CAVALIERS DESIGN TEAM RETURNS FOR 2017 WITH MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Originally posted August 26, 2016 by Chris Lugo)
(ROSEMONT, ILLINOIS) – The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps is pleased to announce that David McGrath and the primary 2016 designers have returned as the creative force for The Cavaliers, starting a new multi-year agreement in 2017.
“We are charting the course for the next era of The Cavaliers, and this creative team is key to enhancing our brand and delivering a distinct, innovative, and consistent world-class experience to our membership and audience,” said Chris Lugo, Executive Director.
“In line with our strategic planning and organizational growth, we prepared three-year agreements for our principal designers because we are investing in their collective, long-term creative vision. This is going to be an inspiring ride," Lugo added.
"I am thrilled that our primary designers will all be returning as we begin planning for the 2017 season and beyond," said McGrath.
"A rare synergy has developed with this group of amazingly talented artists over the past ten months–a synergy based on complete trust and mutual respect. Having the opportunity to continue this voyage together–and to foster even stronger relationships as we do so–is very exciting!"
David McGrath returns to serve as Program Coordinator alongside a team that includes Daniel Wiles (Artistic Director), Richard Hinshaw (Drill Designer), Tommy Allen (Visual Designer), Michael Martin (Brass Arranger/Composer), Michael McIntosh (Percussion Arranger/Composer), Alan Miller (Percussion Arranger/Composer), and Blake Dutton (Color Guard Designer).
Newly appointed director of The Cavaliers, Joe Roach, expressed that "after the incredible 2016 season, there is no doubt in my mind that this is the creative team that will deliver hit after hit for our membership to bring to life in a way only The Cavaliers can."
Artistic director Daniel Wiles also noted his excitement to have the team returning for next season and into the years ahead. "The chemistry we were able to develop in just one year was simply tremendous, and that chemistry was certainly obvious to everyone here at The Cavaliers and to those across the activity."
"We can't wait to continue this journey for years to come here at The Cavaliers."
McGrath and the creative team have already begun planning for 2017, with conference calls ongoing and a September design retreat in the works.
"We look forward to providing our marching members and fans with productions that will be engaging, entertaining, and undeniably "Cavalier" in every way," McGrath added.
The Cavaliers audition process kicks off this fall with live events and video auditions. Head to audition.cavaliers.org to learn more about how to Be A Cavalier in 2017!
About David McGrath
David J. McGrath has directed high school bands the past twenty-nine years in both the states of Michigan and Georgia. He holds a BA from DePauw University and an MA from Eastern Michigan University. He is currently the Director of Bands at Kennesaw Mountain High School, in Cobb County, Ga. McGrath also serves as the Program Coordinator for The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps.
Concert Ensembles under his direction have received numerous honors including: invitations and performances for numerous regional and national concert festivals and clinics (including the 2010 Midwest Clinic, the 2000, 2006 and 2007 Bands of America National Concert Band Festival, and numerous state music association performances in both Michigan and Georgia). The Plymouth-Canton Educational Park Wind Ensemble had the honor of performing an hour-long concert for President Bill Clinton (1996).
Marching Bands under his direction have also received many honors which include: eleven appearances at the Michigan state marching band championships (capturing nine state championships); being consistent finalists at Bands of America events (the Lakeland High School Marching Band was named the 1992 BOA Class AA Toledo Regional Champion, the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park Marching Band was named the 1999 BOA Class AAA and Grand National Champion, the Carlton J. Kell High School Marching Band was a ten-time BOA Regional and Super-Regional finalist, and was named the 2010 BOA Jacksonville Regional Champion and 2010 BOA Akron Regional Champion). Most recently, the Kennesaw Mountain High School Marching Band was named the 2015 Jacksonville, Ala., Regional Champion, and the 2012 and 2014 BOA Class AAA National Champion (selected as a Grand National Championship Finalist Band both of those years).
Mr. McGrath is a six-time recipient of the National Band Association Citation of Excellence, and has been named a Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction. He is very active as a concert band, marching band, and drum-corps adjudicator and clinician, having judged finals at the Bands of America Grand National Championships, DCI World Championships (having served on the DCI Judge Liaison team during the 2013 season), and Japan Marching Band Championships. He is a member of Phi Beta Mu, the GMEA and the MENC.
He and his wife, Kimberley, live in Woodstock, Georgia, with their two sons, Nathaniel and Logan (ages 18 and 16).
About Daniel Wiles
Daniel Wiles has been teaching for over 25 years in the world of pageantry, and has been involved in Drum Corps and Color Guard since the age of 9. He resides in Avon, Ind., with his wife Sarah, and their beautiful children Olivia, Aidan, and Brennan. Daniel holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Secondary English Education from Indiana University. Daniel marched in the Cavalier Cadets from 1980 to 1984, and The Cavaliers from 1985 to 1989.
For the last 17 years, he has been the Visual/Program Coordinator and Color Guard Director for Avon High School. Avon HS is the 2008, 2009, 2010 Bands of America Grand National Champion. Avon HS has placed in the Top 3 at Grand nationals since 2007. Avon High School is also the 2009 WGI Scholastic World Champion and has been in the Top 5 since 2002.
