Command Staff

Colonel Thomas H. Palmatier
Ballston Spa, New York
Commander and Conductor
E-mail: thomas.palmatier@us.army.mil

Major Bruce R. Pulver
Melbourne, Florida
Deputy Commander
Associate Conductor/OIC, Concert Band
E-mail: bruce.pulver@us.army.mil

First Lieutenant Curtis Kinzey
Dayton, MD
Associate Bandmaster
Officer in Charge, Soldiers' Chorus
E-mail: curtis.kinzey@us.army.mil

Chief Warrant Officer Gordon K. Kippola
Seabeck, Washington
Bandmaster
Director/Officer in Charge, Jazz Ambassadors
E-mail: gordon.kippola@us.army.mil

Command Sergeant Major David W. Keller
Bergen, New York
Command Sergeant Major
E-mail: david.w.keller@us.army.mil

Colonel Thomas H. Palmatier was appointed Commander and Conductor of The U.S. Army Field Band of Washington, DC, in September 2007. Prior to this he served as Commandant of the U.S. Army School of Music, responsible for the training of Army Band Soldiers, Noncommissioned Officers, Warrant Officers, and Commissioned Officers for the Army’s 106 bands worldwide. His previous assignments include Commander of the U.S. Army Europe Band and Chorus, Executive Officer to The Adjutant General of the Army, and the Department of the Army Staff Bands Officer, overseeing band activities for all Active, Reserve, and National Guard bands. Earlier assignments included command and staff positions in Army bands around the world, to include service with The United States Army Band in Washington, DC. Additionally, he supervised musical support for the 1989, 1993, and 2001 Presidential Inaugural celebrations.

Colonel Palmatier holds a Bachelor of Music degree, Magna cum Laude, in Applied Music from the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, New York, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Music from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. His military education includes attendance at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College where he received the Smythe Award as the top student of military history. He completed his studies at the Army War College in July 2006, when he received a Master of Strategic Studies degree. A member of the Army War College Association, he also belongs to the Adjutant General Corps Regimental Association.

Colonel Palmatier is former Director of the Rochester International Tattoo and former Principal Director of Music for the Virginia International Tattoo. He was also Music Director of the Dominion Brass Band, which won the Honors Section of the North American championships in 1996. His professional affiliations include the North American Brass Band Association, of which he is Past-President and an Honorary Lifetime Member, and the National Band Association.

Colonel Palmatier has received numerous military honors to include two awards of the Legion of Merit and seven awards of the Meritorious Service Medal. He was the first Army Band Officer to earn both the Parachutist and Air Assault Badges. He also earned a combat patch for service in El Salvador. He is married to the former Shirley Fuller, a retired Army officer and has a daughter, Gabrielle, who teaches ballet in Los Angeles, California.

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Major Bruce R. Pulver joined The U.S. Army Field Band as the Deputy Commander and Associate Conductor in April of 2008. He is a native of Melbourne, Florida and holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Master of Music Education degree from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Major Pulver began his military career in 1993, serving as a percussionist with the First Army Band at Fort Meade, Maryland and later the 98th Army Band at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Following these assignments, Major Pulver became the Executive Officer of the Army Ground Forces Band at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Georgia. From 1998 to 2001, Major Pulver served as Commander of the U.S. Army School of Music. In 2002, Major Pulver became the Executive Officer of the United States Army Europe Band and Chorus in Heidelberg, Germany. His most recent assignment was serving as the Department of the Army Staff Bands Officer. Prior to entering military service, he taught in the Mississippi public schools as a high school and middle school band and choral director.

Major Pulver's extensive military training includes the successful completion of the Primary Leadership Development Course, Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Air Assault School, Fort Belvoir, Virginia; Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning, Georgia; Airborne School, Fort Benning, Georgia; Adjutant General Officer Basic Course, Fort Jackson, South Carolina; the Army Band Officer Course, Norfolk, Virginia; Adjutant General Captain’s Career Course, Fort Jackson, South Carolina; and the Combined Arms and Services Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

An accomplished Soldier, Major Pulver's numerous military awards and decorations include: the Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the NATO Medal, the Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, the Army Superior Unit Award, the Air Assault Badge, and the Parachutist Badge.

