Sunman Dearborn Comunity Schools Band Staff

Perry A. Ralenkotter
Director of Bands Sunman-Dearborn Middle School

Mr. Ralenkotter is in his 20th year of teaching and his 17th year as director of bands at Sunman-Dearborn Middle School in St. Leon, Indiana. He began his career in 1988 teaching in Cobb County, Georgia. In 1991 he began his career at
S-DMS with 140 students. Within four years the program had grown to 445 students in grades six through eight. The Advanced, Concert, Discovery and Jazz bands at S-DMS have consistently received superior ratings at the Indiana State School Music Association festival and at other local festivals. The Advanced Band has also been awarded a Superior With Distinction in Indiana. Only 39 of 749 performing ensembles in the state received this distinction in 2003. Mr. Ralenkotter is active as a clinician and adjudicator in the region and is a founder of the St. Leon All Star Band. In December of 2005 Mr. Ralenkotter was invited to present at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic to discuss recruiting beginning band students.

On January 14, 2006 the S-DMS Advanced Band performed at the Indiana Music Educators Conference in Indianapolis. He has taught two seasons at the Stephen Collins Foster summer music camp at Eastern Kentucky University and has been featured twice as School Band and Orchestra’s 50 directors who make a difference.

Mr. Ralenkotter is a native of Florence, Kentucky. He attended the University of Kentucky where he studied trumpet under the direction of Vincent DiMartino. Mr. Ralenkotter completed his student teaching with Dr. J. Steven Moore the then director of bands at Lafayette High School in Lexington, Kentucky. He completed a Master of Music in Music Education degree at the University of Kentucky in 2003. He is currently pursuing a D.M.A. at Boston University. He has two sons Andrew (18) and Matthew (14). Mr. Ralenkotter enjoys distance running and triathlon. He is a member of IMEA, NEA, Phi Mu Alpha, and USAT. Mr. Ralenkotter is a Yamaha clinician.

In June of 2008 Mr. Ralenkotter will return as the middle school director of the Stephen Collins Foster Music Camp. It is one of the longest running summer music camps in the nation.