ABOUT

John Baudendistel is an active music composer, producer, and educator based in the Nashville/middle-Tennessee area.  He is the current band director at LaVergne Middle School where he teaches Beginning Band, Intermediate Band, Advanced Band, and Percussion Ensemble.  He frequently works with many percussion ensembles around Tennessee and performs around Nashville.  Mr. Baudendistel holds a Bachelors of Music Education degree from Middle Tennessee State University.  While at MTSU, John studied with Lalo Davila, Julie Davila, Dr. Matt Jordan, Dr. Brian Mueller, and Craig Cornish.

Mr. Baudendistel has extensive prior experience as a performer.  In the pageantry arts, he performed as a front ensemble member with Chattanooga Independent (2015), Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps (2015, 2016) and Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps (2017).  At MTSU, he was in the Band of Blue playing quads and bass drum.  In addition, he has performed with the Tennessee Valley Winds, Huntsville Youth Orchestra, Independent Musical Productions, Twickenham Winds, and side-by-side with the Nashville Symphony. He frequently plays drumset and percussion in Nashville and the surrounding areas.

As a percussion arranger, Mr. Baudendistel has worked with bands of multiple sizes and demographics throughout middle-Tennessee and North Alabama.  His compositions and arrangements regularly place high at competitions.  Previous clients include:

Columbia Central High School (TN)
Summit High School Band (TN)
Cascade High School (TN)
Smyrna High School (TN)
Lawrence County High School (TN)
Centennial High School (TN)
Green Hill High School (TN)
Watertown High School (TN)
Westminster Christian Academy (AL)
Lake Nona High School (FL)

Some recent awards include:

2025 - Columbia Central Independent Percussion
1st Place Gold Medal - Percussion Independent A SCGC Championships
"Powers of a God" - Percussion by John Baudendistel and Jayvon Treadway

2024 - Cascade High School Band
"TrainLapse"- Percussion by John Baudendistel
3rd Place Percussion - TN Div. II State Championships
Finalists at BOA Birmingham
Grand Champions/1st Place Percussion at Forrest Tournament of Champions

2022 - Green Hill HS Indoor Percussion
"We Bought a Zoo"

2021 - Cascade High School Band
"Apollo" - Percussion by John Baudendistel
1st Place Percussion - Mid-South Invitational
4th Place Percussion - TN Div. II State Championships

2018 - Westminster Christian Academy Band
"Amazing!" - Arranged by John Baudendistel

2018 - Summit HS Indoor Percussion
3rd Place Music - Percussion Scholastic A - SCGC Championships
"Happily Never After" - Percussion by John Baudendistel and Jayvon Treadway