Different Strokes: A Percussion Podcast

Aundray Edwards received his Bachelors in Music Education from the University of Houston. Aundray has been a percussion specialist/technician for several music programs in the Houston and surrounding areas, including Cypress Creek High School (winning PAS call for tapes) as well as Cy-Fair High School. Currently, Aundray resides in Lake Jackson, Tx where he is the Assistant Director of Percussion at Brazoswood High School and all feeder programs including Brazoswood High School, Clute Intermediate, and Rasco Middle School in Brazosport ISD. Aundray has served as one of the bass drum technicians for Monarch Independent since 2016. And this summer will be joining the percussion staff at Sacramento Mandarins as a bass drum technician. Aundray has also served on the percussion staff of the Colts Drum & Bugle Corps ('17-'19) as well as the Guardians Drum & Bugle Corps ('15-'16). James Neblett is an active music educator, arranger, and clinician based in Pflugerville, Texas. During his tenure in the marching arts, he has worked with several Scholastic, Open, Collegiate, and World Class marching programs all around the state, and across the nation. Currently, James is a Bass Drum Ensemble Specialist for Monarch Independent (2017-Present), and Battery Ensemble Specialist for the state champion Vista Ridge Marching Band (2016-Present). James has over a decade of performance and teaching experience in the marching arts, having had the opportunity to march three summers with the Boston Crusaders (2008-2010), as well as teach numerous ensembles, including The Boston Crusaders (2014-2016) and The Blue Knights (2017-2018). When James isn't dedicating time to music education, he works full time as an Information Technology Systems Administrator for a local Healthcare company based out of the greater Austin area.

Matt Hahn is an active designer and percussion educator in the Dayton, OH area. Matt is currently the Front Ensemble and Sound Designer for the Madison Scouts Drum And Bugle Corps. In 2012, Matt founded Resonant Music Design, a company specializing in marching arts design and education of all kinds. You can view samples of his work at www.resonantmusicdesign.com. Matt was a member of Rhythm X from 2005 - 2008 and was a staff member from 2009 - 2015. Matt also was a member of the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps from 2006 - 2007 in the front ensemble, and was a staff member from 2009 - 2012. Matt graduated from Miami University (OH) in 2008 with a Bachelor's of Arts in Music Education degree. In 2013, Matt was elected to the Board of Directors of the Mid East Performance Association (MEPA) circuit and was recently elected as Vice President of Percussion for the circuit. Matt is a proud sponsor of Innovative Percussion, Sabian Cymbals, and Evans/Planet Waves products. He currently lives in Springboro, OH with his wife Sara and his son, Micah.

Emily Tannert Patterson is a percussion educator and clinician. She was previously the percussion director at the Rouse High School and Wiley Middle School, in Leander, TX, from 2015 till 2018, and was the percussion director at East View High School, Georgetown, TX from 2011 until 2015. Her ensembles have garnered numerous accolades, including winning the 2016 PAS International Percussion Ensemble Contest. Patterson holds a Master's degree in Percussion Performance (2010) as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education (2008) and undergraduate Performance Certificate in Percussion from The University of Texas at Austin, where she studied with Thomas Burritt and Tony Edwards. Patterson is an educational endorser for Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets, Remo drumheads, and Zildjian cymbals. She holds professional memberships in the Texas Music Educators Association and the Percussive Arts Society, and serves on the PAS Education Committee. In addition to remaining active in the percussion community, Patterson works as a Learning Designer at Cambridge University Press in Cambridge, England.

Jake Siegel is a part time theme park musician based out of Orlando, FL who has performed in various shows in multiple theme parks over the past decade and currently performs in the “Beat Builders” show at Universal Studios. He also performs as a member of the “Magic Beatz” entertainment drum line for Orlando’s NBA team, the Orlando Magic. Jake also spent 2 summers as a member of The Cavaliers tenor line and a total of 7 seasons with Infinity Percussion, a perennial WGI finalist ensemble. Since aging out of the marching arts he has become a staff member of the well-known percussion based apparel company, Lot Riot, also based out of Orlando, FL and is a member of the company’s own entertainment drum line, Riot Parade. Recently he has become the drummer of the pop-punk band known as The Things We Were.

Joy Duarte is a current performer in the marching arts. She most recently marched with Broken City Percussion and the Blue Knights. Previously, she marched three seasons at Monarch Independent and served as bass section leader for the last two. She's from San Antonio, Texas and has taught at several schools in the central Texas area. In 2019, Joy and Rhema launched their marching arts business, Bends. Rhema Baissa is a recently aged out percussion performer and current educator in the activity. Rhema aged out in the 2019 DCI season with the Blue Knights. He also aged himself out of WGI with Monarch Independent for the 2019 season. In 2019, Rhema and Joy launched their marching arts business, Bends. Rhema currently resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma and teaches the battery for his alma mater, Union High School. He recently started his master's program for Marriage & Family Therapy through Capella University. Rhema will be teaching the 2021 Spirit of Atlanta Bass-line.

