Faculty — Gunn Instrumental Music

Todd Summers

*[Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Freshman Concert Band, VAPA IL]*
**Todd L. Summers** is a 1990 graduate of Capital University Conservatory of Music, Columbus, Ohio. He taught instrumental music in Ohio for ten years prior to moving to California. He has been the Director of Bands at Gunn since 1999. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Capital University Conservatory of Music (Ohio) and Master of Arts in Instrumental Conducting from Ohio University. His primary conducting teachers were Dr. Timothy Swinehart (Capital University Conservatory) and Dr. John Climer (Ohio University). He studied saxophone with Dr. Jim Carroll and Dr. Matthew James and clarinet with Dr. Rebecca Rischin. Mr. Summers also received a Masters in Educational Administration in 2003 from Santa Clara University, CA.
Mr. Summers was named Teacher of the Year in June 2010 at Gunn High School and received the California Music Educators Association “Gilbert T. Freitas Outstanding Bay Section Instrumental Teacher of the Year” in 2011. He served on the board of CMEA Bay Section as President from 2014-2018. Mr. Summers was inducted into the John Philip Sousa Legion of Honor in December of 2017 and was awarded the CMEA Bay Section Outstanding Music Educator in January 2020.

Tiffany Ou-Ponticelli

*[Chamber Orchestra, both String Orchestras, Symphony Orchestra]*
**Tiffany Ou-Ponticelli** teaches orchestra at Gunn High School in the Palo Alto, CA. Ms. Ou-Ponticelli holds a B.A. in Music Education (viola) from UCLA and a master’s degree in Music Education from the University of Michigan. In the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, she studied viola with Richard O’Neill, and she received her teaching credential from the UCLA Teacher Education Program. Ms. Ou-Ponticelli has taught in the Palo Alto Unified School District since 2012, where her orchestras at Gunn High School and previously at Fletcher Middle School, consistently receive superior ratings at festivals. In Ms. Ou-Ponticelli’s tenure, Henry M. Gunn High School Orchestras have performed at conferences including the Midwest Clinic International Band & Orchestra Conference (2022), the American String Teachers Association National Orchestra Festival (2018), and were named “Grand Champions” at the Orchestra Cup National Orchestra Championships (2024).
Ms. Ou-Ponticelli currently serves as President of the California Orchestra Director's Association (CODA), as Secretary of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) national Board of Directors, and as Website Editor for California Music Educator’s Association (CMEA) Bay Section. She has also held positions as CODA All-State Orchestras Coordinator, CODA Secretary, CMEA Bay Section Orchestra Representative, and has served as a member of the American String Teacher’s Journal Editorial Committee. Ms. Ou-Ponticelli has presented at state and national conferences including ASTA and CASMEC. She was the recipient of the 2022 CMEA Bay Section Outstanding Orchestra Educator Award, and the 2023 CMEA State Richard L. Levin Orchestra Educator Award.
Ms. Ou-Ponticelli is an active clinician and invited guest conductor for regional and state-wide honor orchestras across the United States. In addition to her orchestral background as a conductor and violist, she is a lifelong choral singer and currently performs as an alto with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. Ms. Ou-Ponticelli holds a Level III Orff Certification and is an advocate for incorporating Orff pedagogy in the secondary ensemble setting. Her research interests include musical self-efficacy, repertoire diversity, and solfège singing for instrumentalists.

Felipe Morales-Torres

[Chamber Orchestra, both String Orchestras, Symphony Orchestra]

Felipe Morales-Torres is an orchestra teacher, conductor, clinician, and researcher dedicated to empowering the next generation of musicians and teachers. This fall, he will join the music team at Gunn High School after 15 years leading public school and community-based orchestra programs in the Cincinnati region. He conducted the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Orchestras’ Concert Orchestra for 10 years, working with staff and students to develop a unique ensemble experience that explored a diverse range of repertoire and its socio-historical contexts. Under his direction, the Concert Orchestra was named a national finalist for the 2019 American Prize in Orchestral Programming and was selected to open the 2020 Ohio Music Education Association State Conference in a featured ensemble performance.

In addition to his roles with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Morales previously served as the orchestra director for Anderson High School and Winton Woods City Schools. The Anderson orchestras were known for their focus on symphonic orchestra literature, but Mr. Morales also helped students engage in a variety of new musical outlets, such as feature-length film concerts, staged ballets, and the Anderson Contemporary Ensemble (ACE). During his tenure at Winton Woods, the orchestra program doubled in size and offerings expanded to include electric ensembles, summer camps, frequent guest artists, and multicultural performance tours. He was recognized with the district’s Most Influential Teacher Award twice, in 2015 and 2017.

Most recently, Mr. Morales has served as the Assistant Director of the Bornoff Foundation for the Advancement of String Education (FASE), an organization dedicated to furthering equity in orchestral music education. He is the co-creator and manager of the FASE Diverse String Teachers Fellowship, which brings teachers together from across the country and provides opportunities for training, funding, resources, leadership, mentorship, and community. He also leads national and regional teacher workshops, presents clinics at state and national conferences, and conducts honors ensembles throughout the United States and Latin America.

Although he started his musical life as a violist, Mr. Morales later pursued bassoon performance and string music education at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. In 2019, he completed a Masters degree in Music Education and Orchestral Conducting, and he is now pursuing doctoral studies through Boston University. He has also participated in a number of professional conducting fellowships, working with Diane Wittry (Allentown Symphony), Gzegorz Nowak (London Philharmonic), and Leonid Grin (National Symphony of Chile). In 2022, he received CCM’s Young Alumni Award for his contributions to music education in Cincinnati and beyond.

Patrick Nguyen

*[Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Freshman Concert Band]*
Patrick Nguyen is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education. During his time at UNC Charlotte, he held several leadership positions, including President of The Brass Guild, Vice President of the Sigma Beta Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and Executive President of the university's chapter of the Collegiate National Association for Music Education (CNAfME).
Mr. Nguyen joined the Cox Mill High School Marching Band staff in 2022, contributing to a wide range of program areas such as field instruction and show design. In January 2025, he began his student teaching residency with the East Lincoln High School Bands, where he has had the opportunity to teach and learn alongside both the Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble. Mr. Nguyen co-conducted the Symphonic Band at his first Music Performance Assessment (MPA) in the spring of 2025, where the ensemble received straight superior ratings for the first time since 2018. Mr. Nguyen is excited to be joining the Gunn High School and JLS Middle School music programs as he returns to the Bay Area!

Shawn McGinn

*[Jazz Big Band]*
**Shawn McGinn** teaches Big Band Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Band II at Gunn and Elementary Band in PAUSD. Mr. McGinn has a B.A. in Music Education from Gonzaga University, with a Master’s Degree in Conducting from Southern Oregon University. Working previously in Morgan Hill, Mr. McGinn served as the Director of Instrumental Music and VAPA coordinator at the secondary level. He has guest conducted at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, and was named Teacher of the Year at his school sites in 2014, and 2018. Mr. McGinn has performed in a variety of ensembles in Japan and Europe. Mr. McGinn is celebrating 21 years in Music Education.