Director & Coach Bios
Isabelle Zapata, Band Director
Ms. Zapata has been involved in the performing arts her entire life! As a child, she performed in community dance recitals and musical theater productions and participated in the band (symphonic, jazz, marching) and choir programs offered at her schools. In high school, she fell in love with the marching arts, and went on to perform with nationally competing winter drumlines (WGI), such as OCI and Pulse Percussion, and Drum and Bugle Corps(DCI), such as the Academy, and Pacific Crest. She went on to receive her degrees in Instrumental Music Education (BM) and Percussion Performance (BM), as well as her single subject teaching credential (music) from CSU Long Beach. She also holds an MA in Elementary Education from SDSU, and an Associates degree in American Sign Language and Deaf Studies from Palomar College. She has completed the first two levels of Orff certification training, and is currently pursuing a second masters degree at the University of San Diego in Nonprofit Management and Leadership. Outside of Cardiff Schools, Ms. Zapata shares her passion for music with students as a front ensemble coach for San Marcos High School.
Ms. Zapata, though primarily a percussionist, has played the clarinet and alto saxophone in wind bands and jazz ensembles throughout her education, and taught elementary strings for five years with the Long Beach Harmony Project. While studying at Long Beach State, she discovered her passion for ethnomusicology (the study of world music cultures/traditions throughout history) and worked to further her knowledge of diverse music traditions and to advocate for the inclusion of world music studies in K-12 public school music curriculum. She was named a Global Scholar for her efforts. To this day, she explores traditions from around the world and performs in community ensembles.
As a lifelong animal-lover and advocate for avian conservation, you can also find her caring for a flock of companion parrots and leading youth education programs at the Free Flight Exotic Bird Sanctuary 501(c)3 in Del Mar.
Khoi Le, Flute Coach
Khoi is a dedicated flute instructor who approaches music with both technical precision and artistic passion. He currently works as an engineer building a new medical center at the Miramar Marine Base and double majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Political Science at SDSU. Khoi believes that mastering technique serves a higher goal, which is to foster a lifelong love for music and empower every student to confidently express their unique voice through the flute.
Matthew LeFebvre, Percussion Coach
Matthew LeFebvre is a percussionist, music educator, and conductor based in Cardiff, California. An Ada Harris Elementary School alumnus, he began playing percussion in the Wildcat Band in 5th grade and has since become enamored with the world of classical percussion. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Music degree from the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, where he primarily studied under timpanist and percussionist Gregory Goodall. As an educator, alongside the Wildcat Band program, he serves as a teaching artist at the San Diego Youth Symphony and a percussion coach for five band programs in the San Dieguito Union High School District. As a performer, he is a member of classical and jazz ensembles around the area, notably as a section percussionist of both the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus and the Finest City Wind Orchestra. As a solo artist, his recent engagements include a recital as part of San Diego Mesa College’s Recital Hour and the San Diego Percussion Festival as a member of San Diego-based percussion ensemble Finest City Percussion Collective.