Staff Sergeant Rachel Hertzberg, originally from Montvale, New Jersey, joined the West Point Band in January of 2010. She earned her Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University, where she studied with Rex Martin. She subsequently attended Arizona State University, where she studied with Sam Pilafian, earning her Master of Music in tuba performance. Staff Sgt. Hertzberg has attended various summer music festivals, including the Aspen Summer Music Festival & Institute, the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute.

Staff Sergeant Bill Owens, from White Plains, New York, joined the West Point Band in the fall of 2011. After earning his Bachelor of Music from the Juilliard School in 2005, Bill moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a free-lance chamber and orchestral musician. He has quickly established himself in southern California by performing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the San Diego Symphony and Opera Orchestra, the Riverside Philharmonic, and the Ojai Festival Orchestra. Staff Sgt. Owens was a member of the national touring ensemble Presidio Brass, a chamber ensemble dedicated to furthering the art of the brass quintet as well as enriching the lives of students and children through educational workshops and classes. With his Presidio Brass colleagues, Bill also played in southern California’s only brass, organ, and percussion ensemble, Millennia Consort.

Staff Sergeant Mikki Skinner joined The Hellcats in November 2008. Prior to joining, she earned a Bachelor of Music from the University of Oklahoma with Dr. Karl Sievers and was a master's degree candidate at the Cleveland Institute of Music where she studied with Michael Sachs of the Cleveland Orchestra. While pursuing her studies, Staff Sgt. Skinner performed with various orchestras throughout the United States and Europe including the 2006 Young Euro Classic Festival (Berlin), Aldeburgh Festival at Snape Maltings (England), Festival de Musique de Menton (France), Musica Riva Festival (Italy) and the Gastieg (Munich), where Staff Sgt. Skinner performed as principal trumpet with the Youth Orchestra of the Americas under the baton of Placido Domingo.

Staff Sergeant Matthew B. Smith, originally from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, joined the West Point Band in September of 2010.  Staff Sgt. Smith received his Bachelor of Music in horn performance from Arizona State University (2001), and then pursued graduate studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and the University of Louisville.  Staff Sgt. Smith’s principal teachers include Thomas Bacon, William Lane, Randy Gardner, Duane Dugger and Bruce Heim.  Prior to joining the West Point Band, Staff Sgt. Smith spent three years with the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Band at Fort Monroe, VA.  While with the TRADOC Band, he performed in brass quintet and concert band, and served as Chief Audio Engineer.  Staff Sgt. Smith has also performed with the Phoenix Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony and Pops, Richmond (VA) Symphony, Virginia Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic and Louisville Orchestra.

Staff Sergeant Curtis Starr, originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, joined the West Point Band in November of 2007. Staff Sgt. Starr earned his Bachelor of Music in trombone performance from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, where he studied with Lee Rogers. Prior to his appointment at West Point, Staff Sgt. Starr pursued a Master of Music at Southern Methodist University, where he studied with John Kitzman, principal trombonist of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and West Point Band alum. Curt has twice participated in the International Festival-Institute at Round Top, and once with the Texas Music Festival in Houston.