We’re thrilled to introduce you to Mike Huestis! This profile gives you a closer look at our Percussion Composer and the creativity he brings to the Crossmen.
Here is Mike's bio followed by a fun interview
Mr. Michael Huestis has been involved in music education since 1991 and is currently serving on the Percussive Arts Society Board of Directors, as the Assistant Director of the Music for All Sandy Feldstein National Percussion Festival, and as the administrator for the Percussion Solutions for Band Directors social media platforms. Throughout his career Mr. Huestis’ bands, percussion ensembles and drumlines have performed at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, Music for All National Percussion Festival, MENC Biennial Conference, finalists at the Bands of American Grand National Championships, President Bush’s inaugural parade in Washington D.C., the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City and the Drum Corps International World Championships.
A highly sought-after composer, arranger, and clinician. Mr. Huestis has worked as the percussion arranger for Pacific Crest Drum & Bugle Corps from Diamond Bar, CA, Genesis Drum & Bugle Corps from Austin, TX and Raiders Drum & Bugle Corps in Burlington, NJ. His compositions are published by Tapspace Publications, C-Alan Publications, Rowloff Productions, JKS Music, and Key Poulan Publications. Michael is also the author of “Developing the Percussionist-Musician” method books.
Mr. Huestis has presented clinics and master classes at numerous state music education association conventions and universities. His professional affiliations include Texas Music Educators Association, National Association for Music Education, Jazz Educators Network and the Percussive Arts Society, where he served as a chapter president of both Utah and Texas. Michael is an endorser of Yamaha Instruments and Zildjian Cymbals.
Welcome to the Crossmen family, Mike! How did you get involved in the 2026 design team?
It’s an exciting and very cool opportunity. My involvement stems from my relationship with John Meehan [Music Coordinator, Composer & Brass Arranger]. John and I have been writing together for about 20 years. I was on the teaching staff of the American Fork High School Marching Band in Utah when we hired John to write a show for us. Afterwards, he and I went out for dinner and he said: Hey! This has been fun. Would you be interested in writing some other shows with me? We’ve written so much together because I think we see the universe through the same sort of window. We will continue that relationship with the 2026 Crossmen.
The Crossmen have a rich legacy in percussion sections with drive and groove. Were there any lines that you remember fondly?
I marched in the 1990s and recall all those unbelievable and legendary Mark Thurston drumlines and seeing them live. I remember watching their ’91 line at some small-town show in a rinky-dink high school stadium. I was marching at Freelancers and sitting next to one of the other snare drummers, and we just stood with our mouths agape, looking at each other and thinking … My goodness, this is so cool.
How did you get your start in drum corps?
I started with the Velvet Knights in 1989. I was just a little kid and had not really earned a spot. Matt Savage found a place for me, so I picked up props and played the nerf wind chimes a couple of times, and stuff like that. But I got to go on tour. Then I marched Freelancers for a few years, and my last year was at Blue Devils.
Around this time, you were studying music at the University of North Texas. Who did you work with there?
I just can’t say enough good things about all my experiences at UNT. Just the amount of talent walking around on that campus was unbelievable. You could just hang out in the dorms with Jeff Queen and Bill Bachman and She-e Wu. We all thought of Dr. Schietroma as an educator, mentor, and father figure. Paul Rennick [2017 DCI Hall of Fame inductee] was on the faculty. I don’t think it can be overstated how important he is to the activity—and to all of us from UNT, in particular. Just look at the number of folks who have been influenced by Paul and the lives that he’s touched. Paul is one of the great percussion educators.
So where along this path did you start getting interested in writing and composing?
Today, there are so many talented and highly educated people involved in writing percussion, even at the high school level. But in the late 1980s and early ’90s, that was not necessarily the case. My high school drum instructor was just buying stock drum parts from publishers and then would rewrite them. So, if it was a Latin jazz chart, he would sort of do a Tom Float impersonation, or if it was a Broadway musical, he would do a Ralph Hardiman impersonation. If it was a classical piece, he would write something with a Marty Hurley or Phantom Regiment vibe. I became his copyist and slowly learned from that. As a quad player, I’d get a little ambitious with some of the parts and change some of the splits. One time he said: Hey, don’t think I don’t see what you’re doing there. So, I started writing in high school. I did a lot more in college and was, even as an undergrad, writing for some university drum lines. It wasn’t all good, but I did learn a lot!
