* Website sponsored by Union Pines Band Boosters *
Director of the Union Pines Band Program

Rob Hill is the band director at Union Pines High School in Cameron, NC.  He has held this position for the last ten years and previously taught middle school band and orchestra for three years at New Century Middle School.  He also teaches part time at Sandhills Community College and is director of the Sandhills Community College Jazz Band.  He holds a bachelor's degree in music education from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, and a master's degree in music education from Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia. He also is a former Army bandsman trumpet player, having served in the 82nd Airborne Division Band at Fort Bragg, NC. While in the Army band, Mr. Hill was section and group leader, responsible for training instrumentalists in their military occupational specialty, which included instruction for instrumental performance in the concert band as well as on the parade field as a drill and ceremony marching band section leader.

Also, while in the Army band, Mr. Hill played the solo book for the jazz band and performed frequently with the brass quintet and jazz combo groups at many high profile functions.

Mr. Hill has received the Fiesta-Val Award of Distinction for his notable contribution to musical excellence, and the prestigious William D. Revelli Concert Band Award of Distinction for top ensemble, overall, in competition in Chicago.  In addition, his marching bands have consistently received superior ratings at numerous marching band competitions and state festival contests where they have also taken many Grand Championships.  The marching band has also represented the state of North Carolina in the National Independence Day Parade in Washington D.C, a very prestigious honor.  His concert bands have also received numerous superior and excellent ratings in all graded levels of music and have also competed across the country in cities such as New York, Orlando, Williamsburg, Boston, and Chicago. His jazz bands have performed with Latin jazz Grammy award winning artist, Dave Valentin, and his wind ensemble has performed under the direction of world renowned composer, Eric Whitacre, one of the most popular and performed composers of our generation. His students consistently make the All-County, All-District, and All-State Bands, and the North Carolina Governor’s School for music. Many go on to pursue music in college, and a large percentage of those students go on to various careers in music. Many of his students also march in university bands and Drum Corps International.

Mr. Hill has served as the Southeastern District Honors Band guest clinician and as the district's high school representative for Music Performance Assessment at the state level.  He is also a Music Education Ambassador for the United States, and was part of the first music education delegation to China in 2009.  He is currently the Tri-M Honorary Music Society advisor for Union Pines High School and is a member of Music Educators National Conference.  Mr. Hill also hosts the Annual Viking Classic Marching Band Competition at Union Pines High School.  This event has become one of the most exciting venues for marching band competition in the state of North Carolina.

 
Mr. Hill is also a freelance trumpet player and has performed in various bands for a number of world famous artists which include Stanley Jordan, Bobby Shew, Harry Watters, Jamey Aebersold, Michael Berkowitz, Joe Chambers, Valery Ponomarev, T.K. Blue, Gary Brunotte, Charles Lazurus, Dave Valentin, and many other renowned  professionals.  He also played and toured for a number of years with Orchesta Ideal, a 13 piece salsa band.  He is now currently playing the lead book and solo trumpet books for the Heart of Carolina Jazz Band, the Eddie Barrett Big Band, the Gregg Gelb Swing and Latin Band, and the Tom Bernett Swing Street Band. Mr. Hill also is a member of the Moore Brass Quintet and plays the trumpet frequently for many local community events to include performances by the Moore County Choral Society, Moore On Stage, the Temple Theatre and the Cape Fear Regional Theatre.  Mr. Hill resides in Whispering Pines, North Carolina with his wife Carole and their three young sons, Nathan, Andrew, and Landon.

 

      Assistant Band Director                    
     

Jessica Traversino is the director of bands at New Century Middle School in Cameron, NC. The band program at New Century currently has 220 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. The program includes three concert bands, which meet on a daily basis, as well as three jazz bands and a pep band. She is also the assistant band director at Union Pines High School, where she helps with the marching bands and concert bands throughout the school year.

    Ms. Traversino, a North Carolina Teaching Fellow, received a bachelor of music degree in music education from UNCG in 2001. During her undergraduate career she received the Barbara Bair award for excellence in academics as a music education student. She also received a master of music degree in music education from UNCG in December 2005. Ms. Traversino is a member of MENC, SEDBA, NCAE, Alpha Lambda Delta, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Sigma Alpha Iota.

    In addition to her teaching duties, Ms. Traversino maintains a private flute studio. She performs as a flautist and a vocalist in area churches and with the Lee County Community Orchestra. Ms. Traversino also serves on the board of directors for the Lee County Community Orchestra. She has performed, on flute and piccolo, with the Fayetteville Symphony, Moore County Choral Society, and the Temple Theater in Sanford, NC.
     
     
     
     
     
     
           
                                       
                                       
                                       
                                       
  Color Guard Instructor                    
 

Cori Dunn is a science teacher at West Pine Middle School. She grew up in Michigan, where she marched color guard for 4 years in high school. Her university education includes bachelor’s degrees in both Earth Science and Education, from Michigan State University, and the University of Michigan, respectively. While attending MSU, Mrs. Dunn was afforded the opportunity to perform with the Spartan Marching Band for 4 years. In addition to home football games, she traveled to two bowl games with the Spartans: the Silicon Valley Bowl in San Jose, California, and the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio Texas. She has also performed one season with an independent winter guard. Mrs. Dunn lives near Robbins, with her husband Adam, and several spoiled pets. She hopes to help the UP color guard have their most successful season yet, and looks forward to becoming part of the Marching Band “Family”!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                       
  Drumline / Percussion Instructor                    
 

Tom Bernett started out in northwestern Indiana doing lots of artsy/musicy stuff in high school a long, long time ago. That included a dozen years as a drum and bugle corps fanatic, learning the fine art of precision rudimental drumming.

Following a short hitch in the Navy, mostly playing drums, he became a traveling musician for a couple years before finally getting serious in applied percussion at Eastern Kentucky University. The following fifteen years were spent "on the road" working as a jazz and show drummer and a singer.

After touring with numerous self-contained show bands, the end of the 1970s culminated in Chicago with great gigs as a staff drummer in the pit orchestras of a major celebrity theater and a suburban dinner theater, as well as many studio dates for advertising projects.

Then, in 1987 after almost 20 years dedicated to professional performing, he found that his recording studio/advertising connections were leading to more and more production and ad creation work, which led to the building of his first recording studio. Before long, video production was added to the business. The mid-80s entry of the computer age was thrown into the mix, which led to the opportunity to create award-winning corporate video presentation.

Finally, he has returned to his musical roots on a full-time basis, performing with numerous Carolina musical groups, including his own 9-piece swing band, Swing Street.