Steve Adams
SM South Band Diretor
Mr. Adams has been the director of the SM South band since 1986-87. Previous to that, he taught band in Baldwin, KS, grades 5-12. His undergraduate and graduate degrees are from the University of Kansas.
Graduating from SM South in 1979, playing trombone in the South bands was the foundation for a great high school experience. It was here that Mr. Adams realized the importance of quality music, student leadership, and team work are essential to a quality band program. Ending up at South was a dream come true!
Mr. Adams is married to "the world's greatest band trip chaperone", Shari, who is also a '79 SMS grad. They have two kids: Megan who is in law school at Brooklyn Law, and Tom who is a civil engineer in Tulsa.
Megan Hoelscher
Indian Woods Band Director
Megan Hoelscher, a UMKC graduate, is the director of the Indian Woods Middle School band which is the only middle school to feed SMS. Under Megan's teaching, the IW's band is considered one of the top middle school programs in the region. The ties continue. after being hired while in college to work with the marching band for two years, Megan student taught at SMS and IW and was hired upon graduation as the director at IW. Besides being an excellent teacher, Mrs. Hoelscher is a top competitive distance runner and a fine trumpet player. She has won both the Kansas City and St. Louis marathons! Megan's commitment to her training should serve as a model of what setting a goal and working to earn it is all about. Besides her work at IW, Megan helps out with the marching band, spearheads the band's 5K, and assists on all of our trips. Megan's husband found his career in finance but he is a former "scream' trumpet player in high school and UMKC. He gets and supports his wife's dedication to her students. Yep, the rest of the staff are all fans of Doug.
Cynthia Hartwell
SM South Spanish Teacher
SM South Band Assistant
Cynthia Hartwell teaches Spanish at South and works with the band during 1st hour. Cynthia is a 2009 SMS graduate, former band president and was an all state trumpet player. Throughout her college career at William Jewell College, she was very active in music and now plays all over town in professional and top-flight amateur ensembles. She was the Megan Taylor soloist with the band in 2014. Her knowledge, enthusiasm, and high standards have been very helpful to recent successes in the band. In addition to her Spanish classes and her role with the band, Ms. Hartwell is the SMS Stuco sponsor. She IS the Energizer Bunny!
Paul Schapker
South Area Elementary Band Teacher
SM South Assistant Band Director
Mr. Schapker is the newest member of the staff, joining us in 2016. Paul is a KU grad and earned a graduate degree in conducting at Oklahoma State University. While at KU, he was hired as our percussion instructor with the marching band. Paul has taught band in Goddard, KS and was the assistant director and elementary band instructor in the SM North area. He now has this role in the South area. Mr. Schapker also plays with the KC Chiefs' "Rumble" drum line and in a local rock band, the Hamelins, that includes his brother. Mr. Schapker's influence has already been seen in the training of the marching band. He has taken over design and drill writing responsibilities for the Rompin' Stompin' Raider Band.
Evan Maslak
SM South Percussion Instructor
Freelance Percussionist
Evan Maslak works with the marching band percussion and the percussion ensembles during concert season. He is a highly respected percussion teacher at Kansas City Percussion Studios, and is the assistant director of the Kansas City Youth Percussion Ensemble. Evan is a very active freelance musician and is the drummer with the popular regional group, the Mikey Needleman Band. In his first year at South, Evan and our percussion students received first division ratings with both the symphonic and concert band ensembles. The symphonic group earned 79 out of 80 possible points!