2021 Judging Panel
MUSIC PANEL
Dr. Chandler Wilson
Zach Cheever
JR Trimpe
VISUAL PANEL
Pat Butler
Garrett Coscolluela
Nate Hughes
COLOR GUARD
Lin Daffron-Holway
PERCUSSION
Ben Lupton
PAT BUTLER
Pat has been involved in the marching arts for more than 40 years, beginning as a member of East Noble High School Marching Band in Kendallville, Indiana. He then marched, and was drum major, at Indiana State University in the early 80’s.
Pat also has more than a 40-year history of involvement with several DCI corps. He marched with Phantom Regiment from 1979 to 1981 and is a 2-time I & E Champion. After ‘aging out’ he joined Phantom’s visual staff in 1982 for four seasons. He was on staff at Star of Indiana from 1987 through 1993, including their DCI World Championship season of 1991. He was part of Brass Theatre in 1994 that eventually became ‘Blast’. Pat returned to Drum Corps with the Madison Scouts in 2010 through 2012 and was visual caption head in 2011 for the “New York Mourning” production. He was also a visual staff member for Carolina Crown in 2014.
Pat is also an accomplished drill writer, including ten state championship programs. He has served as a judge for both marching band and indoor activities for many years.
ZACH CHEEVER
Zach Cheever is a doctoral conducting candidate and graduate teaching assistant at the University of Colorado- Boulder. In this position, he is the primary conductor of the campus band and teaches/assists courses in conducting and music education. Cheever is also an active composer/arranger and drill designer for both concert and marching ensembles through his business ZCMusic. He has previously served on design, music, and visual staff for a variety of high schools and colleges around the country. Cheever has also served as adjudicator and clinician for several contests and events in the Southeastern US. His previous positions include band director at Trevecca Nazarene University and graduate teaching assistant at Austin Peay State University. Cheever earned a BM from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, TN; an MM from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN; and will complete a DMA from the University of Colorado-Boulder in 2022. His primary teachers include Don McKinney, Greg Wolynec, Matt Dockendorf, John Schnettler, and David Diehl. His professional affiliations include Tau Beta Sigma, Kappa Kappa Psi, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, CBDNA (College Band Directors National Association), and NAfME (National Association for Music Education).
GARRETT COSCOLLUELA
Garrett currently serves as an assistant caption head for the brass section at the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps. He is an alumnus of Austin Peay State University (BM) and will graduate from University of Central Arkansas (MM) in spring 2021. He began his drum corps career with Phantom Regiment from Rockford, IL and went on to age out at the Blue Devils from Concord, CA. He regularly provides both music and visual design, choreography, and instruction for band and color guard programs in the Southeast.
LIN DAFFRON-HOLWAY
Bio pending.
NATE HUGHES
Nate Hughes currently serves as Assistant Director of Bands at South Forsyth Middle School in Cumming, Georgia, where he has been for 2 years. During his tenure at South Middle, the SFMS Symphonic Band has been awarded the Georgia Music Educators Association’s “Exemplary Performance Award,” and has been invited to perform at the Music For All National Concert Band Festival, as well as the National Band Association’s South Division Regional Conference and as a featured ensemble at the University of Georgia’s Middle School Honor Band Festival “MidFest.” While serving in this role, he has been awarded the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence. A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Nate received his Bachelor of Music degree from Austin Peay State University. Nate was a member of the trumpet section of 7-time Drum Corps International World Champion The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps from Rosemont, Illinois. He was also a cast member of Rhythm X Winds from Dayton, Ohio. Nate has served on the instructional staff of several high schools in Tennessee and Georgia, as well as drum corps including Music City Drum Corps, Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps. Currently, Nate serves as the visual captionhead for WGI Percussion Independent World Finalist Drumline Atlanta Quest and serves on the brass staff for the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps. Nate programs marching band shows for several bands throughout the Southeast, in addition to composing original music, writing drill, and staging winter guards. He is also an active adjudicator and can be found judging both performance and effect captions. Nate currently lives in Cumming, Georgia where he works and spends his free time improving his culinary skills.
BEN LUPTON
Ben Lupton has served as Music City Mystique’s Battery Caption head since the 2016 season. He became a member of its quad line in 2009 and gladly joined the staff after aging out in 2011 after being a dedicated member for three consecutive seasons. His drum corps career includes three seasons on quads with Spirit DBC from 2007 to 2009. Ben taught Genesis DBC during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, and recently started working with Starriders Drum and Bugle Corps out of Bad Münder, Germany. Ben moved to Nashville in 2012 after earning a Bachelors of Science in Music Education from Western Carolina University. He currently serves as Operations Manager with Treeworks Chimes and is dedicated to producing and distributing the finest orchestral wind chimes in the world. Ben is very fond of nature, promoting positivity, and his beautiful wiener dog Shempi.
