About Us

Jeremy Zander – Director of Bands

Jeremy Zander has been a band director in Beaverton School District since 2010. Having taught at Southridge High School for seven years, Mr. Zander moved to Mountainside High School when it opened in 2017 and has been here ever since! Prior to his time with Beaverton School District, Mr. Zander taught middle school band for three years in Tigard-Tualatin School District and two years in Salem-Keizer Public Schools. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education & Flute Performance from the University of Oregon and a Master of Music from Sam Houston State University. While at the University of Oregon, he received the Outstanding Service Award and graduated Magna Cum Laude.

Mr. Zander’s responsibilities at Mountainside include instructing and conducting the Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and Music Theory course. Under Mr. Zander’s direction, the bands at Mountainside have earned many recognitions, including Metro League Championships in Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band and several top-five finishes at the OSAA 6A State Band Championships.

Mr. Zander is active as an adjudicator and clinician for several programs around the Pacific Northwest. He is a member of the Oregon Band Directors Association, the National Band Association, Phi Beta Mu, and has served on the executive board of the Oregon Music Education Association.

Blake Kuroiwa – Auxiliary Director of Bands

Blake Kuroiwa is a secondary teacher at Mountainside High School in the Beaverton School District. During the school day, Blake teaches STEM and IB Chemistry as well as being the AVID site coordinator. He also serves as Mountainside’s Auxiliary Director of Bands alongside Jeremy Zander. In this role, Blake directs, coordinates, and conducts the marching band and musical pit orchestra. Blake is excited and honored to be able to be a part of the Mountainside community in such an integral way! As a graduate from Pacific University, he has a Master of Arts in Teaching and Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, Music Education, & Music Performance.

Blake is an active instructor of the marching pageantry community in the Pacific Northwest. He has worked at numerous schools in the area including Sherwood HS, Westview HS, Southridge HS, Liberty HS, Mt. View MS, Highland Park MS, Meadow Park MS, and West Hills Christian School. Currently, he is the Program Director and Music Caption Head at Mountainside HS. In addition, he serves as the secretary for the Northwest Association for Performing Arts (NWAPA).

Katy Burns – Director of Dance & Guard Ensembles

A Seattle native, Katy began her colorguard career at the age of 7, where she performed with Full Circle Winterguard for 11 years. In 2009 she traveled south to the Portland area where she performed with North by Northwest Winterguard in 2009, OC Indoor 2011-2013, and OC Independent 2014. Katy was a member of the Seattle Cascades Drum Corps in 2005, 2006 and 2007. She aged out in 2011 with the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps. Katy has been with Mountainside since the beginning, but she has also worked with Southridge High School for 7 years, 6 of which she was the Colorguard Director, the Oregon Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps for 5 years, 2 of which she was the Assistant Colorguard Caption Head. Outside of colorguard she also works with both Mountainside and Central Catholic High School's Drama program choreographing the musical productions.

Ben Strever – Director of Percussion Ensembles

A native to the greater Portland area, Ben has been involved with the marching arts as an educator for the last 8 years. In previous years he has worked with Southridge HS, Skyview HS, Glencoe HS (co-directed), and helped out part time at Mountainside HS during its first year of existence. He has also worked with the Seattle Cascades since 2019 and IMPACT Percussion since 2022, and continues to work with them today. During his time as a performer, he marched with the Oregon Crusaders (2016-17) and OC Indoor (2016-18). Currently, Ben is in his final year of study at Portland State University and will have his Bachelor’s in Music Composition this June. He is beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Mountainside HS this year and is looking forward to what the future has to offer.

Max Logan – Visual Caption Head

A Portland native, Maximilian Logan has been a passionate pageantry educator for a little over a decade. Maximilian has instructed and designed for several high school marching bands and indoor programs within the NWAPA circuit. He has previously been on the instructional teams for the Oregon Crusaders and Seattle Cascades drum corps. Maximilian also had the privilege of directing and designing for the Sherwood Winter Winds program for the four years of its existence. He also served on the NWAPA Board as VP-Winds for two terms.