The Staff of the Rampart High School Bands and Orchestra are one of the most important attributes to the students’ success. With such a large and wonderful group of students, it is impossible for the director to give each individual student attention. The Staff are very talented and have many professional musical experiences. It is our privilege to have them work with our band.
2025-2026 STAFF:
DIRECTOR OF BANDS – Keith Acuncius
Keith Acuncius has been the Director of Bands at Rampart High School since June 2014, leading the program to new heights of excellence. Under his direction, the Rampart High School Marching Band was crowned the 2024 4A Colorado Bandmasters Association State Champion and has consistently earned finalist recognition at Bands of America Regional Championships across the country.
Beyond the marching program, Mr. Acuncius has cultivated a tradition of excellence in all aspects of Rampart’s band program. The Advanced Jazz Band has been a featured performer at Denver’s renowned Dazzle Jazz Club and was honored as a Colorado Music Educators Association (CMEA) performing ensemble in 2017. Additionally, Rampart’s concert ensembles have received invitations to the Colorado Bandmasters Association State Concert Band Festival every year since 2018.
Mr. Acuncius is actively involved in the broader music education community. He currently serves as the Instrumental Chair-Elect for the Colorado Music Educators Association and is a member of the Colorado Bandmasters Association Marching Affairs Committee.
Before joining Rampart, Mr. Acuncius was the band director at Olathe Middle and High Schools in Olathe, Colorado, where he played a pivotal role in expanding the program, more than doubling its size between 2010 and 2014. His dedication to music education was recognized in 2013 when he was named Montrose County School District’s Teacher of the Year.
Mr. Acuncius holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting from Sam Houston State University. Outside of teaching, he remains an active performer, playing with the Academy Jazz Ensemble and Colorado Brass, a competitive British-style brass band based in Denver.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF BANDS – David Altman
David Altman began teaching at Rampart High School in 2021, where he serves as the Assistant Director of Bands and Director of Orchestra. Since joining the staff at Rampart, he has helped lead the Rampart Regiment Marching Band to 5 state finals appearances. Most recently in 2024 and 2025 the band won back-to-back Class 4A State Champion Titles. The Rampart Regiment was also named 2A Class Champions at the 2025 BOA Las Cruces Regional contest. His concert and jazz bands have also received Excellent ratings at festivals across the state of Colorado.
Mr. Altman believes in creating a culture of excellence across all aspects of the band program. Music and Arts education is central to developing well rounded young people and is a cornerstone of a healthy society. Every student, whether they play an instrument or not, should feel welcome in our band room.
Prior to moving to Rampart, Mr. Altman served as Band Program Assistant at Boonville High School in Boonville Indiana. Mr. Altman is also an alumnus of the World Class Drum and Bugle Corps, Carolina Crown, where he marched euphonium during the 2015-2017 seasons.
In his free time, Mr. Altman enjoys playing with the local community band, adding to his Lego collection, going to the gym, and playing Xbox. Mr. Altman completed his student teaching at Whiteland Community High School in Whiteland, Indiana under the mentorship of Peter Sampson. He received his Bachelor of Music Education Degree from Ball State University in May of 2020.
PERCUSSION DIRECTOR – Dalton Van Hook
Dalton has been Rampart’s Percussion Caption Head and Percussion Director since the summer of 2018. Dalton started instructing percussion in 2013 and is an alum and founding member of Rise and Altitude percussion ensembles. He served as Front Ensemble Caption Head for Black Diamond Percussion in 2020 and reinstated the marching indoor percussion program at Rampart High School, ending their first season back in 4th place. Dalton has since contributed to the success of the Rampart Regiment and indoor percussion program maintaining finalist placements.
In his free time, Dalton enjoys working on cars and motorsports, audio engineering, and writing music.
BATTERY TECH – Zach Van Hook
Zach Van Hook is a percussionist and educator based in the Colorado Springs area. Having performed with a wide variety of musical ensembles with different backgrounds, Zach seeks to inspire and educate students, as well as grow the percussion community in the state of Colorado.
