WHS Bands - Heart of Carolina

Home

Leadership

Music

Kevin Rabon, Brass Caption Head - Phantom Regiment

Mr. Rabon earned his Bachelor's of Music Education degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is currently the Director of Bands at Benold Middle School in Georgetown, Texas. During the summer, Mr. Rabon serves at the brass caption head of the Phantom Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps from Rockford, Illinois, which has always been known for its powerful and distinctive classical sound. Mr. Rabon is an active clinician and adjudicator during the marching band season.

Dr. Albert L. Lilly, III, Central States Judges Association

Dr. Albert L. Lilly, III is a trumpeter, arranger, composer, clinician, and pedagogue. He holds a Bachelor of Music Degree with majors in Music and Economics from the DePauw University School of Music, where he studied trumpet with Robert Grocock and composition with Dr. David Ott. Albert completed a Master of Music in Music Performance (trumpet) at the Jordan College/Conservatory of Music, Butler University, where he was a trumpet student of Marvin Perry II and a composition student of Dr. Michael Schelle. Albert recently completed a Doctor of Music degree in Brass Pedagogy and Literature (trumpet) at the Indiana University School of Music, where he studied trumpet with Charles Gorham, and jazz improvisation, composition and arranging with Dr. David Baker and Dominic Spera. He also has studied trumpet privately with William Adam, Stephen Burns, Bernard Adelstein, Dominic Spera, Charles Schlueter, Allan Dean, and Delbert Dale. Albert has also studied horn with Michael Hatfield and Philip Farkas, trombone and euphonium with M. Dee Stewart, and tuba with Harvey Phillips.

Albert is an active musician and pedagogue, with more than 30 students in the central Indiana area and many professional performance opportunities. His performances can be heard throughout the Midwest as a member of the Centennial Brass, and in solo performances with numerous symphonic and wind ensemble, jazz groups and churches. He currently is principal trumpet with the Bloomington (IN) Symphony Orchestra, and is frequently engaged as a substitute trumpeter with many other orchestras. He has performed at several International Trumpet Guild Conferences, and serves on the Artist Faculty for the National Trumpet Competition. During his studies at Indiana University, Albert performed as a member of the world renowned Indiana University Music Festival Orchestra for the Indiana University School of Music. He was a founding member of the Indianapolis Brass Choir, and played trumpet with the Krannert Brass Quintet. Other performance credits too numerous to mention make up Albert’s substantial list of musical experiences, including performances for National Public Radio, CBS records and ESPN television.

Albert was formerly the Associate Director of Bands at Martinsville High School, Martinsville, IN. He assisted in conducting the Symphonic Band, Pep Band, and Jazz Band, and served as music caption head and arranger for the marching band. Albert also wrote numerous arrangements for the school show choir and combo (which he directed), as well as arrangements for the school orchestra. He currently writes arrangements for many marching ensembles nationally, and writes many arrangements and settings for choral groups, church orchestras, and local theatre productions. Bands performing his arrangements have won state titles and been state finalists numerous times. Albert holds membership in the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).

Albert is the Education Director, Music Caption Head, and adjudicates marching band contests for the Central States Judges Association, the oldest and most widely recognised judges’ association in the United States. He has adjudicated numerous state finals marching contests, and is in constant demand as an adjudicator and clinician during the marching season. He frequently adjudicates contests for the Indiana State School Music Association, including the adjudication of State Solo Contest numerous times as a trumpet judge. He currently serves on the Brass Manual Revision Committee for ISSMA. He also serves as a clinician and adjudicator for the Indiana Music Educators Association.

Albert currently serves as Calendar Editor for the International Trumpet Guild, a position he has held since 1998. His calendar column is a regular fixture in the ITG Journal, and appears on the Internet at the ITG web site. Albert is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia national music fraternity, Pi Kappa Lambda honorary national music fraternity, Pi Lambda Theta honorary national education fraternity, and the Indiana Bandmaster’s Association.

Dr. Larry Marks, UNC-Charlotte Director of Bands

Dr. Marks holds degrees in clarinet performance and music education from San Jose Sate University, music education from the University of Illinois and music education/wind conducting from the University of Southern California. Prior to undertaking doctoral studies, Dr. Marks produced nationally prominent HS bands in California. He came to UNC Charlotte from the University of Missouri at Columbia where he served as Assistant Director of University Bands. Prior appointments include positions at the University of Oklahoma, the University of Louisville. Dr. Marks has extensive experience as an adjudicator and clinician across the country and in Canada, and he is an acknowledged researcher and presenter in the field of music education. He conducts the Charlotte Youth Wind Ensemble, a regional HS honor band, in addition to his serving as Director of Bands.

David L. Hawks, DCI Judge

David L. Hawks is the principal of Bunn Middle School in Franklin County. The school serves a student population of 750 students in grades six through eight. For the previous six years he was principal of Zeb Vance Elementary School in Vance County which was twice recognized as a North Carolina School of Distinction and twice as a North Carolina School of Excellence. Prior to this position he was the Director of Bands at Roanoke Rapids High School for seventeen years. Mr. Hawks received his Bachelor of Music Education Degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1978. He completed a Masters Degree in Music Education from East Carolina University in 1987 and a Masters Degree in Educational Administration from East Carolina University in 1990.

