Alumni Spotlight

"I started in church and went on to perform in churches around my local and surrounding areas. With church, came school and the West Carteret Bands program. Jazz, Wind Ensemble and Marching Drumline."

Schooling allowed me to develop my music reading skills, perfect my ability in dynamics and strengthen musical techniques. I gigged throughout high school with different musicians and learned how to play jazz drums. This created the opportunity to audition and make the all-state jazz band in North Carolina three out of four times.

In college I learned a bit of music theory and enhanced my jazz drumming. Since college, my playing and touch expanded, and have not been the same since! Out of college, I gigged around the triangle area of North Carolina with peers and professors alike.

"I hope my sound can continue to touch every heart, soul, and mind. I am very grateful for the opportunity to play drums in whatever setting, and I hope to be able to do so forever."
— Xavier "X"

Most well known as the drummer for the Christian rock band Building 429. The band has released more than half a dozen albums including the popular 2011 album Listen to the Sound and the 2013 album We Won't Be Shaken.

Before Fame

He was hired as a drummer for Building 429 in 2003 after the departure of former drummer Saul Johnson. He'd previously played for the band Remember Jonah.

In 2005, Building 429 won a GMA Dove Award for New Artist of the Year. In June 2016, he celebrated his ten year anniversary with his wife Hannah.

Originally from Morehead City, NC, Capt. Hults is responsible for organizing, training, equipping, and deploying 60 Airmen in 10 different musical configurations throughout a nine-state region of more than 869,000 square miles.

Education & Early Career

Capt. Hults was a member of the West Carteret Bands serving all four years as a Marching Patriots Drum Major, Trombonist, & Pianist. Capt. Hults graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Music Education from East Carolina University. He later completed a Master of Music degree in wind conducting and piano performance at the University of Arkansas, followed by doctoral coursework in wind conducting at Michigan State University. Prior to his military service, he served as a dedicated high school band director in both North Carolina and Arkansas.

Air Force Leadership & Performance

Entering the Air Force in 2018, Capt. Hults has led musicians and ensembles featured at multiple national conferences, performing with internationally renowned groups like the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Boston Brass. His ensembles have collaborated with award-winning artists such as Trisha Yearwood, James Taylor, Trombone Shorty, and William Shatner.

He has enjoyed conducting at The Kennedy Center, the White House on numerous occasions ranging from Garden Tours to the National Tree Lighting, and at the Library of Congress for the 100th anniversary of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. In addition to his Air Force duties, Capt. Hults keeps an active guest conducting schedule and is a committed advocate for music education nationwide.