LSE Band Staff

R.J. Metteer

Director of Bands

Mr. Metteer has been the Director of Bands at Southeast High School since 1995.

He received a Masters of Music Education in August of 1999 from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln and a Bachelors of Arts in Education from Wayne State College in May of 1990. Prior to teaching at Lincoln Southeast High School he attended the University of Nevada Las Vegas as a graduate teaching assistant for the 1994 - 1995 school year. From the fall of 1990 until the spring of 1994 he taught instrumental music in the Lenox Community Schools.

Mr. Metteer is a certified adjudicator in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri as well and active clinician/conductor. He is a former board member of the Nebraska Bandmasters Association and remains an active member. He is a member of the Nebraska Music Educators Conference, and Lincoln Education Association.

Gary Shuda

Assistant Director of Bands

Mr. Shuda has been an Assistant Band Director at LSE since 2014. Along with the band ensembles he teaches percussion, music theory, music technology, and the pit orchestra for musicals.

Mr. Shuda attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he earned his Bachelor of Music Education degree.  He was also selected as the Most Outstanding Bandsman within the UNL Band Department in 2012. He then moved to Norman, OK and earned his Master's Degree from the University of Oklahoma in Music and Percussion Performance. At OU, Mr. Shuda served as a Graduate Assistant. His duties included: instructing and arranging for the Pride of Oklahoma marching percussion section, giving individual lessons to undergraduate percussion majors, directing the undergraduate percussion ensemble, as well as teaching the percussion methods class for music education majors. At the conclusion of his tenure, he was awarded the prestigious Ronald J. Dyer award for his outstanding contributions to the OU Percussion Studio.

Mr. Shuda is a Vic Firth Educational Artist and is active as a performer, arranger, and clinician in the Midwest. 

Zach Brown

Assistant Marching Band Director, Director of Athletic Bands

Mr. Brown is an Assistant Band Director at Lincoln Southeast High School. Mr. Zachary Brown holds a Music Education degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, he is originally from Sioux Falls, SD.

Mr. Brown is currently teaching at: Pyrtle, Holmes, Kahoa, and Mickle as well as Southeast High School. Mr. Brown's primary instrument is the horn and he is an active member of the Lincoln Civic Orchestra and the Husker Horn Choir.

Alex Hoffman

Assistant Marching Band Director

Mr. Hoffman is new to Southeast High School this year. He is an Assistant Band Director at LSE and the Orchestra Director at Scott Middle School.

Mr. Hoffman graduated with High Distinction from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln with a Bachelor's of Music Education in May 2023. His primary instruments are trombone, euphonium, and viola. He is a member of the Lincoln-based trombone choir Live and Let Slide and occasionally subs with Lincoln's Symphony. Mr. Hoffman enjoys watching movies in his free time.

Vivian Smith

Color Guard Instructor

Vivian Smith has been the Assistant Color Guard Coach at LSE since 2017. She was a student at LSE between 2012 and 2016 and participated in color guard during that time. 

Vivian graduated from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln in May of 2021 with bachelor's degree in English and minors in Education, Psychology, and Digital Humanities. Vivian has also worked at the Lincoln City Libraries as a Library Aide since July of 2019.

Wyatt Smith

Assistant Percussion Instructor

Wyatt graduated from LSE in 2015 and has assisted in instructing the Marching Knights percussion section since then. Wyatt was a member of the front ensemble at LSE and also served as a section leader during his last two years. He was also a member of the Cornhusker Marching Band for a year. 

Wyatt is an assistant manager at Runza and enjoys playing piano in his free time.