In June of 2005, Lt. Col. Timothy J. Holtan assumed command as the 22nd Leader of the United States Military Academy Band, West Point, NY, where the band has been in continuous residence since 1817.  He is a native of Bismarck, North Dakota, and a former public school music educator in Montana.

An active conductor, adjudicator and clinician, Lt. Col. Holtan has presented concerts and clinics in 37 states, Canada, Japan, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Europe, and for the International Association of Jazz Educators, North American Brass Band Association, Walt Disney World, the Atlanta International Band and Orchestra Conference and the 1988 Winter Olympics.

In 2000, Lt. Col. Holtan was selected for the Army's "Training with Industry" program.  He served as the Director of Operations and Associate Conductor of the Dallas Wind Symphony, while concurrently pursuing post-graduate studies at the University of North Texas.  Lt. Col. Holtan holds music education degrees from Montana State University and the University of Montana, and has pursued additional conducting studies with Elizabeth Green, H. Robert Reynolds, John Paynter, Larry Rachleff, Jerry Junkin and Eugene Corporan.

Lt. Col. Holtan's military assignments include: Deputy Commander of the U.S. Army Field Band, Fort Meade, Maryland; Department of the Army Staff Bands Officer, where he had administrative purview over the 105 Army Bands; Commander of the U.S. Continental Army Band, Fort Monroe, Virginia; and Executive Officer of the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” Washington, D.C., where he served in overlapping capacities as Director of the Ceremonial Band, the Brass Band, the Chorale and the Chorus.  He also served as Student Company Executive Officer at the U.S. Army School of Music in Norfolk, Virginia.

Lt. Col. Holtan’s ensembles have been seen on national broadcasts of network television, A&E, TNN and C-SPAN, and diverse stages such as the Kennedy Center, DAR Constitution Hall, the Mormon Tabernacle and the Myerson Symphony Center.

In 2001, Lt. Col. Holtan was honored as Alumnus of the Year by Bismarck State College, and in 2006, he was inducted into the Bismarck High School Hall of Fame and named to the National Band Association Board of Directors.

Master Sergeant Gerald Cates, from Tullahoma, Tennessee, has been a member of the U.S. Military Academy Band since June of 1989.  He received a bachelor's degree from Tennessee Technological University in 1985, and a master's degree from the University of Illinois in 1986.  Prior to joining the band, MSG Cates was Director of Bands for the Marshall County Public Schools in Lewisburg, Tennessee.  In addition to performing with the Concert Band, MSG Cates is a member of the West Point Tuba Quartet, Regimental Brass Quintet and the West Point Dixie Players.  He is also the concert band librarian.