About the Director

Damon Knepper - Director of Bands

Mr. Damon Knepper is a teacher, performer, conductor, arranger, and clinician based in Tucson, Arizona. He was recently selected as one of Yamaha's "40-Under-40" Music Educators. Read more here.

Mr. Knepper was born and raised in Tucson, AZ, and attended all in Amphitheater Public School District. At an early age, he developed a passion for music, wanting to pursue it professionally. He attended the University of Arizona, receiving his Bachelor of Music Education (B.M.E.). Following his undergraduate studies, Mr. Knepper earned his Master of Music Education (M.M.Ed.) from the University of Florida, where he further refined his teaching pedagogy.

During his years of performance and intense studying, Mr. Knepper has had the pleasure of learning from some outstanding music educators at the collegiate and professional levels, including Dr. William Bauer, Dr. John Duff, Dr. Norman Weinberg, Dr. Tami Draves, Dr. Shelly Cooper, Dr. Mark Eichenberger, Dr. Andrea Venet, Dr. Elizabeth Soflin, Dr. Jeff Hewitt, Dr. Kevin Cross, Dr. Kevin Holzman, Mark Richardson, Gregg Hansen, Jay Rees, Glen Crosby, Robin Horn, and Sean Gordon. Some of his teaching mentors include Darrell Prochaska, Russ Granillo, Toru Togawa, Mark Hodge, and Nicholas Rayas.

Mr. Knepper has been a band director at Ironwood Ridge since 2016. He was the Associate Director of Bands and Percussion Director from 2016-2020 and became Director of Bands in 2021. Before coming to Ironwood Ridge, he directed the percussion sections at Canyon del Oro High School and Amphitheater High School, and maintained a large private percussion studio in Tucson.  

Mr. Knepper's ensembles regularly receive high ratings from adjudicated festivals throughout the Southwest. Numerous students from Mr. Knepper's ensembles continue to be accepted into music education, performance, composition, and therapy programs, inspiring others through the power of music.

In addition to conducting, teaching, and performing, Mr. Knepper is an accomplished composer/arranger. He has written music for ensembles throughout the United States and still composes and arranges music regularly.

Mr. Knepper is a proud member of the following organizations:

Besides teaching, Mr. Knepper enjoys performing, music production, cooking, traveling, video games, videography, gardening, and supporting the U of A Wildcats - GO CATS!


Most importantly... Mr. Knepper enjoys spending time with his amazing wife, family, and friends.


Mr. Knepper can be reached at dknepper@amphi.com