DIRECTORS

       A native of Waco, TX, Caleb Santacruz is entering his 5th year of teaching. Caleb is currently the Director of Bands at Watauga Middle School where he teaches the Honors Band and Beginner Flute, Clarinet, Trumpet, French Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, and Tuba. Before Watauga MS, Caleb was a band director at Haltom HS. While at Haltom, the Pride of Haltom was a 2023 participant in the 6A Texas State Marching Championships. His concert bands earned Superior ratings at UIL Concert and Sight-reading Evaluation, and in 2024, the HHS Honors Band was a Citation Winner in the Citation of Excellence Project by The Foundation for Music Education.

Caleb graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Texas Tech University in 2020. During his studies at Texas Tech, Caleb was a 4-year member of the Goin’ Band from Raiderland and the Texas Tech performing wind bands. He was also the founding director of the Texas Tech Undergraduate Conducting Project. While in college, he served as a conducting assistant with the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra and worked with band programs in the Waco, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Lubbock areas. Caleb student-taught in Leander ISD at Henry MS and Vista Ridge HS under the mentorship of Robert Herrings and Bryan Christian.

          Caleb was a clinician at the 2025 Texas Music Educators Convention. His professional affiliations include the Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

          Outside of teaching, Caleb enjoys going out on the lake, spending time with his friends and family, and traveling with his cat, Puma.

Miss Engelby is in her 34th year of teaching.  A graduate of the University of North Texas, she studied clarinet with Dr. John Scott and was drum major of the UNT Green Brigade. Miss Engelby was fortunate to teach her first year in Georgetown ISD and has since taught in the Haltom cluster of Birdville ISD.  

Her teaching responsibilities at Watauga MS are beginning band classes, assisting with the Honors Band, and conducting the Symphonic Band.  She is very proud that her students have the opportunity to continue studying music at Haltom HS, one of the finest band programs in the country.  

Her professional affiliations include Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, and the Fort Worth Audubon Society.  Miss Engelby enjoys playing golf, pickleball, and going for walks with her blue-tick beagle, Cody.  She is an avid Dallas Stars, Cowboys, and Texas Rangers fan.

Jacob Kline is a percussionist and educator based in Fort Worth, Texas. He completed his bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Houston, studying with Blake Wilkins and Alex Warren. During his time at UH, he was the principal percussionist in the Wind Ensemble, conducted by David Bertman, and the Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Franz Krager. In 2023, he relocated to Baltimore, Maryland, completing his master’s degree in percussion performance at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, studying with Robert van Sice, Ian Rosenbaum, Jeff Stern, and Jisu Jung.

While at Peabody, he had the privilege of playing in the Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop, as well as multiple performances with the Opera Orchestra, NEXT ensemble, Wind Ensemble, and many other miscellaneous chamber ensembles. Since 2024, Mr. Kline has been performing with the Kinetic Quartet, a percussion quartet dedicated to collaborating with composers to create new and unique musical works.

Mr. Kline has a wealth of marching band experience, graduating from L.D. Bell High School in Hurst, TX, before spending the 2018 and 2019 summers as a member of the Santa Clara Vanguard percussion section, winning two Fred Sanford High Percussion Awards and the DCI Founders’ Trophy. He is currently on percussion staff at the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps.

In his free time, Mr. Kline enjoys reading, playing video games, watching soccer, and spending time with family and friends. He is looking forward to a great first year at Haltom as the percussion director!