Alex Braud is a percussionist and educator based in ElPaso, TX. He is currently the Head Band Director at Burges High School in ElPaso, TX. Previously, Alex was the Assistant Band Director and Assistant Director of Percussion for Pecos High School, and Director of Percussion at Howe High School. His students have advanced to the UIL State Marching Contest, Texas State Solo and Ensemble Contest, and have been members of the Texas All-State Bands. The Pride of Pecos Marching Band remains a consistent Bands of America Regional and Super Regional Champion. He holds a Master of Music degree from Lamar University, where he studied Percussion Performance with Dr. Francisco Perez and served as a Graduate Assistant for the LU Band program, assisting with instruction of the Show case of Southeast Texas Drumline and LU Percussion Ensemble. A graduate of the University of Central Missouri, he holds bachelor’s degrees in both Percussion Performance and Music Education. While at UCM, Alex was active in all areas of the percussion studio and was an undergraduate staff member of the Marching Mules. An advocate for new music in percussion, Alex has been a part of several consortiums, including works by Steven Snowden, Molly Joyce, Jennifer Jolley, Ivan Trevino, and Caleb Pickering. As a participant at the Sō Percussion Summer Institute, he aided in the development of works by composers Michael Gordon, Natalie Dietterich, Ethan Isaac, David Carlton Adams, Joshua Muetzel, and others. In 2022, he and composer Alexis Lamb collaborated on a set of pieces for young percussionists to be paired with electronics, premiered at the 2022 Virtual PASIC. An active performer, he has played percussion with several regional orchestras in Texas and Missouri and was a member of the Kansas City Chiefs Rumble Drumline. Alex also spent a summer as a counselor and percussion performer at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. Alex was a performer in both WGI and DCI with Gateway Indoor and the Oregon Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps and has served on the staffs of the Louisiana Stars Drum and Bugle Corps, Oregon Crusaders, and Compass Drum and Bugle Corps. Alex is a member of the Percussive Arts Society, the Texas Music Educators Association, and is a proud endorser of Sabian Cymbals.