2023 Adjudication Panel and Field Staff

Adjudication panel — class 1a-3a

Dr. Arris Golden is the Assistant Director of Bands and Associate Director of the Spartan Marching Band at Michigan State University. In this capacity,  Dr. Golden teaches courses in conducting, marching band techniques, conducts the Spartan Youth Wind Symphony, is coordinator of the MSU Performing Arts Camps, and assists with all aspects of the athletic band program. Before joining the faculty at Michigan State University, Dr. Golden was a member of the conducting faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she served as the Assistant Director of University Bands.

Prior to her collegiate appointments, Dr. Golden had a distinguished 18-year teaching career in the public schools of North Carolina. In her last public school assignment, Dr. Golden conducted the premiere of four commissioned works that have become standards in the middle school band repertoire: “Kitsune: The Fox Spirits,” by Brian Balmages (2009), “The Machine Awakes” for young band and electronics by Steven Bryant (2012), “Freight Train,” by Pierre LaPlante (2013), and “The Cave Your Fear” by Michael Markowski (2014).

Dr. Golden’s professional affiliations include the College Band Directors National Association and the National Band Association; she also serves on Board of Directors of National Band Association and as a Co-Chairperson of the National Band Association’s IDEA Committee.

Dr. Golden holds degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She completed the Doctor of Musical Arts in wind conducting from Michigan State University as a 2014 recipient of a Michigan State University Distinguished Fellowship.

Kimberly Farris is the Director of Admissions at VanderCook College of Music where she leads a team in recruitment and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in classroom and ensemble settings. She received her Bachelors in Music Education from Illinois State University in Normal, IL and her Masters in Music Education from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, IL. She also holds a Masters of Administrative Leadership from Concordia University in River Forest, IL.

Prior to joining VanderCook, Mrs. Farris served as the Director of Performing Arts at Roosevelt and Robert Morris Universities where she administered all facets of a comprehensive arts program including instrumental music, choir and theatre. Her responsibilities included creating all department operations and systems in the areas of curriculum, scheduling, finance and budgets, marketing, branding and program promotion as well as leading efforts in recruitment, admissions and advising.

Mrs. Farris is the recipient of numerous National Band Association Citations of Excellence, awarded the Chicagoland Outstanding Music Educator Award and elected to the Phi Beta Mu National Band Director’s Honorary Fraternity. She is a member of the Music Educators National Conference, the Illinois Music Educators Association, and the National Band Association.

Isaiah Odajima is Associate Professor of Ensembles and Associate Director of Bands at Baylor University. He conducts the Baylor Symphonic Band, directs the marching band (Golden Wave Band), and oversees all athletic bands. He also instructs courses in instrumental conducting and marching band pedagogy, assists with the graduate wind conducting program, and serves as an advisor in the music education area.

Dr. Odajima returned to the Baylor University faculty in 2009, having served as the Assistant Director of Bands from 2001 to 2003. Prior to his current role, he served as Assistant Director of Bands at Michigan State University. Before his university posts he taught in the Texas public school system at the middle school and high school levels. He holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in wind conducting from Michigan State University, a Master of Music degree in wind conducting from Baylor University, and a Bachelor of Music degree in music education from Stephen F. Austin State University.

Dr. Odajima has recently been elected to the American Bandmasters Association, is a member of the College Band Directors National Association, Texas Music Educators Association, and is an honorary member of the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association. Dr. Odajima is also a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma.

Richard Suk is director of the Marching 110, known as "the most exciting band in the land." The Marching 110 is known throughout the United States as one of the finest show bands, incorporating precision dance routines with its excellent musicianship.

A native of Mobile, Alabama, Richard Suk received the Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music Education degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi and earned the Doctor of Education degree from the University of Illinois. He taught in the public schools of Mississippi and Alabama for ten years where his ensembles received consistent superior ratings at state, regional and national events.