Zach received his education from Colorado State University in 2022, where he studied under Dr. Eric Hollenbeck and Shilo Stroman earning his Bachelor’s degree in percussion performance. At Colorado state he had the privilege of playing with the universities top ensembles and orchestras, as well as having the honor of representing Colorado with Colorado State at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC), performing as part of the international percussion ensemble competition. He has also had extensive experience in the Marching Arts to include 7 years of WGI predominantly with the Blue Knights Percussion ensemble and 3 years of Drum Corps experience with the Battalion Drum and bugle corps.
As a teacher Zach has worked with several schools to include Windsor High School, Air Academy High School, and Rampart High School since the 2022 Marching Band season. He is proud to continue his work with this program and assist in the development of a culture of excellence of which the students can be proud.
MUSIC STAFF – Madison Tallman
Madison Tallman is a professional flutist and teacher originally from Colorado Springs. She received a Bachelor of Music, Business Minor, and Music Entrepreneurship Certificate from the University of Colorado Boulder and received a Master of Music degree and an Arts Management Certificate from Colorado State University.
Her teaching is centered around building confidence, critical thinking skills, curiosity, and fun. She believes in supporting students’ creative endeavors. She wants students to feel challenged while providing a safe space for creativity.
Madison is a substitute player with the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra and the Longmont Symphony Orchestra.
Her previous teachers include Dr. Ysmael Reyes, Dr. Michelle Stanley, Christina Jennings, Jennifer Keeney, and Dr. Nancy Andrew.
MUSIC STAFF – Dr. Ryan Spencer
Technical Sergeant Ryan Spencer joined the United States Air Force Academy Band (Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado) in September 2021. He currently performs on trumpet with Stellar Brass, Concert Band, Marching Band, Falconaires Jazz ensemble, and as a solo bugler. He also serves as Team Lead for the Music Library.
Dr. Spencer has been a performing musician along the Front Range since 2004. He has performed with Colorado Symphony, Denver Brass, Cheyenne Symphony, and Denver Philharmonic, among others. He is Artistic Director and soprano cornetist for Colorado Brass, a local competitive non-profit brass band. He won a position with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic Orchestra in May 2023.
As an educator, Dr. Spencer has taught drum corps and marching band since 2012, as well as trumpet and music theory privately for 12 years. He attended CU-Boulder for his BM and DMA degrees, and University of Denver for his MM. He holds certificates in music theory and music technology, and studied trumpet with Alan Hood, Justin Bartels, Ryan Gardner, Tom Booth, and Terry Sawchuk. Dr. Spencer is an alumnus of Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps, and taught Bluecoats for several years, between 2012-2017, including the Bluecoats’ first-ever DCI Championship win. He is originally from Marietta, GA, and enjoys hiking, camping, snowboarding, and coffee.
SAXOPHONE INSTRUCTOR – Ryan Janus
Ryan Janus is extremely excited to be a part of the staff for this incredible music program at Rampart High School. He is a full-time performing musician with the US Air Force Academy band, touring and recording with their concert (principal sax), marching, jazz and rock bands on a number of instruments. As a member of the USAFA band, he is grateful to have performed over 1000 concerts in 45 U.S. states and 11 foreign nations, NFL halftime shows, national TV broadcasts, and for 4 U.S. presidents.
In addition, Ryan loves teaching and has a long history with marching bands dating back to his high school years with the BOA-Finalist Prospect HS and the top-10 DCI drum corps The Colts out of Iowa. He has composed music for state finalist/champion bands in 6 states, including Rampart. Ryan loves teaching and has coached and taught privately his entire adult life, at all levels from elementary school through universities and all ages from 4 to 84. He has degrees from Hope College (BM, BA) and the University of South Florida (MM) in math and music, and he loves hiking and taking road trips with his large family.
CLARINET INSTRUCTOR – Ian Buckspan
CONTACT the RHS BAND DIRECTORS:
Rampart High School
8250 Lexington Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80920
Office Phone: 719-234-2085
Keith Acuncius, Director
keith.acuncius@asd20.org
David Altman, Assistant Director
william.altman@asd20.org