drum major instructor & visual choreographer

Now introducing our drum major instructor and visual choreographer, THS alumnus Ashley Kappelman!

Ashley has been teaching drum majors at Tennessee High School since 2017, where her students have earned majoritively 1st place awards in competition, including highest drum major score in finals at Western Carolina University in 2022. She also choreographs visuals for the ensemble.

Ashley is a THS alum and served as a drum major here from 2013 - 2015. She attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and marched piccolo in the Pride of the Southland Marching Band from 2016 - 2019. She served as a squad leader in 2018 and 2019. Throughout her time at UTK, she participated in the Flute Studio and served as their conductor for her final semester. In the summer of 2019, she served as drum major of Carolina Gold Drum & Bugle Corps where the corps took home gold medals for Class A.

Ashley earned a minor in Applied Music while she earned her Bachelors of Science in Nursing at UTK. Now, an RN of 5 years, she works at a chemotherapy infusion center when she's not teaching or choreographing at THS.