Directors
Drew McGee
Director of Bands
Drew McGee is the Director of Bands at Union County High School. Originally from Greenville, South Carolina, Mr. McGee attended the University of South Carolina to obtain his Bachelor’s Degree from the UofSC School of Music.
From 2016 until 2021, Mr. McGee served as the Assistant Director of Bands at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, SC where he lead the Spring Valley “Viking Band” Marching Band program. While there, the marching band found great success consistently earning superior ratings regionally in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia.
In addition to his role as a band director, Mr. McGee has been an active private lessons instructor and brass clinician throughout South Carolina. Students taught by Mr. McGee have consistently earned spots in the South Carolina All-Region and All-State bands. His students also actively participate in the SC Solo & Ensemble events.
As a performer, Mr. McGee has played with the Aiken Symphony Orchestra, UofSC Wind Ensemble, UofSC Symphony Orchestra, Palmetto Concert Band, and the “Mighty Sound of the Southeast” Marching Band. While at USC, he was a two-time Semi-Finalist in the National Trumpet Competition.
His professional affiliations include the South Carolina Band Directors Association, South Carolina Music Educators Association, and the National Association for Music Educators. Mr. McGee is engaged to his fiancée Lily, who is a band director at Sims Middle School. He enjoys sporting events, live music, and spending time with his fiancée and their dog, Bailey.
Rodney Inman
Assistant Director/Visual Caption Head
Mr. Rodney Inman is currently the Director of Bands at Jonesville Elementary/Middle School and is an assistant band director for the UCHS marching band. He is an alumnus of Union County Schools and is a graduate of North Greenville University where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education in 2017.
During his time at North Greenville University, he was the principle clarinetist of the NGU Wind Ensemble and the NGU Orchestra. While attending NGU, he spent time assisting marching bands in Greenville and Spartanburg counties, including Greenville High School where he was the Assistant Director of Bands and assisting the Rebel Regiment marching band at Byrnes High School where the band took 2nd place at state finals and was named a national semi-finalist at Bands of America Grand Nationals in 2017.
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As a performer, Mr. Inman has performed in Upstate Winds, Furman Lakeside Band, Greer’s Little Theatre and many more ensembles.
His professional affiliations include National Association for Music Education (NAfME), South Carolina’s Music Education Association (SCMEA), South Carolina Band Directors Association (SCBDA) and International Clarinet Association (ICA).
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During his free time, Mr. Inman loves listening to music, playing with his dogs, and spending time with friends and family.
Micaela Dixon
Assisstant Director
More info coming soon!
Lily Montes de Oca
Assisstant Director
Lily Montes de Oca is currently in her fifth year of teaching. This will be her first year teaching in the Upstate as one of the Band Directors at Sims Middle School. Ms. Montes de Oca spent her first four years teaching in Lexington, SC where she served as the Director of Bands at Carolina Springs Middle for three years. Prior to teaching band, she taught elementary music at Pleasant Hill Elementary for one year. Ms. Montes de Oca is a graduate of the University of South Carolina where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education with a Certificate in Trumpet Performance. As an undergraduate, Ms. Montes de Oca performed in the University’s Wind Ensemble under the direction of Scott Weiss and studied trumpet as a member of James Ackley’s studio. In 2017, she competed as a semi-finalist in the Small Ensemble Division of the National Trumpet Competition in Denver, CO in 2017.
During her time at Carolina Springs Middle, the program experienced enormous growth despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The band grew from 90 face to face students during the pandemic to over 240 students only two years later. Ms. Montes de Oca puts an emphasis into providing as many opportunities for students to become involved in the band program as possible, regardless of their age or experience. She introduced a successful 7th and 8th grade beginning band program and recruited nearly twice as many 6th graders as she inherited in her last year at Carolina Springs. During the pandemic, Ms. Montes de Oca collaborated with the orchestra director to create the first Carolina Springs Middle Symphony and also created a before and after school jazz program. In 2022, Ms. Montes de Oca took her first group of students to Concert Performance Assessment where the program received a rating of Superior with Distinction.
Outside of teaching, Ms. Montes de Oca enjoys performing as a member of the Palmetto Concert Band, an ensemble of professional and semi-professional musicians throughout South Carolina conducted by Scott Weiss. She is also a member of the NAfME and SCBDA.
When Ms. Montes de Oca is not teaching, she enjoys running, discovering new places to eat and listen to music, and traveling to Northern Virginia to visit her family. She and her fiancée live in Spartanburg, SC with their 2 year old Catahoula Leopard Dog, Bailey.
Will Harris
Assisstant Director
More info coming soon!
Cory High
Percussion Director
Dr. Cory High serves as Adjunct Professor of Percussion at Newberry College. He is also the Scarlet Spirit Drumline instructor and the recording specialist for the Department of Music. In addition to teaching at Newberry College, Dr. High has also been on faculty at Benedict College and Claflin University.
Notable performances of Dr. High include being the winner of the 2015 Great Plains International Marimba Competition, having multiple Percussive Arts Society International Convention performances, and serving as a soloist for multiple percussion ensembles. His current projects include researching lute to marimba transcriptions, evolving the recording techniques used by classical musicians, and continuing to teach as the co-founder of Groundwork Percussion.
Dr. High received his D.M.A. in Performance from the University of South Carolina, his M.M. from Lee University, and a B.M.E. and Performer’s Certificate from the University of Florida.
Victoria Bennett
Color Guard Director
More info coming soon!