JR TRIMPE
J.R. grew up in Western Michigan where he was a member of the Jenison marching band. While still in high school, he began his arranging career with the assistance of his band director. His first marching band arrangements were performed in 1993 while he was still a senior in high school. While attending Michigan State University and performing in the Spartan Marching Band, he continued working with Jenison as well as other high school marching bands in the state. His first concert band arrangements were premiered in 1995 internationally. He began writing for the Spartan Marching band in 1997 while still an undergrad. Upon completing his degree in Instrumental Music Education, he accepted the position of beginning band and orchestra director for Kalamazoo Public Schools. He also continued his work with Jenison as well as directing their top jazz band.
In 2000, he moved to central Illinois to begin work on his masters degree in Music Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. There he assisted with the Marching Illini, directed the Basketball Band, guest conducted the concert bands, and taught a class on wind arranging. He began writing music and drill for the Marching Illini in 2000. Upon completion of his degree, he moved back to Michigan to focus all of his energies into arranging and drill writing.
Along with writing drill and music for university, high school, and special events like the Rose Bowl and the Orange bowl, he has also served on the board of directors of the Michigan Color Guard Circuit. He continues to judge actively all over the United States as well as working as a clinician for high schools and universities. In 2007, he became a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). He is also a member of the National Band Association (NBA). He now lives with his wife Jen and cats Oreck and Dyson in Farmington Hills where he avoids mowing the lawn, armchair coaches the Red Wings from the safety of his couch, and tries to make sure dinner is on the table for his wife when she gets home. As of December of 2017, he and his wife welcomed their daughter Allie to their family as well. She's adorable. Just ask us. We'll tell you.
DR. CHANDLER WILSON
Chandler L. Wilson is the Assistant Director of Athletic Bands and Assistant Professor of Music Education at Florida State University. His responsibilities with athletic bands include being a part of the creative team behind the Marching Chiefs and FSU’s athletic pep band program, Seminole Sound, which primarily supports the men’s basketball program and the women’s basketball and volleyball programs. As a part of the wind band conducting and music education faculty, Dr. Wilson teaches courses in music education and conducts various concert ensembles.
A native of Miami, FL, Dr. Wilson attended Florida A&M University (FAMU) where he earned the Bachelor of Science in Music Education. While a student at FAMU, he served as the University Band President and section leader of the saxophones. During his time at FAMU, he was selected as the student arranger and conductor for the marching and symphonic bands and was selected as one of the first student staff members for the "Marching 100". Dr. Wilson earned the Master of Arts in Wind Band Conducting from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the PhD in Music Education with an emphasis in Wind Band Conducting from Florida State University.
Many of Dr. Wilson's compositions have been premiered and performed on the concert band stage with All-County/District Honor Bands and All-State Bands. His works have also been performed at the Music for All National Festival and the Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic. His composition, Legends of the Galaxy (A Cosmic Fanfare), was ranked in the Top 100 band compositions in the American Band College/Band World Magazine/Western International Band Clinic Literature List for 2016 and his most recent work, Suite Forty-Four, was performed at the 2019 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic by the Hikarigaoka Girls’ High School Wind Orchestra.
Prior to his appointment at Florida State University, Dr. Wilson served as Associate Director of Bands and Director of Athletic Bands at Eastern Michigan University, with previous public school experience as director of bands at Hollywood Hills High School and Cooper City High School. Dr. Wilson also served as the associate conductor of the Broward Symphonic Band under Neil Jenkins and the assistant conductor of the Music Ambassadors Europe Music Tour in the summers of 2010 and 2012. Dr. Wilson has studied conducting under the batons of Prof. Richard Clary, Dr. Jack Stamp, Dr. Julian White, Dr. Shelby Chipman, Dr. Roby George, and Maestro Raffaele Ponti.
Dr. Wilson holds professional memberships in the College Band Directors National Association, National Association for Music Educators, Florida Music Educators Association, Florida Bandmasters Association, National Band Association, Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity, Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society, and is an honorary member "Friend of the Arts" of Sigma Alpha Iota and Tau Beta Sigma. Dr. Wilson is a recipient of the Florida Bandmasters Association "Tom Bishop Award" and is also a member of ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.) Dr. Wilson has also been recognized and honored by Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.
