Director of Bands

Travis Miller

Travis Miller is the Director of Bands at Carl Albert High School, where he also assists with the Carl Albert Middle School Bands. Now in his fifth year of teaching, Mr. Miller holds both a Bachelor of Instrumental Music Education and a Master of Music Education from the University of Central Oklahoma. In December 2023, he was honored with the UCO Inspiring Early Educator Award.

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Before joining Carl Albert, Mr. Miller served as Director of Bands, Choir, and Elementary Music at Luther Public Schools, where his bands earned their first Excellent ratings in eight years. He was named the Luther High School Teacher of the Year for 2022–23 and founded the school’s first Winter Guard program, which earned 9th place at the WGPO State Championships.

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Since coming to Carl Albert in 2023, Mr. Miller’s concert bands, marching band, and jazz ensembles have consistently earned superior ratings. The Titan Marching Band is a regular Top 5 finalist at the OBA State Championship, and the program has earned the OSSAA Sweepstakes Award with Distinction each year under his direction. The CAHS Jazz Ensemble 1 has achieved superior ratings and was named OSSAA State 2nd Runner-Up in both 2024 and 2025.

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Mr. Miller is a member of the National Association for Music Education, the Oklahoma Music Educators Association, the Oklahoma South Central Directors Association, the Oklahoma Bandmasters Association, and the Oklahoma Jazz Educators Association. He lives in Mustang with his wife, Abigail, and their dogs, Betty, Hattie, and Disco.

Assistant Director of Bands/Director of Percussion Studies

Burnnie Moore

Burnnie Moore is in his second year of teaching and is the Assistant Director of Bands at Carl Albert High School. He is also the Director of Percussion Studies at Carl Albert High School and Middle School. Mr. Moore helps co-teach the Carl Albert High School Marching and Concert Bands and directs the multiple Carl Albert Percussion Ensembles across our vertical.

Mr. Moore is from Owasso, Oklahoma, where he was a part of the Owasso Band program as a percussion student. Mr. Moore recently graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Instrumental Music Education degree. He participated in the Percussion Orchestra, Wind Symphony, and he was the first African-American drumline section leader for the Pride of Oklahoma.

Mr. Moore marched for two years in the San Antonio Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps. Mr. Moore is a summer staff member with the Crossmen DCI group, working with their snare line. 

Middle School Band Director

Melissa Marks

Melissa Marks is in her thirty-first year as a music educator and is the Middle School Band Director at Carl Albert Middle School. She received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Central Michigan University and a Master of Music degree from Northwestern University.

Prior to coming to Carl Albert High School, Mrs. Marks taught in Michigan (Oxford Community Schools, Morenci Area Schools, and Onsted Community Schools) and Oklahoma (Crooked Oak Public Schools and Oakdale School) where her bands consistently earned Superior Ratings. As Head Band Director at Carl Albert High School, her bands received the Sweepstakes Award in 2021-22 and the Sweepstakes Award with Distinction in 2022-23. She has served as a solo and ensemble adjudicator and has been active at both the district and state level of the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association (MSBOA).

She is a member of the National Association for Music Education, the Oklahoma Music Educators Association, the Oklahoma South Central Band Directors Association, the Oklahoma Bandmasters Association, the Oklahoma Music Adjudicators Association, and the American School Band Directors Association. Mrs. Marks was the 2019 MSBOA District 8 Teacher of the Year, the 2020 runner-up for the MSBOA State Band Director of the Year, and she was recognized in 2021 as a Michiana Outstanding Music Educator. Mrs. Marks also received the John Phillip Sousa award and the Semper Fidelis Award.

Mrs. Marks and her husband were recognized as the Oklahoma representatives for SBO Magazine’s “50 Directors Who Make A Difference” issue, published in December 2022. Mrs. Marks lives in Moore with her husband, Marty, and her three children, Paul, Bellamy, and Isaac.

Middle School Band Director

Kate Omstead

Kate Omstead is currently in her second year teaching and is the Middle School Band Director at Carl Albert Middle School. Ms. Omstead received her Bachelor's in Instrumental Music Education from the University of Oklahoma. During her time at the University of Oklahoma, Ms. Omstead performed with the Symphonic Band, Jazz U Band, and the Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band. Most recently, she performed at the North American Saxophone Alliance National Conference in the OU Saxophone Ensemble.

Throughout her college career, she was a member of the Brio Quartet as the tenor saxophonist. In October 2023, the Brio Quartet was selected for the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Scholarship to fund their recording project, “The Inclusion of Non-Western Music in the Classical Saxophone Repertoire Through Recordings and Media”.

Ms. Omstead held leadership positions as a squad leader in the Pride of Oklahoma and a student instructor in the Jazz U Band. In May of 2023, Ms. Omstead received the Colbert Hackler Award for her hard work and commitment to music education. In 2020, she earned an Honorable Mention for her solo saxophone playing in the Oklahoma Music Teachers National Association Competition.

Ms. Omstead has previously worked with the band programs in Norman Public Schools, Glenpool High School, and Galena Park High School in Galena Park Texas. She completed her student teaching internship at Southmoore High School and Highland West Junior High. During the summer months, Ms. Omstead has served as a camp counselor at The University of Arkansas Music Camp and the Great Plains Saxophone Workshop.

Ms. Omstead was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma and graduated from Jenks High School. During her high school years, she was awarded the John Philip Sousa Award and was selected to perform in the Music for All Honor Band of America at the MFA National Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana.