2012 Crossmen Battery and Front Ensemble Instructional Team Complete
Crossmen Percussion Caption Head, Clark Gardner, is pleased to announce that the 2012 Crossmen percussion instructional team is complete. "We are very happy with the additions we were able to make to the returning members of the 2011 percussion staff," stated Clark. "Rudy and I review many resumes and interviewed many candidates and truely believe that we have assembled a powerhouse instructional team for the 2012 season." The quality team of educators that have come together to lead the Crossmen percussion section in 2012 are set to give the Crossmen battery and front ensemble some of the finest instruction available. Added to the team for 2012 are Scott Clark (snares), Michael Spooner (tenors) and Joe Villegas (bass). These three experienced instructors join percussion section returnees Clark Gardner, Rudy Gowern, Nathan Ratliff, Jules Scogna, Buck Palmer, Collin Pagel, Mellissa McGoldrick and Ryan Jezierski.
Scott Clark (Snare Instruction)
Scott Clark began his drum corps career with the Cadets of Dutch Boy in 1981 and after two seasons was promoted to the Dutch Boy "A" corps.
Scott joined the Garfield Cadets percussion section in 1987, winning DCI's High Percussion award with a perfect score. Scott continued to perform in the snare line until he aged out in 1992. As a member of the Garfield Cadets, Scott won two drum titles and two DCI World Championships.
Scott has been an instructor at King Philip Regional High School (Wrentham MA), Oceanside High School (Oceanside CA), Carlsbad High School (Carlsbad CA) as well as the Division II corps, West Coast Sound.
Scott is married with four children, two of which are active in the WGI and DCI competitive circuits.
Michael Spooner (Tenor Instruction)
Michael Spooner is entering his first season teaching the Crossmen and could not be more excited to help the organization be as successful as possible. Michael has studied music at Middle Tennessee State University. At MTSU, he performed in the Band of Blue, percussion ensemble, world percussion ensemble, and the steel band. Michael currently lives in Nashville, TN where he works at Innovative Percussion. Michael teaches percussion at Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, TN.
MIchael has performed with MN Brass Indoor, where he was section leader in the 2009 winter season. Michael's DCI experience includes the Blue Stars from 2007 - 2009 and The Cavaliers in 2010 - 2011. In 2011 The Cavaliers were awarded the Fred Sanford High Percussion Award.
MIchael instructed numerous high school ensembles in the central Minnesota region including Rosemount, Anoka, Becker, Dassel-Cokato and Foley where he serves as designer for their winter program. In 2010 Michael also helped start River City Rhythm, a PIA drumline developed for high school students in central MN who do not have a winter percussion program.
Michael's instructors include Michael McIntosh, Brian Tinkel, Eric Ridenour, Lalo Davila, Julie Davila, Brent Montgomery, and Nick Angelis.
Joe Villegas (Bass Drum Instruction)
Joe attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he was a member of the UMass Drum Line from 2006-2009 and received his B.S. in Applied Mathematics. In 2008 he became a member of the Carolina Crown Drum & Bugle Corps, marching 2 seasons until he aged out in 2009.
Since then, Joe has taught privately and with several groups in the Central New Jersey area including the Bridgewater-Raritan High School Marching Band as well as the Hillsborough High School Marching Band. In 2011 Joe was the bass drum technician for the Jersey Surf Drum & Bugle Corps.
Currently Joe teaches alongside Jeff Bickford at Hillsborough High School in Hillsborough, NJ and is the bass drum technician for United Percussion.
"Clark and Rudy have done a tremendous job bringing together the "A" Team for Crossmen Percussion instruction in 2012," exclaimed Crossmen Executive Director/ Corps Director, Fred Morrison. We have set the stage for a great 2012 season with the design team returning and the tweaks we have made to the instructional team so far. Stay tuned we have more exciting announcements coming!