It’s a lot harder today, because highly competitive groups are paying top dollar to very talented people. When I have college students ask me about getting into writing, I advise them to “adopt” a school somewhere. Reach out and tell them that you’d be happy to come out and work with their performers, or do some edits, or write some music.
Were there any strategies you used to develop as a percussion writer?
In the early days, it was transcribing directly from DCI charts. There weren’t YouTube videos with scores back then, so you had to listen to audio recordings. If we were doing Pictures at an Exhibition for some high school, I’d listen to Santa Clara Vanguard recordings and try to pick up every nuance that Ralph Hardiman wrote. Trying to listen and transcribe all those things taught me how to write. I remember seeing the book that Tom Aungst wrote for the Cadet’s 1989 Les Mis show for the first time and was just flabbergasted. Listening to Catherine Float’s piano transcriptions for the keyboard parts for the Blue Devils’ 1989 opener “You Gotta Try” … I was thinking: How did she do that? With repeated listening, I started to understand.
If you could go back in time and play in any drumline in DCI history, who would it be with?
Scott Johnson and I pondered that question at dinner a couple of times and laughed about it. When asked about the “greatest” drum corps show ever, almost everyone will pick one from right before they marched up until about when they aged-out or a few years afterwards. That, of course, is everyone’s greatest era of drum corps. And for me—unequivocally, there’s no doubt in my mind—it would be the 1990 Blue Devils. That Tommy show and that drumline absolutely blew my doors down.
How does your primary role as percussion composer for the Crossmen coordinate with the percussion instructional team?
My relationships with Tyler Broadhurst [Percussion Caption Manager] and Noah Avelar [Front Ensemble Coordinator] are vital. Noah, who is working on his doctorate at Michigan State, was my graduate assistant at East Texas A&M after he finished at UNT. This young man is extraordinary.
My number one responsibility is to the overall music design, and my job is to make John Meehan’s brass book sound as amazing as it can possibly sound. In terms of musical effects and putting our best foot forward, I will be writing a book that the staff feels comfortable teaching and that shows off the specific musical talent in our section. For example, if we see a marimba section or tenor line stacked with talent coming through the audition process, then we start to adjust the book.
As a percussion composer, you must face challenges with all the necessary coordination between other designers and the instructional teams. Care to share any trade secrets?
Some of the coolest things stem from difficulties. I remember John and I were writing for a group and had to figure out how to use the front ensemble to transition to a completely unrelated key. We came up with this little music box effect, an interesting descending chromatic idea that landed us in the right key. I don’t think anybody would realize how much we struggled with that and how much work went into that one transition to make it sound completely seamless. Nobody threw a ticker tape parade for us, but those difficult moments do become the ones that you’re privately most proud of.
The Crossmen design team seems to have a very exciting collaborative process for creating the 2026 show. Can you comment on how that is unfolding?
The impact of visual design has grown exponentially over the last 20 years. Visual designers are coming up with the storytelling and are creating interesting timelines and storyboards. Our role as musical arrangers has become to orchestrate a 10-minute film. It just so happens that the performers starring in the film are also playing the music! I like the idea of trying to come up with the emotions needed for that film score. When does it need to be exciting? At what part of the show do we want people to fall in love? When do we want it to be scary or mysterious?
Do you find inspiration for this creative process from outside of the marching arts?
It’s a lot of fun to take artistic ideas from art, literature, and poetry. Even something as silly as a commercial can be inspiring if you find some stunning effect in an advertising campaign. One-act plays, which are really popular in Texas, are a beautiful inspiration for drum corps. It is an artform constrained to a very short amount of time and yet has to be highly emotional. One-act plays and musicals have changed the way we design for drum corps by bringing more compelling and dramatic elements. If I’m going to watch people sing, I would much rather see Hamilton and have the entire drama unfold than listen to a traditional choir standing on stage.
What makes for a compelling drum corps show?
It really boils down to: Do I want to see it again? When a show ends and I immediately wish the corps would get back on the field, turn around, and just run the show again … I love that feeling. That’s general effect.
Do you have any advice for a Crossmen percussionist playing your book?
You’re going to have as much fun as you invest into it. If you bring positivity, energy, and preparation to the experience, then you’re going to have a great time and learn a lot.
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Mike Huestis was interviewed by Scott Cummings on November 6, 2025. The conversation had been edited for length and clarity.