Dr. Suk is a member of various professional and honorary societies including Kappa Kappa Psi, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Music Educators National Conference, Pi Kappa Lambda, and the National Band Association where he serves as chair of marching band activities for the organization. He is a recipient of the National Band Association's Citation of Excellence and is active as an adjudicator, clinician and drill writer.

Dr. Ishbah Cox is the Director of Wind Ensembles and Assistant Professor of Music at Capital University in the Conservatory of Music in Columbus, OH. He is a conductor, educator, and arranger with more than twenty years of university and public school experience. Dr. Cox most recently served as the Director of Bands at Olentangy Orange High School in Lewis Center, Ohio. Prior to that appointment, he was an Associate Professor of Bands at Purdue University where he conducted multiple wind bands, brass choir, and he was one of the assistant directors for the marching band.

Dr. Cox holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Auburn University, in Auburn, Alabama, his master’s degree is in music performance from the University of Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, and a Doctor of Arts in Wind Conducting with a secondary specialization in Euphonium Performance from Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana.

An accomplished arranger for marching and pep bands, Cox currently writes for Hal Leonard Corporation, high schools, and universities throughout the country, including the Purdue University, Penn State University, The Ohio State University, and the University of Wisconsin marching bands. He has also collaborated with global artists Papa Roach and the Huntertones to adapt their music for performances with marching bands.

Dr. Cox holds professional memberships in the Ohio Music Educators Association (OMEA), National Band Association (NBA), American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Kappa Kappa Psi, and the Collegiate Band Directors National Association (CBDNA). He holds Honorary Memberships with both the Gamma Pi Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi and Beta Sigma Chapter of Tau Beta Sigma (TBS) at Purdue University. He is a member of Phi Beta Mu (Mu Chapter) where he serves on the executive board.

Brian Hildreth has been working as a Band Director at Northside Independent School District for 5 years. Northside Independent School District is part of the Education industry, and located in Texas, United States.

Scott Seal has been involved with drum corps and marching band in some capacity since he was five years old. He marched in The Cavaliers organization for fourteen years, served on their visual staff for over a decade, and was privileged to spend a few seasons on staff with the Bluecoats Drum & Bugle Corps as well.

For fifteen years, Scott was the visual caption head for former BOA champion Lake Park High School of Roselle, IL and he still instructs and advises several high school marching bands.

Scott has served as a marching band clinician and judge in several states for the last 30 years. In the real world, he is married with three children and loves coaching youth baseball.

Adjudication panel — class 4a-6a

Brian Logan has led band programs, from grade school through college, for more than four decades. Upon retiring from Wheeling HS, Wheeling, Illinois, Mr. Logan worked for VanderCook College of Music, creating their One City Jazz Program for underserved Chicagoland students. He also administered the Chicago Public Schools Advanced Arts Program. Mr. Logan has led ensembles to numerous performances at the Midwest Clinic, Music for all National Concert Band Festival, Umbria Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, and more. Mr. Logan has been awarded the John Paynter Lifetime Achievement Award from Quinlan and Fabish Music, and the Illinois Band Master of the Year Award from Phi Beta Mu. The National Band Association has awarded Mr. Logan 19 “Citation of Excellence” awards. He also received a Paul Harris Fellow from the Rotary Foundation International.

Brian Stevon Taylor earned his Bachelor of Science in Music Education cum laude from Jacksonville State University. Under the mentorship of Dr. Thomas V. Fraschillo, Dr. Taylor received the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts, both in Instrumental Conducting and Pedagogy, from The University of Southern Mississippi.

