🥁 🎺 Percussion/Winds Evaluation, plus Hands-On Clinics

Director Information

PRESENTED BY

Mark Quiñones | Photos from this event can be found here!

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Percussion/Winds Eval Staff

Overall: Shelby Shelton

Battery: Russell Wharton

Front Ensemble: Lee Allman

Winds: Josh Thye

Hands on Clinic:

• Snare: Brandon Olander
• Tenors: Miles Kenobbie
• Bass: Giselle Coll
• Cymbals: Kristina Haney
• Front Ensemble: Nathan Smith

Contest Staff

Contest Administrator: Danielle Dorks Gray

Timing and Penalty: Karen Herrera

Sound Engineer: Anthony Montoya

Tabulation: N/A

CLINICIAN BIOS

Lee Allman is a freelance music arranger and educator. Lee is the front ensemble arranger for The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps. He has worked at Avon High School for thirteen years, arranging for and instructing the front ensemble. Lee is an experienced arranger and has written music for American Fork HS, Bentonville HS, the Yokohama Inspires, The University of Alabama Million Dollar Band, and the Crossmen Drum & Bugle Corps.

Lee resides in Avon, IN, with his wife, Vi, and their dog, Kari. In his free time, he teaches Rhythm X and enjoys watching the Indianapolis Colts and the Scuderia Ferrari. Lee holds a B.M. in percussion performance from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. He is also a proud endorser of Innovative Percussion, Avedis Zildjian, and Tama-Bergerault.

A native of Central Texas, Shelby Shelton is an active performer, adjudicator, and educator living in Maryville, Missouri. She is currently serving as the director of percussion at Northwest Missouri State University and the Front Ensemble Coordinator at Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps.

Shelby is passionate about all things marching arts and worked with the Cavaliers drum and bugle corps from 2019-2023. During that time , the percussion section won the Fred Sanford High Percussion Award (2023). She has instructed many other groups including the Sacramento Mandarins, Madison Scouts, George Mason Indoor percussion, Music City Drum Corps, James Madison Marching Royal Dukes, Father Ryan High School, and Veritas indoor percussion. Shelby has performed three seasons as a member of the Tennessee Titans Blue Crew drumline.

In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Shelby is a member of the Percussive Arts Society Marching and Rudimental Percussion Committee and the Percussive Arts Diversity Committee. Shelby is also currently pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts in percussion performance at James Madison University studying with Casey Cangelosi. Her academic research is centered on emotive gestures and expression within the context of front ensemble.

Shelby holds a Master of Music degree in percussion performance and a B.A. in music education from Middle Tennessee State University. She also has a B.A. in Percussion Performance and a B.A. in English Literature from Lindenwood University. Shelby proudly endorses Innovative Percussion, Pearl/Adams, and Zildjian cymbals.

Russell Wharton is a freelance percussionist, composer, and educator living in the Nashville, TN area. He is a Caption Head for The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps percussion section, a bass drum instructor for Rhythm X, and a member of the percussion faculty at Middle Tennessee State University.

Russell was a member of the bass drum section at The Cavaliers from 2008-12. He taught at the Boston Crusaders from 2013-14, and has been back home teaching The Cavaliers since 2015. He has also worked with Monarch Independent and Cavaliers Indoor Percussion.

In addition to his teaching engagements, Russell works full-time as a composer and arranger. His work is split between fall/winter marching arrangements, concert percussion commissions, and original music for percussion and multimedia. Many of Russell’s compositions can be found on Tapspace Publications and at russellwhartonmusic.com

Russell proudly endorses Innovative Percussion, Remo Drumheads, Pearl/Adams, and Zildjian.

Josh Thye is currently serving as the Coordinator of Fine and Performing Arts for the Tempe Union High School District in Arizona. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Arizona, where he earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education. He also holds a Masters degree in Administration through the University of Phoenix and a Masters degree in Instrumental Conducting through the American Band College of Sam Houston State University. Thye was previously the Director of Bands at Desert Vista High School in Phoenix, Arizona from 2003 until 2022, where he also served as the Fine Arts Department Leader, 2008-2014, and Assistant Principal of Activities (Interim), 2022-2023.

During his time at Desert Vista, his groups performed at the Music for All Festival in Indianapolis (2012) and the Chicago Symphony Hall (2016). He is a 4-time invited performer at New York's Carnegie Hall (2008, 2014, 2018, and 2020) . Thye has also performed at the Arizona Music Educator Association’s state conference twice, in 2011 and 2019. At the 2015 Super Bowl XLIX (49), the Desert Vista Marching Band was featured at the NBC pregame broadcast with Bob Costas, and the Game Day Fan Plaza and NFL Experience. Additionally, his marching band was the featured performing group used for welcome events for the 2016 College Football National Championship in Arizona, and represented Arizona at the Centennial Celebration of the Lincoln Memorial monument in Washington, D.C. (2022). He is a 9-time Arizona State Marching Champion with the Desert Vista High School marching band and has been named a finalist for the Governor's Arts Award in 2013 and the Excellence in Education Award by Tempe Diablos in 2014. For his dedicated work as a teacher, he was honored with the Outstanding Teacher Award by his school in 2011 and received the "Best High School Teacher" award from Ahwatukee Foothills Newspaper in 2013. Thye was further recognized as one of “Ahwatukee's Top 5 People” in 2012. In 2022, Thye was included in the Marquis Who’s Who in America (Music Educator), and also inducted into Phi Beta Mu, an international bandmasters fraternity.

