Melinda Leoce is the Tenure-Track Assistant Professor of Percussion and Music Business at Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado. In her role at Adams State, Melinda teaches applied lessons, directs the percussion ensemble, and teaches classes in the department including Percussion Literature and Percussion Methods. Melinda also serves as the Secretary of the Colorado chapter of the Percussive Arts Society (PAS). In the summers Melinda teaches on the percussion faculty of Interlochen Arts Camp (IAC), a role she has held since 2022.

Prior to teaching at Adams State, Melinda served as the Instructor of Percussion and Director of Athletic Bands at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, and as the PAS Iowa chapter President. Her research interests include percussion ensemble, percussion pedagogy, non-western percussion, steel pan performance and pedagogy, marching percussion, and more.

Recent highlights of Melinda’s professional career include appearances with the Des Moines Symphony (2017—present), appearances with the Traverse City Philharmonic (2025—present), a performance with Carl Dixon, Jorge Alabê, and colleagues at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana (2025), a residency at the University of North Florida (2023), and a visit to Dordrecht in The Netherlands to work with the Jubal Drum & Bugle Corps where she served as Front Ensemble Arranger (2021—2023). She has also performed at the P.A.S. International Convention with the Indiana University and Florida State University Percussion Ensembles, and as a snare drummer with the Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps.

Melinda has an extensive background in percussion education. While completing her graduate studies, she served as an Associate Instructor at Indiana University and a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Florida State University. She has presented clinics and masterclasses at P.A.S. Days of Percussion and percussion festivals throughout the United States and has taught with many high-level marching organizations including Jubal Drum & Bugle Corps based in The Netherlands, Crossroads Indoor Percussion, the Indiana State University Marching Sycamore Drumline, and the Mililani High School Marching Trojan Drumline in Mililani Town, Hawaii. Active as an arranger, groups including Indiana University, the University of North Texas, Adams State University, Graceland University, and the University of Central Florida have performed her arrangements.

In December of 2023, Melinda earned her Doctorate in Percussion Performance from Indiana University-Bloomington. View her dissertation, Percussion for the Non-Percussionist: A New Approach to Teaching the Methods Course, here. She holds a Master’s Degree in Percussion Performance and a Certificate in World Music from The Florida State University and a Bachelor’s of Music Education Degree from the University of Central Florida. Her teachers include Jeffrey Moore, Kirk Gay, Dr. Thad Anderson, Dr. John Will Parks IV, Dr. Michael Bakan, Kevin Bobo, Steve Houghton, Michael Spiro, and John Tafoya.

Daniele Morgan Photography