Nate has been a band/music teacher since 2002, working at San Juan High School, Enterprise High School, and is currently the band director at Lava Ridge Intermediate School. He has taught grades 6-12, and has taught concert band, jazz, percussion, guitar, and choir classes, as well as private piano lessons. As a band director, Nate's groups have participated in local & state festivals, receiving Excellent & Superior Ratings. He has also served as Fine Arts Department Chair and PLC coordinator for Intermediate Band Directors in the district. During his time teaching, Nate has continued to perform locally. He has been a member of the Southwest Symphony since 2005, has been in the Rebel Jazz Band since 2012, and performed in the pit orchestra for Tuacahn Amphitheater's Summer Broadway productions from 2006-2015. Nate has performed with such artists as: Peter Cetera, Kurt Bestor, Allen Vizzuti, Wayne Newton, Wayne Bergeron and Marie Osmond. He also had the opportunity to perform in the Olympic Spirit Band for the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics. Early on in his life, Nate's mother noticed his love for music. She started teaching him piano at the age of 10, when the family was finally able to purchase one. Nate progressed rapidly and soon surpassed his mother in ability. A year after starting piano, Nate joined the band program in 6th grade and chose trombone. He quickly realized that he loved music, a decision that would affect the rest of his life. After graduating from Snow Canyon High School in 1995, Nate went to Dixie College & Brigham Young University to pursue a degree in Music. He paused his schooling for 2 years, in 1996-1998, to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to Portugal. It was while on his mission that he realized he had a love for teaching. When he returned, Nate decided to combine his love for music with his joy of teaching and earned a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from BYU in 2002. Nate has also been composing music since he was a teenager. While many of his pieces were for personal use, some have been performed in church or school settings. He continues to compose and arrange music for everything from piano to full concert band. This love of composing and arranging led him to pursue a Master's of Music Technology degree from SUU, which he recently finished in the summer of 2022. Nate lives with his wife, Crystal, and their 4 children in St. George, Utah.
