Chris Henderson

Director of Programs

Chris has been a Pulse Director since 2015. Chris spent his early years performing as a musician throughout the country, which developed his unyielding passion for working with youth arts education and nonprofits. After ending his time as a performer, Chris shifted his career to the back of house in roles such as Tour Management; Administrative Operations; Risk Management; Safety, Health, and Wellness; and Set Design and Fabrication.

Outside of Pulse Percussion, Chris has served as a music and visual performance educator at several high schools in the Southern California area. Chris also serves as the Corps Director at the DCI World Class Ensemble, Pacific Crest and a "White Suiter", for the Tournament of Roses. Chris's full time work is in Huntington Beach as the Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts Technical Theater Director servicing year round performances in the nearly 100 year old historic theater.

Chris also has worked for the Walt Disney Company in Anaheim since 2005 in such roles as: research and product development in confections and as a coordinator and facilitator for the Disney Performing Arts program, now known as !magination Campus.

He was born and raised in the Southern California area.

CARRI buffington

Pulse Percussion Director

Carri is a teacher for the Chino Valley School District area and is a professor of study skills at Mt San Antonio College. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from University of California, Riverside and worked as an archaeologist for many years. She then returned to school to get a master’s degree in education and teaching credential from Chapman University and has been working as a teacher since. 

Carri performed throughout high school in marching band and color guard. After high school she was a member of Pacific Crest Drum and Bugle Corps and marched independent colorguard for several seasons. This inspired two of her children to join and perform in both the Townsend Jr High School marching band and drumline and the Chino HS marching band and drumline. Her love for the activity led to her wanting to give back to music students by helping in the band boosters. She has served as the Townsend JHS and Chino Hills HS Band Booster President for ten years which led her to join the Pulse team to continue helping people in the activity she loves. 

Alfredo Alamillo

POW Percussion Director

Alfredo is a SoCal based musician and educator. He has marched with Santa Paula High School, Elan Percussion, Gold, POW Percussion and has been a member of the media and admin teams for Pacific Crest. He has also gigged with bands across LA and made his international debut premiering music for chamber ensembles in Duino, Italy.

Alfredo earned undergraduate degrees in music and communication studies, and comlpeted his masters in music composition with an education focus from the California Institute of the Arts. His work in education includes serving as a graduate lecturer at CalArts, the former Director of Education & Administration at the California College of Music, and conducting scholarly research on the music of ancient Mexico. He currently works as a category manager in the musical products industry, forecasting sales and corporate purchasing for pianos, keyboards, and synthesizers. When he’s not working in or academia, Alfredo loves teaching kid’s music classes and coaching his niece’s T-Ball team.

TiBet leon

Pulse Percussion Ensemble Assistant

This is Tibet's first year working with Pulse. He worked as an assistant director for POW last year. Tibet grew up in Arizona before moving to Southern California to pursuit higher education. Tibet has performed with Phenom Soundsport, Odyssey Indoor Percussion, Golden Empire Drum and Bugle corps, POW Percussion, and Breakthrough Indoor Percussion. He has also worked with Carolina Crown and Santa Clara Vanguard as a Tour Administrator and Phoenix Union Indoor as a Front Ensemble Technician. Tibet is currently a Foundation Coordinator at the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs Foundation.

Derrick Kammer

Pulse Percussion Ensemble Assistant

This is Derrick’s first year working with Pulse. He worked as an ensemble assistant for POW last year. He grew up in San Bernardino, CA and became aware of the activity in the early 2010’s when his older sister played marimba for Cajon High School. Derrick marched as a cymbal player for POW Percussion from 2019-2022. He has also recently graduated from California State Polytechnic University Pomona with a degree in Music Pedagogy, with his main instrument being the Baritone Saxophone.

Jayden Heddon

POW Percussion Ensemble Assistant

This is Jayden’s first year working with Pulse. Born and raised in Lakewood, California, Jayden is currently studying Music Education at San Diego State University with an anticipated graduation in 2025. He has marched with Mayfair High School, Tri-City Percussion, Gold Drum and Bugle Corps, and Gold Indoor under the direction of Eric Shriver.

Omar Mondragon

POW Percussion Ensemble Assistant

This is Omar's first year working with POW. He grew up in Colton, CA and has performed with Velocity Percussion, Catalyst Percussion, Gold Indoor Percussion, Gold Drum & Bugle Corps, and the Riverside City College Marching Tigers. He marched his ageout season with POW Percussion in 2023. He is currently the Percussion Caption Head at Valley View High School and a Front Ensemble Tech at Arlington High School. Outside of the Marching Arts, Omar is pursuing his Bachelor's degree in History at the University of California, Riverside.