He helped orchestrate the ascension of the Carolina Crown Drum & Bugle Corps as their visual coordinator from 2003-2008, and assisted in putting The Troopers back in finals as their visual coordinator from 2008-2010. In 2012, Daniel was the Visual coordinator/Drill designer for the Bluecoats. From 2002- 2004, Daniel served as a member of the WGI instructor task force. He has been a member of the WGI Advisory board for over 23 years! In 2009, Daniel received the prestigious Sudler Shield award as one of the directors of Avon High School.
About Richard Hinshaw
Richard Hinshaw is a visual designer and music educator with 24 years of experience in the marching arts. Richard studied trumpet at the Indiana University School of Music, and has crafted visual composition and show design skills under the mentorship of Daniel Wiles, Leon May, Michael Raiford, and Jay Webb.
Richard is currently the drill designer and lead visual instructor for the Avon High School Marching Black & Gold, three-time BOA Grand National Champions (2008, 2009, 2010). He serves in the same roles for the Avon Indoor Winter Percussion, perennial WGI Scholastic World Finalists. Richard is enjoying his 15th year working with the nationally acclaimed bands, percussion ensembles, and color guards at Avon.
As a freelance designer, Hinshaw is honored to presently work with several other high achieving ensembles. Richard is in his second year as the visual designer for Monarch Indoor Percussion, WGI Independent Open Finalists in 2015. From 2012-2016 he designed for Gateway Indoor Percussion, WGI Independent World Finalists in each of those years. Some of Richard’s other top clients include Owasso High School (Okla.), Westwood High School (Texas), Vista Ridge High School (Texas), Bentonville High School (Ark), and Kickapoo High School (Mo).
Since 2011, Hinshaw has served on the esteemed WGI Percussion Advisory Board, where he collaborates with top designers and instructors from around the country to help shape the future of indoor marching percussion. He also enjoys working a freelance adjudicator for marching band, winter guard, and indoor percussion competitions around the country.
Previously, Richard has designed for The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps (2012) and The Academy Drum & Bugle Corps (2009-2013). Hinshaw worked as a visual instructor with Carolina Crown (2003-2007), Spirit (2002), and Phantom Regiment (2001).
Richard resides in Avon, Ind. with his amazing wife Jennifer, and their beautiful children McKinley, Coleman, and Annalise. Samples of Hinshaw’s work can be found at his website, www.richardhinshaw.com
About Tommy Allen
Tommy Allen, a native of Indianapolis, Ind., studied Fashion Marketing and Management at The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago, and he currently resides in Chicago, Illinois.
Tommy is an alumnus of The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps (2002-2006), serving as drum major for the 2006 Championship season, as well as The Pride of Cincinnati (2003-2004) and Lawrence Central HS (1998-2002). 2016 also marked his tenth year on the instructional staff and design team with The Cavaliers.
From 2008 to 2015, Allen severed as the Visual Coordinator and Color Guard Director at Norwin HS. Helping Norwin Winter Guard claim four appearance in Winter Guard International's (WGI) Scholastic World Class Finals.
Tommy consults, programs, and designs for many organizations, including current clients, The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps, Franklin HS (Tenn.), Eastlake HS (Texas) Marian Catholic (Ill.) Kiski Area HS (Penn.), Norwin HS (Penn.), Miamisburg HS (Ohio), Independence Winter Guard (Ill.), and Juxtaposition Winter Guard (Ohio).
His previous work includes such esteemed programs as Pride of Cincinnati, Zydeco Color Guard, Northern Academy of Performing Arts, Northmont HS, Lawrence Central HS, Centerville HS, Americas HS, Paul J. Hagerty HS, Central Crossing HS, and Paul Laurence Dunbar HS.
About Michael Martin
An award-winning composer and arranger, Michael Martin joins the design team of The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps having served the corps prior as Brass Pedagogy Co-Coordinator (with his father, Freddy Martin) and Brass Caption Head. Mr. Martin studied composition while a student at Northwestern University and studied orchestration at the University of Chicago with renowned composer, orchestrator and conductor Cliff Colnot. Mr. Martin has been commissioned by members of the Atlanta, Boston and Chicago Symphonies, the Chicago Chamber Musicians, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Boston Pops.
Regularly a fixture at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic, Mr. Martin has collaborated with the VanderCook College of Music, Avon High School (IN), Clear Creek High School (TX), Flower Mound High School (TX), Kell High School (GA), Kennesaw Mountain High School (GA), and North Hardin High School (KY) band programs.
Upcoming commissions and projects include two new works for solo trumpet and wind ensemble, including a collaborative effort with close friend and composer, William Pitts; “Zero to Sixty!”, a fanfare celebrating the Northshore Concert Band’s 60th anniversary (Mallory Thompson, Artistic Director); "Symphony for Winds and Percussion" for the Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Mallory Thompson, Director of Bands); and a "Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra", commissioned by The Boston Pops and Keith Lockhart for Ben Wright, 2nd Trumpet of the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops. Proud of his status as an accomplished “crossover” composer, Mr. Martin is also an active arranger and program coordinator for BOA and non-BOA marching bands around the country.