Mr. Hawks has been honored by receiving many awards, among them are the North Carolina Bandmasters Association "Award of Excellence", and the National Band Association's "Citation of Excellence." In 1987 his Symphonic Band performed at the NCMEA In-Service Conference. While under his leadership, Roanoke Rapids High School Bands received seventeen "Superior" ratings at the North Carolina District Concert Band Festival. In his last five years in Roanoke Rapids the RRHS Marching Band won first place at thirty-two out of thirty-five marching band festivals in North Carolina and Virginia. Additionally the RRHS Band consistently placed many students in the Eastern All District Band and the North Carolina Allstate Honors Band. He also initiated the Eastern North Carolina Marching Band Festival which has been held annually in Roanoke Rapids for the past eighteen years and draws between 36 - 40 bands.

Mr. Hawks’ professional affiliations included membership in the Music Educators National Conference, the North Carolina Music Educators Association, the National Band Association, the North Carolina Bandmasters Association and the American School Band Directors Association. Mr. Hawks is a past President of the North Carolina Bandmasters Association and has served as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the Southeast.

Visual

Dr. Mark Metz, DCI and WGI Visual Judge

Dr. Mark Metz, a former music educator, is a psychologist who specializes in the treatment of children and adolescents. He received a B.S. in Music Education and an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from West Chester University, a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from West Virginia University, and a Clinical Fellowship from Harvard Medical School. He has taught at all educational levels from elementary through graduate school.

Mark remains active in all aspects of pageantry, and brings with him over 30 years of experience as a performer, instructor, designer, coordinator, consultant, and adjudicator. His affiliations include a long list of notable programs, including the Reading Buccaneers, Crossmen, and Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps; the Cavaliers and Threshold Winter Guards; and numerous championship high school marching units most recently, the North Penn Marching Knights of Lansdale, PA. Mark is a former Judge Administrator and Director of Education who has served as a clinician and championship-level adjudicator throughout North America. His current national affiliations include Drum Corps International and Winter Guard International.

Keith Overton, Visual Judge

Percussion

David Snead, AIA Percussion Judge

Mr. Snead holds a Masters in Music Performance and Education and a Bachelors of Music Education Degree from James Madison University and Virginia Commonwealth University respectively. Currently serving his 16th year as a Band Director for Va. Beach City Public Schools, Mr. Snead is currently in his ninth year as Director of Bands at Bayside Middle School and is the former Director of the Bayside High School Band. (1990-96)

Mr. Snead served for three years as the Percussion Instructor /Arranger for the Elon University "Pride of the Carolinas" Marching Band in Burlington, North Carolina, and help to start this fine marching band program for Elon University. He is a member of MENC, VBODA, PAS, WGI.

Mr. Snead also serves as an adjudicator for numerous band competitions and circuits throughout the United States including the Atlantic States Judges Association Indoor Percussion,as well as for the USSBA marching Band Circuit. He performs professionally on percussion both in the studio and with several local bands in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, including the Williamsburg Symphonia Orchestra and three different jazz ensembles from small combo to large jazz bands.

Mr. Snead is a former staff instructor and member of the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps, Atlanta, Ga.(1979-83) as well as the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps, Lacrosse Wisconsin,(1977-79) and has studied under Tom Float, Steve Smith, William Rice and Don Bick. Mr. Snead is also a drill designer and music arranger for several band programs in Virginia and North Carolina, and his ensembles continue to compete successfully on the state and national levels each year.

Color Guard

David Priester, AIA Color Guard Judge

Mr. Priester started as a visual judge with the Ohio All American Judging Association in 1978. After a job transfer in 1980, he became a member of the National Judges Association (NJA) where he served as the Tournament of Bands Chapter 12 Coordinator for 14 years. In addition to NJA, he also judged with the Drum Corps Associates Senior Drum and Bugle Corps Circuit. In 1994, Mr. Priester and his wife Darlene helped form the Atlantic States Judges Association and the Atlantic Indoor Association Circuit for indoor color guard and percussion competitions. He has worked as a visual technician and advisor for high schools in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. He currently serves as a member of the Winter Guard International World Championships Committee and is a WGI timing and penalties judge. For the past 14 years, he has been a judge for the American Legion National Contests and has served as Chief Judge of that event for the past four years. On April 4, 2004, David and his wife Darlene were the first inductees into the Atlantic Indoor Association’s Hall of Honor.

Drum Major

Shad Ritchie, Former Drum Major UNC Chapel Hill

Mr. Ritchie is currently a Healthcare Administrator for NorthEast Medical Center in Concord, North Carolina. He has been involved with Drum Majoring for over eight years. During his time as a Drum Major he has won many awards and accolades. While in college, he served as a Drum Major for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Currently, he is regularly called upon to judge and provide instruction for drum majors throughout the Charlotte area.