses on classical percussion.

Danielle Peterson, Flute/Woodwind Coach

Danielle Peterson is a graduate of ASU, graduating with a Masters in Music in December 2024. During her time at NAU and ASU, she has performed in the top ensembles as principal, second flute, and piccolo, performed with various chamber ensembles, premiered various new works with the Arizona Contemporary Music Ensemble, held four solo recitals, performed in several Area Recitals, and appeared as a guest performer for her colleagues’ recitals. 

Now that she has graduated, Ms Peterson fills her time through performances with the Musical Theater Alliance of Arizona as principal flute and piccolo, participating and performing with the Desert Echoes Flute Project Flute Choir at the National Flute Association Conventions, working with contemporary student composers at ASU (featuring works in concert like Deanna Rusnock’s Flying Colors, and Edouardo Orea’s solo flute piece featuring VR headset), and serving as a sub for the Scottsdale Symphonic Orchestra. 

Knowing that there is always room for growth and learning, Ms Peterson shows her ambition to continue growing as a musician by performing in as many professional masterclasses as she can, including masterclasses with Marina Piccinini, Viviana Cumplido-Wilson, Robert Dick, Dr. Jennifer Grimm, Sarah Jackson, Dr. Lisa Garner Santa, Viviana Guzman, Professor Richard Sherman, April Clayton, and Sgt. Ellen Dooley. 

In addition to performing gigs around the valley, Ms Peterson works as an assistant stage manager for the Phoenix Symphony and is also a private flute instructor at Music Makers in Ahwatukee, where she has had students perform in the Regional and All-State Band and Orchestra and the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra, earn first chair in their school ensembles, perform in studio recitals, and win first place, second place, and honorable mention in the 2024-2026 Arizona Flute Society Competition. 

Along with private instruction, Ms Peterson has also coached sectionals for the Phoenix Youth Symphony Orchestra woodwind section, and led several masterclasses through Arizona Flute Society and Mesa Community College events.

Mr. John Burton, Reed/Woodwind Coach

John Burton is a freelance clarinetist in the Phoenix area with a Master of Musical Performance from Arizona State University and a Bachelor of Music in Woodwind Performance from Brigham Young University. At ASU, he served as principal clarinet of both the Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, and was featured as a soloist after winning the 2024 ASU Concerto Competition, performing Navarro’s Clarinet Concerto No. 2 with the ASU Wind Symphony. His playing is also showcased on several ASU recordings, including Nicole Piunno’s Sunflower Studies and Steven Bryant’s Ecstatic Waters.

While at BYU, Mr. Burton was principal clarinet on the Chamber Orchestra’s European tour to Czechia, Austria, and Italy, and on the Wind Symphony’s tour to Spain and Portugal. He has been a finalist in the International Clarinet Association Orchestral Excerpt Competition, earned 2nd place in both the American Single Reed Summit International Clarinet Competition and the ICA Young Artist Competition, and won 3rd place in the Silverstein Global Clarinet Contest.

Based in Phoenix, Mr. Burton is an active freelance artist, performing with ensembles such as the West Valley Symphony, Symphony of the Southwest, Musicfest Orchestra, and the Phoenix Symphony. He is also a Silverstein Artist and performs on Moe-Bleichner Custom Clarinets.

Mr. Alex Austin, French Horn/Brass Coach

Alex Austin is a French horn player and active performer in the Phoenix Metro area, having come up through the tight knit musical community in the Valley of the Sun. He received his bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and most recently a master’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music. Some of Mr Austin's teachers have included Eli Epstein, Dr. John Ericson, Gabriel Kovach, Jean Rife, Norman Bolter, Patrick Sheridan, Sam Pilafian, and the members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Austin is a staple in the Arizona freelance community and has had the privilege of performing with groups such as the Phoenix Symphony, Tucson Symphony, Sedona Symphony, Salt River Brass, Phoenix Brass Collective, and the New Mexico Philharmonic.

As a music educator, Alex holds positions at Scottsdale Community College where he teaches horn, as well as Chandler-Gilbert Community College where, in addition to teaching horn, he teaches music theory and history. He also has his own private studios comprised of students of all ages from across the East Valley.

Mr. Austin is a founding member of the virtuoso brass trio Valley Brass (which can be heard on the album Resolutions: Suite for Brass Trio) as well as the woodwind quintet Opuntia Winds which released their debut album, Currents and Echoes, in June 2026.

Mr. Austin recently returned to Arizona State University to pursue his doctorate of music degree.