Band Department Staff

Eric Thornbury has been directing bands since 1992.  He is the Music Department Chair and Director of Bands for Noblesville Schools.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Indiana State University and a Master’s of Education from Indiana Wesleyan University.  

 

Mr. Thornbury’s current responsibilities include directing three concert bands, a marching band, a pep band, and chamber ensembles as well as overseeing the band, orchestra, choir, piano, guitar, recording and lab classes in Noblesville Schools.  Mr. Thornbury was an adjunct Professor of Music at Indiana University Kokomo for 9 years and was the president of the Howard County Arts League.  He is a member of the Indiana Bandmasters Association, The National Association for Music Education, and the Indiana Music Educators Conference.  He served as the vice-president for the Noblesville Cultural Arts Commission for 5 years and represents music and education on the Noblesville Fine Arts Council.  Mr. Thornbury has been a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator for middle school and high school bands throughout the State of Indiana.  

 

In his tenure at Noblesville the band program has more than doubled in size, the Marching Band won the Indiana State Fair Band Day Championship in 2017 and 2018, were an ISSMA Class A Semi-Finalist in 2019 and ISSMA Class A State Finalists in 2021.  Eric is a trumpet player who plays as often as time allows.  He resides in Noblesville Indiana with his wife and five children.  

Jacob Crossley earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Indiana State University in 2013 after graduating from Hagerstown High School. Mr. Crossley was the Drum Major for the Indiana State Marching Band in 2012 and taught at North Decatur High School for 6 years.  His directing credits include the Decatur County Combined Marching Band for four years and the Southeastern Indiana Honor Band.  Mr. Crossley was awarded Decatur County Teacher of the Year in 2017!

 

Jacob is currently the Assistant Band Director at Noblesville High School where he  the 2021 Marching Millers to ISSMA Open Class A State finals and guided the Noblesville Indoor Percussion group to an Independent Class A State Championship in 2019 and a Scholastic Class A Bronze in 2021! 

Peter Luttrull is an Indianapolis based saxophonist, educator, and arranger with diverse musical and educational experience.  

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Peter received his Bachelor’s degree in Classical Saxophone Performance from Indiana Wesleyan University.  He furthered his education earning his Masters degree in Jazz Studies from the world-renown Jazz program at Michigan State University.  Peter studied with, and was mentored by: Diego Rivera, Rodney Whitaker, Etienne Charles, Randy Gillespie, Randy Napoleon, and Xavier Davis.

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While at Michigan State, Peter performed with Christian McBride, Peter Bernstein, Brian Lynch, Kenny Barron, and Louis Hayes.  Peter has performed throughout the United States and can currently be seen playing in the Indianapolis area.   

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In 2016, Peter began his role as Assistant Jazz Band Director at Noblesville under Bethany Robinson.  He helped lead NHS Jazz to be two time Essentially Ellington finalist, ISSMA honor band, Purdue Jazz Festival Honor band, and other accolades.  

Peter lives in Fishers with his wife Lindsay and their children Eleanor, Louie, and Oscar.

Lennon is a graduate of Lawrence Central High School, where he was a percussionist, and a graduate of Indiana University. He has taught and directed both competitive percussion ensembles and marching bands, mostly in Indiana, but across the United States, for the past seven or eight years and has won four championships at three separate high schools in Indiana during this time.

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Typically, he would trade his time and efforts across multiple schools during a single season or semester, whereas, at NHS, it’s his first time giving almost all of his effort and time to one school. “Due to this, I feel a special connection with the Noblesville students and each and every accomplishment….”

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Throughout the school year, Noblesville percussionists end up being a part of many balanced ensembles where percussion is just a cog in the machine, such as marching bands, jazz bands, pep bands, concert bands and more,

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One of Lennon’s grandfathers was a lifelong percussionist and the other was a lifelong leader and coach at the University of Notre Dame. “Along with my father and my older brother, and a couple other phenomenal directors, I know I am blessed and fortunate to have their presence be a part of me as I journey through teaching and creating relationships,” he said.

NHS director of bands Eric Thornbury said Lennon “is knowledgeable and has an outstanding and unique approach to teaching percussion. He is a director immersed in the activity, both musically and visually. He is able to communicate to students in a way that teaches students and inspires them to want to achieve more,” Thornbury said.

Jeff Welsh began his career in pageantry after playing saxophone in the marching band from middle through high school.  He then became a marching member of the University of Florida’s color guard rifle line.   While serving as drum major of the UF Gator Band he marched with the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps Color Guard and wrote drill for the UF Band and South Fork HS in Florida.  After graduation he became the color guard director and designer for the Florida Visual Ensemble and XPOZ-A winter guard.  Since that time, he has written marching band drill and directed/designed for many programs across the state of Florida.  Mr. Welsh took the Sebastian River High School Color Guard program from a local unit to a WGI Finalist in Scholastic A!  

 

Jeff has designed for all three WGI Scholastic classes and the Independent A and Open classes, with his units reaching the WGI finals 23 times.  Jeff has also served in various judging roles. He took a few years off to enjoy watching his children Jarrod and Carli march in their own units.

 

He is currently proud to serve as Color Guard Director here at Noblesville High School (returning to his Midwest roots).  He has elevated the Winter Guard from a local SRA team to a 2021 WGI Scholastic Open national virtual finalist group!