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HANDS ON CLINICIANS

BRANDON OLANDER - SNARE

Brandon Olander is a drummer, educator, and clinician from Tucson, Arizona. Brandon fell in love with drum corps at age 10, when he saw a video of the Blue Devils drumline on YouTube. He marched in his first indoor drumline the same year, and soon after, became well known by a video of him playing with the Blue Devils drumline in 2010. In 2013, he marched his first year in Drum Corps International with The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps, and the following summer, at 16 years old, joined the Blue Devils. Brandon marched with the Blue Devils for five seasons, winning three Drum Corps International World Championships, two Snare Drum Solo championships, and one High Percussion trophy. Brandon has taught drumlines and private students since 2016, including individuals and groups from multiple countries, sharing the expertise he’s gained from his drum corps experience. He also plays drumset in several projects, including alt rock band Droll, and plays regularly with many artists local to Tucson.

MILES KENOBBIE -TENORS

Miles was born and raised in Arizona and has been teaching percussion all around the valley for many years. His tenor marching experience consists of three years with Breakthrough Indoor Percussion (2013-2015), two years with The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps (2014 & 2015), two years with the Sun Devil College Marching Band (2014 & 2015), two years with The Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps (2016 & 2017), and four years with Riverside City College (2016-2019). He graduated from ASU with a Digital Culture (Music Concentration) Degree in 2018 and continues to pursue elements in music production and performance. He has taught at DCI groups such as The Academy and Cavaliers, is currently teaching at Arizona State University, is the Percussion Caption Head at Gilbert High School, and is the Battery Designer and Coordinator at Breakthrough Indoor Percussion.

GISELLE COLL - BASS

Giselle Coll is a phoenix area native with nearly a decade of experience in the marching arts. Giselle has been an active member of the Arizona Percussion Community since her time at Shadow Mountain High School - where she began drumming as a sophomore - and has been involved with WGAZ as a member of Linea (2019, 2021), and Breakthrough Indoor percussion (2022). Since graduating from Arizona State University’s College of Health solutions, Giselle has remained active in the local percussion community serving as a clinician and staff member. During her time at Arizona State Giselle was an involved member of the Sun Devil Marching Band (2019-2024)and Kappa Kappa Psi (2019-2023), serving as head drum major and chapter president. Currently, she performs with the Arizona Cardinals drum line and serves on staff at Campo Verde High School, where she shares her passion in helping students grow on and off the field.

KRISTINA HANEY - CYMBALS

Kristina is an Arizona native who has performed with a variety of medal-winning ensembles in and out of state. Her marching career started with Basha High School where she was a member of the cymbal line for indoor drumline as well as the marching band. After graduation, she marched with the Arizona State Sun Devil Marching Band (2009-2010). She joined Dark Sky Percussion in 2010 and was section leader in 2011. In 2012, she moved to California to march Pulse Percussion where the group took home 3rd place at WGI World Championships. Kristina has also marched drum corps with Cascades (2010) and Pacific Crest (2011). Kristina is currently on the visual staff with Desert Vista High School and Mountain View (Mesa) High School for marching band, and Williams Field High School for their indoor percussion group. She has previously taught various ensembles in Arizona, as well as in California with Pacifica High School. Kristina proudly endorses Zildjian cymbals.

NATHAN SMITH - FRONT ENSEMBLE

Nathan Smith is an Arizona based artist whose compositions blur the lines between contemporary, classical and traditional folk music. He strives to blend his love of mallet percussion with singer songwriter and folk traditions. “I love the honesty and storytelling that comes with the singer/songwriter tradition, and it’s my desire to incorporate that sincerity into my own playing and composing." Nathan Smith was born and raised in the Dallas, TX area surrounded by a dense jazz and gospel scene. Growing up encompassed in drumline and drum corps, he has been active in the marching arts for over a decade. Nathan graduated from the University of Missouri, where he studied classical percussion under Dr. Julia Gaines. In 2013, Nathan settled in Austin, TX, where he became part of the city’s thriving music scene. During his time in Austin, he developed a passion for singer/songwriter music, worked within many different music styles, and won Austin Unsigned Artist of the Year award, as well as the LA Music Critics blog’s number one single award and fan favorite awards. In 2017, Nathan moved to Valencia, Spain to pursue his master’s degree in Contemporary Performance from the prestigious Berklee College of Music, studying under Victor Mendoza. After graduating in 2018 he traveled around Europe playing at many renowned and historic jazz clubs and music venues. He currently lives in Tucson, Arizona where he is pursuing his doctoral degree with Dr. Morris Palter, teaching courses in music production and runs the Crosstalk electronics percussion ensemble.

Ticket Information

WGAZ is ready for the new indoor season and excited for all the events to come. To ensure students, staff, and fans are safe and can easily access events, we have partnered with GoFan to provide digital tickets and contactless payments. To buy tickets, visit our GoFan page.

Purchase tickets here!

Ticket Prices:

General Admission - $12

5 and under - Free

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Fans:

• Your ticket purchase helps supports the event host, academic scholarships, educational clinics, awards and more.
• Limited seats will be available
• Ticket purchases will be online or through a QR code only
• Show proof of tickets on GoFan App to receive a wristband
• No food or drink will be allowed in the gym
• WGAZ recommends fans to arrive 30 minutes before scheduled performance times
• Schedule is subject to change
• As safety is paramount to all performers, any type of flash photography is strictly prohibited. Family, friends and fans may take still photos of WGAZ events for personal use only. Small, non-professional, single frame “point & shoot” cameras are allowed into all venues. Any camera that has a detachable lens or lens that extends to four (4) or more inches is considered a “Professional Camera” and thus prohibited.
• There is no video recording permitted at any WGAZ event. Any liability associated with unauthorized recordings will rest with the individual or organization making the recording. WGAZ does not condone, nor accept any liability for, any unauthorized recording during the event.