Rick Astorga is the Associate Director of Bands and the Director of Percussion at Winston Churchill High School in San Antonio, TX, where his responsibilities include teaching drumline, front ensemble, concert percussion, steel drum band, as well as teaching percussion at Bradley, Eisenhower, and Jackson Middle Schools. 

With the help of Mr. Astorga, Churchill has now premiered their first-ever Steel Drum Ensemble and was invited as a performing ensemble for the 2022 Texas Music Educators Association Convention. The percussion section has received recognition and awards including Grand Champion at the South Texas Classic Drumline Contest in 2022. Mr. Astorga has also been given the privilege to present clinics at the Texas Music Educators Association Convention and the Texas Bandmasters Association Convention. He is a contributing author for the online resource, banddirectorstalkshop.com. He is also an active clinician and educator and has presented clinics at Texas State University, University of Texas at San Antonio, and the University of the Incarnate Word. Aside from his duties at Churchill, Mr. Astorga is also served as Chief Judge of Percussion for the Texas Educational Colorguard Association, an indoor circuit for San Antonio and south Texas regions. 

Rick Astorga received his Bachelor’s Degree in All-Level Music Education from Texas State University in 2010. There, he studied percussion with Genaro Gonzalez and drum set with jazz legend Butch Miles. In 2022, he graduated with a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of North Texas. He has a proud history with Drum Corps International, marching Revolution Drum and Bugle Corps in 2005 and 2006. He was also a member of the DCI Honor Corps in 2005 which selected the top performing members of DCI to march together at the 22nd Annual Disney World Christmas Day Parade which aired on ABC. Rick Astorga served as a coordinator for the Texas State University Percussion Summer Camp. There, he worked alongside educators such as Murray Gussack, Mike Macintosh, Bill Bachman, Glen Crosby, Ney Rosaro, Ndugu Chancler, Zoro, Chester Thompson, Arthur Lipner, Tom Aungst, Ed Soph, Butch Miles, and more. He has also been given the privilege to work with some outstanding groups such as 5 Points Indoor Percussion, Imperial Percussion Theatre, Genesis Drum and Bugle Corps, and the Texas State University Marching Band. 

Rick Astorga plays drums for Grace Point Church in San Antonio and is a member of the Texas Music Educators Association, the Texas Band Masters Association, and the Percussive Arts Society. He is an artist and educator for Vic Firth sticks and mallets, the Avedis Zidljian Cymbal Company, Remo Drumheads, and Pearl Drums and Adams Musical Instruments.