Profile: Rachel Montañez

Rachel Montañez

Guard Caption Manager

Guard and Visual Designer

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rachel.montanez@crossmen.org

Rachel Montañez is a freelance graphic designer and colorguard director originally from Long Island, NY now residing in Fort Worth, TX. She holds her B.S. in Mathematics from Molloy College.

Rachel was introduced to the marching arts activity at Mineola High School, where she participated in both the marching band and winterguard programs from 2008-2012. Her performance career continued outside of high school with The Long Island Sunrisers from 2009-2011, The Connecticut Hurricanes in 2012, The Cadets from 2013-2015, Alter Ego IW in 2013, 2017-2018 and Fusion World in 2019.

Although Rachel’s passion for performing came first, she has been able to pass on her love for the activity through teaching. She’s had the pleasure of teaching and choreographing for various programs around the country since 2012.

Outside of colorguard, Rachel enjoys making art, drinking craft coffee and playing chess.

What is your role as the 2026 colorguard caption manager for the Crossmen?

I wear two different hats. Not only am I the caption manager, but I'm also the visual aesthetic designer. So, my whole role is managing staff and schedules and choreographers and production times and making sure that the show is moving along at a pace that will get us to the finish line.

Your background is in graphic design, and I was curious if there will be any overlap between that and what you're doing with the Crossmen.

Yes. Last year I had the opportunity to design the whole visual look for the entire drum corps. I designed the guard and drum corps uniforms and the flags. I also did some merch that coordinated with the show theme. I designed the show logo and other show-specific visuals related to the Crossmen last year, and I'll be doing the same this year.

The graphic design of the corps uniform received a lot of good attention last summer.

Yeah … you never know how people are going to react, but I was very pleased.

You and I, along with several Crossmen luminaries, are all products of the New York State Field Band Conference. Your old high school, Mineola, just won their class at championships.

I’m a really proud alumna!

For someone who’s been marching in a high school guard, either indoor or marching band, what advice would you give as they're thinking about stepping up to DCI?

As a staff member, I try to be as approachable as possible. For prospective members, go in with an open mind. I talk to a lot of my high school students about this and try to encourage them to come to camps, but sometimes they just don't think that they're good enough. You might really surprise yourself! Having instruction from people who weren't necessarily your high school director, having things explained differently, or maybe just having a better teacher in front of you can help you develop the skills that you might not feel that you have yet. The key is becoming really diligent in your practice and wanting to master your craft—that's what it all comes down to. So, I encourage everyone to just try. The worst case is that it doesn't work out, but … you learn something new and maybe you made a new friend along the way!

What was your first exposure to the world of drum corps?

I got introduced to DCA [Drum Corps Associates, an all-age circuit separate from DCI prior to 2024] my freshman year in high school, when my color guard director was the caption head at Sunrisers. I remember going to our first rehearsal and thought it was a regular marching band rehearsal, and I'm looking around and thinking … these people look different! I came back on Sunday and walked into the school through a different door and thought “What are the Sunrisers?” And they were like, weren't you here yesterday?

And you were in! Had you ever seen a drum corps show before joining?

I had no idea what I was signing myself up for! I did not see a drum corps show until the summer of 2009 in Allentown, and that's when I realized, yep, I'm going to be doing this. This is absolutely the coolest thing I've ever seen.

So what was it that hooked you?

I think it was straight up the volume. It was so much louder than marching bands. At Allentown, between watching Cadets, Carolina Crown, and the Cavaliers—all of these incredible productions, especially at that time of the year when they're damn near perfect—it was the most unison thing I’d ever seen on a field and with such high demand. I just remember it being the coolest thing, and then from that point on, I thought “I'm going to do that!”

What are the life lessons that you learned in drum corps and carried into your career and life after performing?

The work ethic that it instilled in me. I think I always had some grit growing up; that’s just how I was raised by my parents. Drum corps taught me to problem-solve really well, to work on the fly, and to be flexible. Adaptability is the biggest thing in drum corps, being able to move quickly without stressing people out if something has to change. If I had to carry 18 flagpoles for a mile and a half up a hill to get to rehearsal … nothing seemed so bad afterwards!

I also value the relationships that I built. Some of my best friends to this day are those that I marched with. I look at my phone contact list and, other than my immediate family, I don't think that anyone in my life is not in the marching arts. Also, my graphic design life is in the marching arts, so it is completely in the fiber of who I am now.

If you had a time machine, and you could go back and march in any color guard throughout history, any thoughts on where you'd set the controls to?

I really like the early-2000s color guards. The Cadets 2005 (“The Zone”) is one of my favorite shows. But I would love to march these days, too. I aged out 10 years ago, and the sheer demand on a marching member these days is so different.

Outside of drum corps, where do you find inspiration, either for what you're doing with guards or in your graphic design work?

I really like going to museums and looking through magazines and any sort of physical media. I just like seeing what other people are doing. I also watch a lot of documentaries. I was just watching a documentary on the history of Vogue magazine.

What types of artists do you follow?

I started my graphic design career as a lettering artist, and so a lot of the people I follow are also lettering artists, muralists, or are centered around typography. Growing up, I was the kid doodling on my page, writing people's names in bubble letters. I also really like illusion art, and I like to bring that into my work. I create really trippy-style artwork that makes you want to stare at it a little bit longer as it tickles your brain.

What are your thoughts on how graphic design is used in drum corps today?

There are a lot of talented people in the industry right now, some classically trained and some self-taught. I think if there's a certain identity and style that you're trying to look for, and if the designer stays true to who they are, then that's all that really matters. There's a fine line between art and design. Art doesn't really have as many boundaries and rules that you have to follow. As a graphic designer, I'm a problem solver that just so happens to make things look pretty.

What do you hope a Crossmen colorguard member will leave the summer with?

Good relationships with staff and peers. I am a big proponent of teaching in a relationship-forward way. Colorguard, specifically, involves so much trust. If you don't feel like you built a relationship with the person who’s teaching you, I feel like you won't be successful. I'm the first person to help someone up when they fall, and this will make them want to come back because they feel like they're cared about—because they are.

Also, members should gain a stronger understanding of the technical program and build a work ethic, responsibility and time management skills. My overarching goal for every single colorguard student I teach is that they come out a better person. We should be creating better people, because I think the world has enough bad ones. Lead with kindness, lead with your heart, and be willing to help others—those are the messages I like to instill in my students. 

Wawa or Buc-ee's?

As a northerner, I'm going to have to go with Wawa.

Rachel Montañez was interviewed by Scott Cummings on October 20, 2025. The conversation had been edited for length and clarity.