A devoted teacher, Mr. Martin has been on faculty at the New England Conservatory and Boston University since 2012. Mr. Martin has taught students ranging from age 10 to 50 and in middle and high school concert and marching band programs around the country. An avid fan and supporter of Drum Corps International, Mr. Martin is also Brass Caption Head with The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps of Rosemont, Illinois. Prior to joining The Cavaliers, Mr. Martin taught brass for the Phantom Regiment of Rockford, Illinois from 2009 to 2013.
As a performer, Mr. Martin has performed more than 1,000 concerts as Third/Utility Trumpet of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops. Mr. Martin has performed with world-renowned conductors and soloists including Emanuel Ax, Charles Dutoit, Alan Gilbert, Håkan Hardenberger, James Levine, Keith Lockhart, Kurt Masur, Yo-Yo Ma, Andris Nelsons, Garrick Ohlsson, Itzhak Perlman, and John Williams and has performed for the likes of Julian Edelman, Barack Obama and Shaquille O’Neal.
Follow Michael Martin on Twitter and Instagram (@playwritemusic).
About Michael McIntosh
Michael McIntosh is a graduate of Butler University earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music with an emphasis in Composition.
In addition to freelance composing and digital sound design, Michael is the Percussion Coordinator for the Music For All Summer Symposium. He is the Percussion Caption Supervisor and one of two percussion designers for The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps. In 2011, The Cavaliers were the recipients of the DCI Fred Sanford High Percussion award. From 1997-2011, Mr. McIntosh was a percussion specialist at Carmel High School in Carmel, Ind., and part of a program named the 2001 AAA National Champion, and the 2005 and 2012 BOA Grand National Champions.
Mr. McIntosh is an active clinician and WGI adjudicator, giving clinics throughout the U.S., Europe, Japan, and China.
Compositionally, Michael has had works commissioned for the Midwest Band Directors Convention as well as the West Point HellCats. Currently, he has works published by SmartMusic, Row-Loff Publications, Yamaha Sounds of Summer, Tap Space Publications, Key Poulan Music, Drop 6 Media, The Hal Leonard Corporation, Innovative Percussion, Marching Show Concepts and Dynamic Marching.
Michael is a Yamaha artist/clinician as well as a signature drumstick artist with Innovative Percussion. Mr. McIntosh also endorses EVANS drumheads, Zildjian Cymbals, and Planet Waves Cables.
About Alan Miller
Alan Miller currently lives in the Denton, Texas where he serves as Program Coordinator, Wind and Percussion Arranger, and Assistant Percussion Director for Guyer High School. He also works as an arranger for many band programs and indoor percussion ensembles throughout the country.
Alan is currently one of two percussion arrangers/composers for The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps, where he has been teaching the front ensemble since 2002 and was the staff coordinator for the corps from 2012-2015.
Alan is currently the sole arranger/composer for Cavaliers Indoor Percussion (formerly Green Thunder Percussion), a WGI Independent World Class finalist. Prior to that, he served as Music Director for Metro Alliance Indoor (2005-2007) and as the front ensemble arranger for Gateway Percussion (2012).
Alan has arranged both battery and pit music for several Texas state marching band finalist bands including Coppell High School, Dripping Springs High School and Flower Mound High School. Alan has also arranged for groups outside of Texas and has presented clinics throughout much of the United States, as well as in Japan.
Alan attended and received his bachelor's degree from West Texas A & M University, where he studied percussion with Dr. Susan Tariq and conducting with Dr. Gary Garner.
Alan is an Innovative Percussion educational artist and is published through Tapspace and Drop6.
About Blake Dutton
Blake Dutton, originally from Dallas, Texas, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication Design along with a minor in Marketing from the University of North Texas. Shortly after graduating, he relocated to Indianapolis, Ind. where he's currently a part of the color guard instructional staff at Carmel High School and Center Grove High School.
Dutton was a member of The Cavaliers' Color Guard from 2007 through 2010, along with other performance experience including Ars Nova Winter Guard (2007-2011), Pride of Cincinnati Winter Guard (2012), and most recently the Pride of Cincinnati Dance Ensemble (2014).
Entering his sixth year on staff with his alma mater, Dutton is beyond thrilled to create with and inspire the 2017 edition of The Cavaliers.
About The Cavaliers
Founded in 1948 from Boy Scout Troop 111, The Cavaliers are one of the most successful drum and bugle corps in history, winning 20 national championships, including seven Drum Corps International world championships since 1992.
The Cavaliers provide a variety of educational and performance programs for young people, including GearWORKS, Cavaliers Indoor Percussion, and Chromium Winds. The organization delivers life-changing experiences that go beyond music and performing arts to build personal accountability, excellence, teamwork, and camaraderie.
The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization sponsored by The Village of Rosemont, Illinois.
Cavaliers.org