Staff

Pre-University Percussion Group is founded and directed by Mr. Galen Lemmon, Principal Percussionist with Symphony San Jose. He is currently celebrating his remarkable 52nd year as a member of the orchestra. A distinguished figure in the Bay Area music scene for over five decades, his career is marked by exceptional performance and a dedication to percussion education.

He recently retired in 2024 as Principal Percussionist with the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music after years of dedication to the orchestra, an achievement recognized by his induction into the Cabrillo Festival Hall of Fame. While at Cabrillo, he worked with conductors such as Marin Alsop and Cristian Macelaru, and collaborated with world-class artists like Evelyn Glennie and Colin Currie, and renowned composers including Christopher Rouse, Jennifer Higdon, Philip Glass, and John Adams.

A frequent soloist, Mr. Lemmon has premiered and performed major works, including being the first American percussionist to perform Avner Dorman's “Spices, Perfumes and Toxins,” a work he presented with Symphony San Jose and the Oregon Symphony. He has performed with every professional orchestra in the Bay Area, including touring and recording with the San Francisco Symphony, and was a regular performer with the New Century Chamber Orchestra under the direction of master violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg.

His extensive recording resumé from sessions at Skywalker Ranch includes video games (Gran Turismo, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Uncharted I and II, and Starcraft II), films (In the Electric Mist, 18 Again, and Ghosts of Girlfriend’s Past), commercials, Universal Studio rides, and Disney projects.

Mr. Lemmon received both his Bachelor of Arts and Master’s degrees in percussion performance from San Jose State University (SJSU), and retired in 2021 as the Director of Percussion Studies at SJSU. His prior teaching posts also include San José City College and California State University, Stanislaus.

His legacy as an educator is evident in his students consistently winning top honors and earning placements in all the top youth orchestras and bands in the Bay Area. In the Santa Clara County Honor Band from 2009–2013, he achieved an astounding run with 33 out of 35 students selected. He has several students who have been selected as soloists for youth orchestras in the Bay Area and have won the Southern CA Marimba Competition and the Great Plains Marimba Competition. His students have gone on to win a majority of places in the CA Chapter of PAS Percussion Competition and have been accepted into the National Youth Orchestra (NYO) and NYO2.

Originally from Hong Kong, Chris Pun is a professional percussionist based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Chris grew up in Hong Kong and spent 5 years with the Hong Kong Vigor Marching Band, performing locally and competing internationally in Asia. That experience inspired him to major in music when he studied abroad.

In 2021, Chris earned his Bachelor of Music in Music Education from San José State University, where he studied with Galen Lemmon. In the same year, he won third place for the Electronic Accompaniment Division at the PAS California Chapter Competitive Festival. In 2020, he was a featured soloist with the SJSU Wind Ensemble performing Viet Cuong’s Re(new)al: Percussion Quartet Concerto at the California All-State Music Education Conference (CASMEC). He also went on tour in South America with the San José Youth Symphony in 2019.

As an educator, he has taught and coached in the South Bay, including San José Youth Symphony and Silver Creek High School. He has also served as a percussion manager at the California All-State Music Education Conference (CASMEC) for 4 years. He currently teaches at Pre-University Percussion Group, coaching young percussionists in the Bay Area.

Besides performing and teaching, he currently works at Bronstein Music as an office manager and a woodwind/ brass repair apprentice, serving the Bay Area music community and beyond.

Niles Flynn graduated Cum Laude from San Jose State University, College of Music and Dance with a degree in Music Education and Percussion Performance. Niles has worked with many great music educators: Jake Nissly (San Francisco Symphony), Galen Lemmon (Symphony San Jose), and Bryce Leafman (San Francisco Symphony). 

He has been a fellow at the Colorado College Summer Music Festival for two consecutive years studying with John Kinzie and Aiyun Huang. 

Niles performs regularly with many groups around the Bay Area such as the Oakland Municipal Band, Children’s Music Theatre, Blue Devils Entertainment, Mission Chamber Orchestra, Santa Cruz University, Cambrian Symphony, Cabrillo College, Master Sinfonia Chamber Orchestra, Espressivo Chamber Orchestra amongst many others. Niles also teaches privately and with after-school ensembles. Niles aims to continue to build a career performing and educating while inspiring those around him to seek out the beauty, truth, and joy in music.

Jeffrey Marcos, a San Francisco native, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Percussion Performance from San José State University (SJSU) where he studied with Galen Lemmon. Jeffrey is currently an active freelance percussionist and educator in the San Francisco Bay Area.

As a performer, he was a member of the SJSU Wind Ensemble throughout his entire college career. He was also a part of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra (SFSYO) for two seasons, working with conductors Christian Reif and Daniel Stewart of the Santa Cruz Symphony. Jeffrey also performs with community, youth, and professional orchestras in the Bay Area including San Francisco Philharmonic, California Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, San José Youth Symphony, the conductorless orchestra One Found Sound, Symphony San José, and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music among others.

As an educator, Jeffrey has served as a Percussion Manager for the California All-State Music Education Conference (CASMEC). He also coaches percussionists throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Currently he holds percussion instructor positions at Amador Valley High School, Harvest Park Middle School, and the Pre University Percussion Group.

Nia Truong Le is a former Pre-University Percussion Group member who just graduated from Evergreen Valley High School in 2025.  She joined the Pre-University Percussion Group in 2023 and is now working as a teacher's aid at the Pre U.  

In prior years, she was a committed member of her high school’s Wind Ensemble, Jazz band, Percussion ensemble, and Philharmonic Orchestra.  She has played in the San Jose State University Honors Wind Ensemble for a total of three years.  Nia has also gotten the opportunity to travel and perform at various locations, such as Carnegie Hall and Boston Symphony Hall.  

In addition to percussion, Nia is currently studying Communications at De Anza and Foothill College.  She plans to transfer to a 4-year university in a year to pursue her education, but plans to continue playing music in college as well.  When she is not playing percussion, she also works as a private swimming instructor and assistant swim team coach at the Creekside Cabana Club.  She will also be joining the San Jose Wind Symphony this upcoming Fall.