Reuben Rodriguez is an active educator, arranger, sound designer, and performer based in the Austin area. His consulting business, PitHacks.com works with many programs, specializing in electronic design and sound reinforcement. Reuben received a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Jacksonville State University. As a performer, Mr. Rodriguez was a member of Revolution, Crossmen, Spirit of Atlanta, and aged out of The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps in 2010. Since aging out of performing ensembles, Reuben has been a staff member or consultant for the The Cavaliers, Mandarins, and Music City Drum and Bugle Corps, Monarch, Rhythmic Force, and Double Stop Indoor Percussion, and many high school marching bands and indoor percussion ensembles across the country. Outside of the marching arts, Mr. Rodriguez has toured as a member of Eclectic Tuba and coordinated sound reinforcement and technology for the Electro Brass Music Conference in 2015 and 2016. Beyond his love of music, Mr. Rodriguez enjoys playing disc golf and being outdoors.

Welcome back to another episode of Different Strokes! Colton Bean is an Assistant Band Director and Director of Percussion at Winston Churchill High School in San Antonio, Texas. He is also an instructor at Violet Crown Independent based in San Antonio, Texas. In this episode, we will dive deep into Colton’s schedule, routines, habits, and what helped him bring success to the Churchill program on their way to the 2019 Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois.

Hey everyone, It’s great to be back! A lot has happened over the last couple years; new jobs, new opportunities, and now of course the obvious - this pandemic we’re all experiencing. During this extended time of quarantine, like many of you, I have found myself with more time on my hands and I’ve taken a step back to reflect and have more meaningful conversations with others. So why not hit the record button? Since our last episode, the show was in need of some updates. You’ll notice improvements in sound quality and content in the full episodes to come. These changes are made possible thanks in large part to my good friend Miguel Perez. Miguel will be assisting me with all of the behind-the-scenes editing and post production for each episode, as well as creating the new instrumental music and taking charge of sound production. Having Miguel on the team means that I can record more episodes each month and spend more time having quality conversations with percussion performers, educators, entrepreneurs and musical minds from around the world. We’ve got some really exciting guests coming up, so stay tuned and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever podcasts may be downloaded! Oh! And if you want to check out our archive of recordings you can always go back and listen to our simpler, pre-quarantine episodes.

In today’s episode I speak with Eric Carraway (@percuss.io). Eric currently resides in San Antonio, TX and is the founder of percuss.io. In this episode we talk about the cross-pollination between Eric's hobby of software development and music education and how this creative outlet has provided a unique approach to blending the two mediums. In our conversation, we talk at length about his side projects and the decisions leading up to his startup including; coding, training, and the resources needed to create percuss.io. Enjoy!

In today’s episode I speak with George Torres (@georgetorres3). George was recently appointed to the visual staff at The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps where he helps teach the visual program for the percussion section of the drum corps. Our conversation spans a wide variety of topics including; engaging marching percussionists in the visual arts, tools and tips on gardening, his interest in hiking the great Pacific Crest Trail, ideas on how to create a “flow” state, and the importance of journaling and self reflection. In addition to his position with The Cavaliers he is also a staff member with the Independent World Percussion group, Monarch Independent, and will be studying Business Leadership at the University of Texas San Antonio. Without further ado, please enjoy a conversation with George Torres III. Notes from today's episode: Pacific Crest Trail can be found at https://www.pcta.org/ The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps can be found at https://cavaliers.org/ Monarch Independent can be found at http://www.monarchindependent.org/ H-E-B Grocery Stores (Texas) can be found at https://www.heb.com/ University of Texas at San Antonio Business School can be found at http://www.business.utsa.edu/ For more information about George Torres III and the topics discussed in this episode, please visit www.dspodcast.org

Francisco Perez  (b. 1990) is a percussionist, composer, and educator from Pflugerville, TX. As an active performer, he has accepted international engagements in Guatemala, Mexico, Spain, and China, and toured extensively throughout the US including performances at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, and the nationally-televised Super Bowl XLV. He regularly performs with the Lexington Philharmonic and the blueSHIFT Percussion Quartet. In this episode we dive into a multitude of topics including; -The importance of traveling and performing internationally -His top six inspirational music artists; Steve Reich, Alejandro Viñao, Moderat, Dawn of Midi, Nils Frahm, and Michel Camilo -Electronic music and the influence it has on percussion composition -Mapping and creating new composition projects and "idea" folders -Balancing work with leisure time -Common problems in overwriting or over programming a composition -Rituals on deliberate listening practices For more information about Francisco Perez and the topics discussed in this episode, please visit www.dspodcast.org

Hello, my name is Joe MacMorran. For those of you that are unfamiliar with me, I’m a percussion educator, arranger, composer, performer, and entrepreneur. I’m fascinated by the percussion community and how it seems to be evolving at a rapid pace. With the help of social media, movies, tv shows, and a growing number of advocates in the public our community seems to be thriving more than ever before. Around the time that I began this project, I wanted to make sure that I could start something broad enough that captures the percussion community as a whole while keeping it small enough to make us all feel connected. I wanted to know more about the faces behind our industries top companies, percussion arrangers, show designers, orchestral percussion sections, and everything in between. For me, personally, I wanted to ask the questions behind the scenes. What small or big adjustments are being made to create the life that they live now? What books do they recommend? What do their first few hours of the day look like? What makes them different from other percussionists? What makes them similar? I sought to create this podcast because I know that regardless of all the different ideas and philosophies out there, we are all bound together by one unifying art; percussion. It is my hope that there is something for everyone to take away from these conversations. And now, it is with great joy to present to you, Different Strokes: A Percussion Podcast.