Dr. Taylor began his teaching career in rural Alabama at Cold Springs School followed by teaching assignments in Cobb County, Georgia. In the Cobb County System, he taught on the middle and high school levels working with Simpson Middle School and extracurricularly at Lassiter High School. After attending graduate school, Dr. Taylor was named Associate Director of Bands at the University of Louisiana Lafayette. There he was responsible for the 275 member “Pride of Acadiana Marching Band”, basketball bands, Symphonic and Concert Bands, and taught courses in conducting and music education. During his tenure, the Pride performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (2005 and 2012), and completed performance tours of England, Scotland, and Spain. In addition to normal performances, the Pride participated in football bowl games and several national basketball tournaments. Currently, Dr. Taylor offers services to high school programs under the name, BT Design Concepts. The company provides visual design for marching bands, winter guards, and indoor percussion, camp staffing, adjudication services, leadership seminars, and consulting.

Previous judging experience includes Drum Corps International and marching band in Indiana (ISSMA), IL, KY, NC, SC, AL, MS, TN, and OK. Judging experience with winter guard, winds, and indoor percussion include the circuits of SAPA, SCGC, LMCGPC, MIA, and OIPA. He also performed in the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps for Rockford, Illinois.

Keith Baker has several decades of experience in adjudication, instruction, and design in the pageantry arts. He has directed the Edwardsville Winter Guard, the Tabb HS (VA) Color Guard, and the Danvile HS Color Guard. He performed with the Belleville Black Knights, Geneseo Knights, and Capital Brass Ensemble drum corps and has taught numerous ensembles including Images Winter Guard, Francis Howell Central Indoor Drumline, and James Madison HS Marching Band (Va). He continues to be active as a designer and instructor with high schools from Missouri to Maryland. In addition to teaching clinics on judging and working as a judge throughout the United States Keith is also a judge with Drum Corps International and Winter Guard International. He teaches history in Southern Illinois and has built two full-scale Medieval trebuchets.

Dr. J. Ashley Jarrell currently serves as Director of Bands at the University of North Georgia, where his responsibilities include conducting the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band, and teaching music education and conducting courses. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Jarrell served as Assistant Director of Bands at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Previously, he served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant and the inaugural candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree in Wind Conducting at Illinois, where he was a recipient of the Begian Conducting Assistantship. While a graduate student at the University, Dr. Jarrell served on the School of Music Graduate Committee and he received the Edmund C. Williams award for excellence in bands. He received the Master of Arts degree in Wind Conducting from Middle Tennessee State University and the Bachelor of Music degree from East Tennessee State University.

Before coming to the University of Illinois, Dr. Jarrell served as Director of Bands at Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet School in Nashville, Tennessee. Consistently named by U.S. News and World Report and Newsweek magazines as one of the fifty best high schools in the nation, Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Magnet School Bands received numerous superior ratings, accolades, and three performances for the Tennessee Music Education Association Conference in the span of six years during Dr. Jarrell’s tenure. He also served as Associate Director of Bands at Middle Tennessee State University and Associate Director of Bands at Harpeth High School (TN.)

Dr. Jarrell is active as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States. He is also an active member of many professional organizations including Georgia Music Educators Association, National Association for Music Education, National Band Association, College Band Directors National Association, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and elected membership with American School Band Directors Association, Phi Beta Mu and Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society.

A native of Springfield, Virginia, Ryan Adamsons is based in Chicago where he is an active performer, composer, and educator. His drum corps career began as a marching member of the Bluecoats from 1998 to 2002, and he continued with the organization as a brass instructor from 2003 to 2008 and again in 2011. In 2012 he joined the brass staff of the Santa Clara Vanguard, helping to build the brass program to their first DCI World Championship in nearly 20 years and their first ever Jim Ott High Brass Award in 2018. In addition to his duties with the World Class A corps, he joined the Open Class Vanguard Cadets as Brass Caption Manager and Brass Arranger in 2018 before taking over as Assistant Brass Caption Manager for the A corps in 2019. He joined the educational staff for the Phantom Regiment in 2020 and is now the Brass Caption Manager. In addition, Ryan continued his arranging duties for the Vanguard Cadets through their 2022 Open Class Championship season, and began writing for the Academy in 2023. Ryan is also an active instructor, adjudicator, and clinician, working with countless groups in the US, Canada, and Japan. In addition to writing for various marching ensembles, he has numerous works for jazz ensemble, with his educational charts published and available through Kendor. He is also the co-author of the book Rehearsing the Jazz Band published by Meredith Music.

