Directors

Alexander M. Wilga

Alexander M. Wilga serves as Director of Bands and Director of the Marching Blue Devils at Davenport Central High School in Davenport, Iowa.  Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Mr. Wilga attended VanderCook College of Music where he was awarded a B.M.E. in May of 2009.  Mr. Wilga received an M. Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Buena Vista University in July of 2017 and received an Ed.S. in K-12 Educational Leadership from Northwest Missouri State University in 2024.  Mr. Wilga has studied with Dr. Charles Menghini, Dr. Robert Sinclair, Dean Stacy Dolan, Professor David Eccels, Dr. Ken Thompson, Mr. Eric Blankenship, and Mr. Michael Young.  Mr. Wilga is also an alumnus of The Pioneer Drum and Bugle Corps from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he spent two seasons as a member of the euphonium section and three seasons serving as the corps’ drum major.  He aged out of The Pioneer Drum and Bugle Corps and Drum Corps International at the Rose Bowl Stadium in 2007.

Under his direction, Davenport Central has seen tremendous growth and success in the band program.  He is the primary director of Wind Ensemble, and assists the Freshman Concert Band and Symphonic Band.  Mr. Wilga also serves as the director of the very successful Marching Blue Devils.  He teaches all brass lessons, conducts numerous brass ensembles, and serves as the brass and visual caption head of the Marching Blue Devils.  The students and ensembles under his direction perform at a high level and consistently receive Division I “Superior” Ratings at Iowa High School Music Association events.  In May of 2013 and May of 2020, the Davenport Central Wind Ensemble was selected as a clinic band for the Iowa Bandmasters Conference. The Davenport Central Wind Symphony, which was established in the 2021-2022 school year, was selected as the elementary/junior high new music reading ensemble at the May 2022 Iowa Bandmasters Conference. In March of 2023 the Wind Symphony performed at Orchestra Hall in Chicago, IL as part of the Percy Grainger Wind Band Festival. In May of 2019, the Davenport Central Wind Ensemble Brass was selected to perform a lobby concert at the Iowa Bandmasters Conference.  In 2015 the Marching Blue Devils represented the State of Iowa in the National Independence Day Parade in Washington, D.C.  The Marching Blue Devils traveled to London in late December of 2022 and participated in the 2023 London New Year’s Day Parade.  In addition to his duties at Davenport Central, Mr. Wilga enjoys an active schedule as an adjudicator in Iowa and Illinois. 

Mr. Wilga is a recipient of the Dr. Lewis A. Schmidt Citation of Excellence Award.  The Dr. Lewis A. Schmidt Citation of Excellence Award recognizes the commitment, passion and loyalty displayed by VanderCook alumni who are making a difference in the music education profession.  Mr. Wilga is a two time GRAMMY Teacher of the Year quarterfinalist.  In 2016, he was awarded the Certificate of Merit for Marching Excellence from the National Band Association. In 2017 and 2022 Mr. Wilga was awarded the Citation of Excellence from the National Band Association. Mr. Wilga was named a 2022 Yamaha 40 Under 40 Music Teachers that are Making a Difference.  Mr. Wilga has been a model teacher and a collaborative teacher team guide within the Davenport Community School District’s Teacher Leadership Program.  He is the high school representative on the Davenport Community School District Music Curriculum Council.  Since 2011, Mr. Wilga has served as the Southeastern Iowa representative on the Iowa High School Music Association Marching Band Affairs Committee, the Iowa Bandmasters Association Research and Development Committee, and currently serves as the chair of the Iowa High School Music Association/Iowa Bandmasters Association Concert Band Affairs Committee. Mr. Wilga also serves at the President of the Southeast Iowa Bandmasters Association and the Iowa State Chair for the National Band Association.

Mr. Wilga’s professional affiliations include NAfME, NBA, IBA, SEIBA, and Phi Mu Alpha.  He lives in Davenport, Iowa with his wife Laura, who is an elementary teacher in the Pleasant Valley School District, and their son Benjamin. 

Emma Lemke

Ms. Emma Lemke serves as Associate Band Director at Davenport Central High School and Director of Percussion Studies.

Ms. Lemke is originally from the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. She earned her Bachelor in Music Education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2023. She was a member of the percussion studio and studied with William Moersch and Ricardo Flores. While at Illinois Ms. Lemke was a player in the following ensembles: Wind Orchestra, Percussion Ensemble, Steel Pan Band, Philharmonic Orchestra, Wind Symphony, and University of Illinois Symphony Orchestra. She was also a four year member in the Marching Illini and two year section leader of the Illini Drumline playing bass drum.

David W. Nicholson

Mr. David W. Nicholson serves as Co-Director of Bands and Director of Jazz Studies at Davenport Central High School. He is the primary conductor for the Freshman Concert Band and assists Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble. He is also the director of Jazz Two and the woodwind caption head for the Marching Blue Devils.

Mr. Nicholson has been an instructor across central and eastern Iowa, including Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Independence, Iowa City, West Branch, and West Des Moines. Mr. Nicholson has his own private saxophone studio in which his students make tremendous growth.

Mr. Nicholson is an alumnus of the University of Iowa where he received his Bachelors in Music Performance with Teaching Certification in May of 2018. He studied under distinguished faculty at the University of Iowa including saxophonists Dr. Kenneth Tse and Dr. Damani Phillips. While at the University of Iowa, Mr. Nicholson performed in numerous ensembles including, Symphony Band, Johnson County Landmark, Jazz Combo, Saxophone Quartet, the Iowa Saxophonists’ Workshop, the Iowa Volleyball Pep Band, and the Hawkeye Marching Band. His highlights musically include performing with the Symphony Band under the direction of Dr. Mark Heidel and Dr. Myron Welch at the Iowa Bandmasters Association, being a four year member of Johnson County Landmark, being a founding member of the top undergraduate jazz combo, performing with the Iowa Saxophonists’ workshop in Hong Kong and Chengdu, China, and taking a concert tour of the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Northern Ireland. He has had the pleasure of directing the University of Iowa Volleyball Pep band for two years. In addition to performing, Mr. Nicholson served as treasurer for the collegiate chapter of the National Association for Music Education for three years.

Rebekah L. Fackler

Mrs. Rebekah Fackler serves as Associate Band Director at Davenport Central High School and lead the 5th and 6th grade band at Madison Elementary School.

This will be Mrs. Fackler’s third year teaching. She previously was the 7th - 12th grade music teacher at AlWood Middle-High School in Woodhull, IL. She is a part of the Orion Community Band and the Monmouth Municipal Band performing on clarinet, bass clarinet, or alto saxophone. She also marched mellophone at River City Rhythm Drum and Bugle Corps in 2019.

Mrs. Fackler received her Bachelors in Music Education from Western Illinois University (WIU) in December of 2019. While at WIU, she performed in different ensembles including concert band and orchestra on the oboe; jazz band, pep band, and marching band on the alto saxophone; and university band on the french horn while also performing one year on mellophone in the marching band.