Ms. Newmiller is the Director of Bands at Kettle Run High School in Nokesville, VA.  She is a Virginia native where she received her bachelor's degree in music with a concentration in education and flute from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA.  Her flute studies were with Dr. Beth Chandler and conducting studies with Dr. William Dabback and Dr. Stephen Bolstad.  She was a member of the Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Flute Choir, Pep Band, Steel Drum Band, and Marching Royal Dukes.  She was a member of Sigma Alpha Iota and received the Sword of Honor.   

From January 2011 to June 2022, Ms. Newmiller was the band director at Tuscarora High School in Leesburg, VA. She directed the Marching Huskies, Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Band, and Musical Pit Orchestra.  She was the administrative director for the Indoor Drumline and Winter Guard programs.  Under her direction, the ensembles received many awards including multiple Virginia State Honor Band, VMBC State Champions, US Bands State Champions, District Jazz Band Best Ensemble Award, AIA Regional Champions for Color Guard and Indoor Drumline, and the Marching Huskies were the first ensemble from Loudoun County to represent Virginia in the Pearl Harbor Day Parade in Honolulu, HI in December 2015.   

Ms. Newmiller received her master's degree in wind band conducting from Penn State University and studied with Dr. Tonya Mitchell-Spradlin.  As a graduate teaching assistant, she worked with the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Blue Band, Pride of the Lions, and is co-director of the Campus Band.  She also studied flute with Dr. Naomi Seidman and performs with the Penn State Flute Choir and Flute Quartet. 

She is member of Collegiate Band Directors National Association, National Bandmaster’s Association, Women’s Band Directors International, National Flute Association, and National Association for Music Education. 

Mr. Gregory graduated from Liberty University in 2021 with a Bachelor's Degree in Film Scoring. He has been an active member in the Fauquier Community, assisting with the Kettle Run Marching Cougars in the fall of 2021, performing in Kettle Run's 2023 spring musical "Shrek", and playing as an active member of the Fauquier Community Band.

While at LU, he played bari sax, alto sax, and french horn in the Wind Symphony, flute in the LU Flute Choir, and marched mellophone for 4 years as a member of the Liberty University Marching Band: The Spirit of the Mountain. There, he studied flute under Mrs. Alycia Hugo the principal flutist of the Roanoke Symphony and Lynchburg Symphony Orchestras and music composition under Dr. David K. Schmal.

After graduating, Mr. Gregory has been teaching math at Kettle Run High School and is excited for another awesome season of marching band. Go Cougars!

Mrs. Mergen is the Director of Bands at Auburn Middle School and has worked with the Kettle Run High School Band program since it opened in 2008. 

Mr. Mergen has been with the Kettle Run High School band program since it opened in 2008 working as a visual and brass instructor. 

Ms. Etulle taught with the Tuscarora High School Marching Huskies in Leesburg, VA for over 10 years and helped lead them 

Mr. Little is a West Virginia University graduate with a degree in percussion performance.  The 2025 season is his first season with the Marching Cougars. 

Taylor Nordike is a 2023 Christopher Newport University graduate and 2019 Kettle Run High School alum. She spun with the Marching Cougars all four years of high school, serving as section leader her last two. She followed a similar path at CNU, her last two years as captain where she wrote, taught, and cleaned choreography while spinning alongside her teammates. She is so excited to be back at Kettle Run and looks forward to a great season!

Mr. Kyle Alperstein is the Director of Orchestras at Kettle Run High School as well as at Taylor Middle School. He has been with Fauquier County since the 2021-22 school year, starting at Kettle Run and Warrenton Middle School. Before that, he was a private cello and violin instructor in northern Virginia and West Virginia. 

Mr. Alperstein graduated from Shenandoah University's Shenandoah Conservatory, where he received his Bachelors of Music in Music Education and a Performance Certificate in Cello. Mr. Alperstein studied cello with world-renowned soloist Prof. Julian Schwarz and performed in the Shenandoah Conservatory Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Prof. Jan Wagner. He also studied and performed chamber music under the direction of Prof. Schwarz, former Audubon Quartet violist Prof. Doris Lederer, and pianist Dr. Alexander Bernstein. He studied music education with Dr. Jeffrey Marlatt, Dr. Stephanie Standerfer, and Dr. David Zerull. 

Mr. Alperstein is originally from Reisterstown, Maryland and is a fan of the Baltimore Ravens and Old Bay. Mr. Alperstein also enjoys doing puzzles, playing tennis, and eating lots of ice cream!