He serves on the Board of Directors for the Chicago Jazz Orchestra developing their educational programs, is the Jazz Area Manager for The Midwest Clinic, and has several roles for the Jazz Education Network including as Conference Production Coordinator for their annual international conference. He plays Powell Custom trumpets and flugelhorns.

Tony Hall has been involved in the pageantry arts as an instructor, designer, consultant and adjudicator for over the last 40 years. He has written countless championship shows for high school marching bands & winter guards across the United States. Tony has designed visual programs for several drum & bugle corps including the Velvet Knights, Blue Knights, Sky Ryders and Garfield Cadets. He has been a member of Phantom Regiment’s visual team in many capacities including designer since 1993 and has been their Artistic Director since 2020. Tony has judged all visual captions in the drum corps, marching band & winter guard arena.

Tony currently resides in Bradenton, Florida with his wife & two children.

Paul Wiercioch has been involved in the marching arts since 2001 as a performer, educator, clinical, and adjudicator. Most notably eleven years over 2007-2018 as a Designer, Manager, and Visual Coordinator Green Thunder Percussion, later named Cavaliers Indoor Percussion. Prior to his tenure with Cavaliers Indoor, Mr. Wiercioch was a member of the Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps contra section (2001-2004) and visual staff (2011-2013). In addition to his work with the drum corps, Mr. Wiercioch has worked extensively with marching band and winter guard programs throughout the state of Illinois for the past twenty years. Most recently, Mr. Wiercioch served Lake Park High School (2009-2011, 2014-2015) as visual caption head and designer for the marching band and a visual designer for the winter guard; Mr. Wiercioch’s time at Lake Park was preceded by work at Plainfield North High School, John Hersey High School, and Normal West High School.

Mr. Wiercioch attended Illinois State University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. During the week, he works as a Sales Executive for Sentinel Technologies, and he lives in Woodridge with his wife Gail and his three year old son, Evan.

field & IMBC STAFF

Wayne Gordon is currently in his 21st year as band director at Northbrook School District 27’s Wood Oaks Jr. High School where he conducts the Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, and Jazz Band. Mr. Gordon also taught high school in southern Maryland and conducted the University of Chicago Wind Ensemble (1990-2010). Under his direction the bands at Wood Oaks have doubled in size, and the Wood Oaks Wind Ensemble has become one of the premier middle school bands in the State of Illinois. A graduate of Northwestern University and student of the legendary John P. Paynter, Mr. Gordon is a National Board Certified teacher and has earned numerous honors including the Chicagoland Outstanding Music Educator Award and a dozen Citations of Excellence from the National Band Association. Mr. Gordon is an active adjudicator and clinician, has taught on the campuses of Northwestern University (NHSMI), the University of Illinois (ISYM), and Illinois State University (ISSA). He conducts festival bands throughout the State of Illinois, and is an active performer on French Horn with the North Suburban Wind Ensemble. A former chair of the ILMEA District VII Junior Band, Mr. Gordon is the co-founder of the All-Illinois Junior Band (AIJB), and serves as the Illinois State Chair for the National Band Association.

Andy Isbell has served as the Voice of the Marching Illini since 1996, and has been the announcer at IMBC for most of the past 25 years. While attending Illinois he was a member of the Marching Illini Flugelhorn section for 5 years. He also spent 20 seasons as public address announcer for the Illini women's volleyball team and 5 seasons with the Illini women's basketball team. Andy is a 37 year member of the Barbershop Harmony Society, has won two Illinois barbershop quartet championships, and currently sings with and serves as bass section leader for the award winning men's chorus The Ambassadors of Harmony.