Chris Cotignola

Chris Cotignola is currently the Director of Instrumental Music at Bryan High School in the Omaha Public School District. He directs the Concert Band, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Pep Band, Orchestra, Honors Orchestra, co-teaches 7th grade band, and previously taught AP Music Theory. Prior to OPS, he taught at Skutt Catholic High School from 2013-2017. There he directed the Concert Band, Jazz Band, Marching Band, Pep Band, and administrated the winter color guard. In addition to all of the Skutt Catholic instrumental ensembles, he was also the instructor for the Guitar I, Guitar II, and Piano I classes. Under his direction, the instrumental music ensembles at Skutt consistently received Excellent and Superior Ratings at District Music Contest and regional marching band and jazz band competitions, and in 2015 the SkyHawk Marching Band earned the NSBA Class A Championship. As a southeastern Pennsylvania native, Mr. Cotignola earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education Summa Cum Laude from Messiah College in Grantham, PA where he studied classical saxophone with Aaron Patterson and Dr. Amanda Heim, jazz improvisation with Kirk Reese and Tim Warfield Jr., conducting with Dr. Bradley Genevro, and composition with Bruce Yurko. While at Messiah, he served as lead alto saxophone in JazzONE as well as co-principal saxophone in the Wind Ensemble. He has pursued additional jazz saxophone studies with Matt Otto. In June 2015, Mr. Cotignola participated in the University of North Texas Wind Conducting Collegium where he had the great fortune to conduct the highly acclaimed North Texas Wind Symphony while studying with master pedagogues Dennis Fisher and Eugene Corporon. His professional memberships include NAfME, NMEA, and NSBA.  Chris earned his Master's Degree in Music Education through the American Band College with Central Washington University in August 2018.  When he is not teaching, Chris enjoys playing saxophone in a wide range of professional settings, and he and his wife are original members of the Midwest’s premier salsa orchestra Esencia Latina. He also loves playing sports such as soccer and ultimate Frisbee, reading, board games, and spending time with family and friends.