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First Lieutenant Curtis Kinzey became the Associate Bandmaster of The United States Army Field Band in July 2007. A native of Dayton, Maryland, he received his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Westminster Choir College.

Lieutenant Kinzey enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2002 and served with the United States Army Band as a member of the Army Chorus. After receiving his commission in 2007, he was assigned to The United States Army Field Band. Lieutenant Kinzey has worked extensively in the greater Washington, DC, area, including positions as Music Director at Cherrydale United Methodist Church and the Founding Music Director of Baltimore's Young Choral Artists. He also served as Music Director of The Choral Scholars in Princeton, New Jersey. As a baritone soloist, Lieutenant Kinzey has performed with the Princeton Baroque Orchestra, the Fredericksburg Chamber Chorus and Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Lieutenant Kinzey's vocal teachers include Kevin Deas, Elem Eley, Dalton Baldwin, and Glenn Parker. He has studied conducting with Joseph Flummerfelt, Allen Crowell, James Jordan, and Andrew Megill, in addition to working with Robert Shaw as a member of the Robert Shaw Festival Singers.

Lieutenant Kinzey has received the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal. His professional affiliations include Chorus America and the American Choral Directors Association.

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Chief Warrant Officer Gordon K. Kippola enlisted in the Army in 1982 after earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After completing Basic Training at Fort Rucker, Alabama, Mr. Kippola completed Advanced Individual Training at the United States Army Element School of Music in Norfolk, Virginia. Following this, Mr. Kippola was assigned to the 6th Army Band in San Francisco as a trombone player.

Other assignments during Mr. Kippola’s enlisted service include the 2nd Infantry Division Band at Camp Casey, Korea; the 1st US Army Band at Fort Meade, Maryland; the 8th US Army Band in Seoul, Korea; and the 399th Army Band at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He also completed a staff assignment at the Armed Forces School of Music.

Mr. Kippola was appointed a Warrant Officer in 1996, with his first assignment at the 10th Mountain Division Band, Fort Drum, New York. He then commanded the 1st Infantry Division Band in Germany and Iraq. Prior to his assignment as an Associate Bandmaster with The U.S. Army Field Band, he commanded the 77th Army Band at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal. He is married to the former Trecia Karinshak, who is currently pursuing a doctorate in statistics at Oklahoma State University.

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Command Sergeant Major David W. Keller was appointed Band Sergeant Major of The United States Army Field Band of Washington, DC, in March 2002. Originally from Bergen, New York, he enlisted in the Army in 1975.

After graduating from Basic Training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, he attended Army Basic Musicians Course at the Armed Forces School of Music in Norfolk, Virginia. In 1976, he was assigned as bassoonist with the 389th Army Band at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. He completed the Army's Primary Leadership Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in 1979 and the Army Band Section/Group Leader Course at the School of Music in 1980. He was assigned to the 298th Army Band in Berlin, Germany, from 1981 to 1984, assuming additional duties as Drum Major and Noncommissioned Officer-in-Charge of Supply.

In 1984, he completed the Army Enlisted Bandleaders Course in Norfolk, and returned to Fort Dix, New Jersey. During his tenure as bassoonist with the 19th Army Band, he served as Administration Noncommissioned Officer, Woodwind Group Leader, Noncommissioned Officer-in-Charge of Supply, and Drum Major for more than 450 ceremonies. He also completed the Advanced Noncommissioned Officer Course in 1985.

From 1989 to 1992, Command Sergeant Major Keller was assigned to the 214th Army Band at Fort McPherson, Georgia, as Double Reed Section Leader and Noncommissioned Officer-in-Charge of Supply. In May 1992, he was reassigned to Fort Meade, Maryland, as Noncommissioned Officer-in-Charge of Supply for The United States Army Field Band.

Command Sergeant Major Keller's military awards include the Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Good Conduct Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal (Berlin), and the National Defense Service Medal.

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