Steve Lyons - has been at the Champlin Park High School since it opened in 1992.  He also serves as an adjunct professor at St. Cloud State University. Steve holds his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education and Theory-Composition from Western Illinois University, and a Masters of Arts degree in Music Education from the University of Minnesota.

Mr. Lyons has studied wind band and orchestral conducting with Ric Hansen, Eric Becher, Frank Bencriscutto, Dennis Johnson and Roland Vamos. Mr. Lyons has also conducted the North Suburban Community Band served as percussion coach at the Minnesota Music Educators Association All-State Band, guest conductor at the St Louis All Suburban Honor Band Festival and has conducted several middle and high school honor bands.  Mr. Lyons is active as a marching band adjudicator in the summer and fall and composes and arranges music for bands in Minnesota, South Dakota, Kentucky and Illinois.

Mr. Lyons has been an active as a music adjudicator in Minnesota and South Dakota and is a member of Music Educators National Conference, Minnesota Band Directors Association, and the College Band Directors National Association.

Patrick Byrnes- is a graduate of the University of South Dakota with a degree in music education and has been writing and designing for over 10 years. He is well sought after as a judge and for his creative design and innovative concepts. He has a wealth of knowledge in teaching top ranked color guard in Midwest. He also has an extensive drum and bugle corps background as the conductor for Minnesota Brass, and the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps. Patrick has been on Staff at Roosevelt High School for 5 years and has served as an adjunct instructor for the University of South Dakota, Brandon Valley High School, Yankton High School and Parkston High School (SD). Check out some of his choreography work here: Click Here

Emily Savage- Guard Choreographer- Savage Designs joins the design team this year as colorguard choreographer. Emily brings a wealth of experience both as a performer and choreographer with both high school marching bands and world-class drum and bugle corps. Check out her color guard choreography: Click Here

Scott Brown- is currently the Assistant Band Director and Percussion Ensemble Director at Dickerson Middle School in Marietta, GA and serves on the instructional staff and as co-arranger for the percussion section of the 1998 & 2002 Bands of America Grand National Champion Lassiter High School Band.  He was a member of the Carolina Crown Drum & Bugle Corps and has worked with concert and marching percussion ensembles throughout the southeast including the Spirit of Atlanta Drum & Bugle Corps, the Kennesaw Mountain H.S. Band, Enterprise H.S. Winter Percussion, and the North Buncombe H.S. Band. These ensembles have been successful at all levels of marching percussion including recognition as BOA
Regional and National Champions, WGI Regional and World Championship Finalists, DCI Finalists, and participation in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. Check out the Video

Emily Merriman- Guard Director Minnesota Brass Drum and Bugle Corps, Emily is currently in her 3rd year marching Northeast Independent Winter Guard in Jacksonville Florida. She has designed shows all over the Midwest and has many years of top ten drum and bugle corps experience to satisfy your marching needs.

She started out her marching career with the Irondale High School Marching Knights (1991 - 1995). She continued to march in college at the University of Minnesota (1995, 1996) and subsequently in Minnesota Brass Senior Corps (1995-2001), and the Colts Junior Corps (1997). Her winter experience includes marching with Royal Guard Independent Open (1997, 1998) Seneca Independent Open (’99, ’00, &’01) and, most recently, Chimeras World Class Color Guard (2003) out of Nashville, TN. 

Her main teaching experiences reside with Avid Independent and Champlin Park High School (1998 - 2001), where she led the Rebel Color Guard to WGI Finalist their first year out. Emily holds a degree in Human Resource Development from the University of Minnesota. She also currently serves as an adjunct instructor for the University of Minnesota, Coon Rapids, and Eden Prairie (MN).

Adam Clay- A graduate of Marion High School, in Marion, AR, Adam was a three time All State percussionist, including his senior year, when he earned the Arkansas All-State First Band, First Chair position. After high school, he went on to march in the bass drum section of the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps for four years (1999-2002). During his tenure there, the corps was awarded two high percussion trophies and three DCI championships. After taking a year off from drum corps in 2003, Adam returned to the scene as the visual technician for the drumline at the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps from Canton, OH in 2004. The following year he was promoted to the position of Bass Tech, where he experienced much success in the summers of 2005 and 2006, and plans to do the same for 2007. In the winter and springtime Adam currently serves as co-visual caption head for Gateway Percussion Indoor World, from St. Louis, MO. Along with writing music for many bands and drumlines nationally, Adam teaches and writes for the percussion section of the University of Memphis Marching Band, the Mighty Sound of the South. He is the main influence over percussion and arranging for several Memphis area high schools, and he is in charge of the U of M Indoor Drumline.

Scott Hirsch- Percussion Director Champlin Park High School Scott is a 1993 graduate of Anoka High School in Minnesota, his performance experiences includes the Wind Ensemble at The University of Minnesota. In 1994 He was a member of the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps. He also performed with the Duluth Symphony Orchestra. Scott has been on Staff at Champlin Park and has been an integral part of their success as a winter drumline. Check out a performance here: Click Here

Dave Penn- is a graduate of the University of Nebraska Lincoln with his degree in Music Performance, Dave has been on staff at Roosevelt High School for 3 years and has been integral in producing one of the top drumlines in the area. Dave has many years teaching band such as Bellevue West High School and now currently Roosevelt High School. Dave also is a member of the South Dakota Symphony and other ensembles.

Carrie Andres- is currently on staff with Minnesota Brass Drum and Bugle Corps and has spent the last 8 years at South St. Paul High School in Minnesota where the design team has led them to numerous A Class Championships in the North Star Circuit.

Kevin Fuhrman: I am a percussionist in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota area and have spent the last 17 years developing many skills to serve my community.

My Steel Drum Band, 33° North, has delighted audiences for over a decade and continues to share the joy of Island music. We perform for corporations, local restaurants, and many private parties! Our blend of Reggae, Soca, Calypso, Latin and American music is fun and pleasing for everybody!

In trying to find the most effective way to teach people how to read music, I stumbled upon a simple, yet powerful, way to think of rhythm that speeds up the learning curve tremendously. I call this idea the Additive Rhythm Technique or ART. There are materials available to help individuals, small groups or even classrooms transform their ability to understand and perform rhythms more accurately and be able to learn them on their own!

In the marching percussion idiom, there are many materials designed to help percussionists and/or drummers understand their role in this arena. I am dedicated to finding and developing ideas/concepts and practical materials to help this process. I based my work on the philosophy that it is "90% mental and 10% physical" when people are successful. I have put together books addressing both issues and in a way to help the beginner up to the advanced player understand how to be best prepared for his/her role in a marching percussion situation. Check out a Video Here

 

 

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