Demetrius Galindez Jr. will joining our team for the 2025-2026 school year. He is a percussionist from Central Florida, who recently graduated with a Bachelor’s in Music Performance from Stetson University where he studied with Dan Johnson.

Currently, Demetrius is pursuing a Master’s in Percussion Performance at the University of South Florida where he will be studying with Dr. Kevin von Kampen, and where he will have a GA position in charge of grading assignments for the undergraduate Music Theory students.

As a performer, Demetrius has performed in multiple ensembles during his undergraduate studies at Stetson University. He has performed with a variety of chamber ensembles; the Chamber Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra, where he was the principal percussionist; the Jazz Ensemble, where he had the honor of performing with artists such as Ryan Devlin; the Percussion Ensemble, where he was twice performed as a soloist; and the Symphonic Band which recently had a performance tour in Costa Rica, and it is where he was the principal percussionist.

Demetrius has also performed with local groups and artists in Central Florida such as Groove Royalty, Dream October, Christina Vukel, and he was a part of the worship team for a church in New Smyrna known as FirstNSB. This juxtaposition between working with musicians both in the real world, and in academia has given Demetrius a diverse perspective of performance, and it has affected how he teaches.

As an educator, Demetrius has primarily worked with DeLand High School and Ivy Hawn Charter School, where his responsibilities included rehearsal planning and music arrangement/composition. He has also worked briefly with other schools and percussion programs such as Spruce Creek High School, DeLand Middle School, and Lake Howell High School. He has also been a substitute instructor at local schools of music such as the Beats & Tunes School of Music in Longwood, and the School of Rock at both their Oviedo and Windermere locations.

In addition to all of this, Demetrius was also a music theory tutor for the second half of his time at Stetson University. Demetrius is one who, as his many experiences demonstrate, values new experiences and opportunities in music.