Dakota McConnell

Percussion Caption Head

Dakota McConnell
Percussion Caption Head

Dakota McConnell is a percussionist and educator from Casa Grande, Arizona. Dakota is an alumni of The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps where he marched from 2014-2017, leading the section in ‘15 and ‘17. Dakota also marched with Pulse Percussion in the 2017 and in 2018 led the group to a 4th place finish. Dakota has a Bachelor of Arts from ASU in interdisciplinary studies with concentrations in business and economics. Dakota has taught Casa Grande Percussion Ensemble since fall 2016, taught with The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps in 2018 & 2023, 2024, and Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps 2019-2022. Dakota has learned from, but not limited to, Glen Crosby, Ike Jackson, John Mapes, Cisco Hance, Rick Barclay, Ryan Anderson, Ezekiel Lanser, Connor Yasuda, Drew Guy, Will Edmonds, Stevie Hagel, and John Sutton.

Whitney Hansen

Front Ensemble Coordinator

Whitney Hansen
Front Ensemble Coordinator

Whitney Hansen is a dedicated music educator and percussion specialist based in Phoenix, Arizona. She is an active band director, percussion instructor, design consultant, and clinician passionate about fostering excellence and creativity in the marching arts. 

Whitney earned her Bachelor of Music Education from Northern Arizona University, where she studied under Dr. Steven Hemphill. Since then, she has been deeply involved in developing percussion programs across Arizona, serving as both director and instructor for numerous successful high school ensembles. Recently her percussion students have earned consecutive ABODA Division I and AzMBA 5A state championships titles, All-State Band and Orchestra placements, AzPAS Percussion Ensemble competition titles, and a Tier 3 AMEA Honor Recital performance. 

Her independent instructional experience includes positions with Breakthrough Indoor Percussion, Phenom Drum & Bugle Corps, and the Blue Stars Drum & Bugle Corps. 

Currently, Whitney serves as the Percussion Caption Head for the Mountain Ridge High School “Pride of the West” Marching Band in Glendale, AZ, and the Front Ensemble Coordinator for Flux Indoor Percussion, an independent World-Class WGI ensemble based in Casa Grande, AZ. In these roles, she focuses on cultivating performance-driven musicianship and inspiring the next generation of Arizona percussionists. 

Luke Sesker

Snare Technician

Luke Sesker
Snare Technician

Luke Sesker is returning for his second year with The Academy. 

Luke has been an instructor in the marching arts since 2011, teaching many programs local to his home state of Iowa. He has served as the Ensemble Director of Crossroads Percussion since the groups founding in 2017, and is currently the Drumline Coordinator for Iowa State University; 2026 will be his 10th season working with the program. Prior to The Academy, in DCI he has worked as a battery instructor with The Jersey Surf, and The Colt Cadets.  

His marching experience includes four seasons with Iowa State, two seasons with The Colts, and two seasons with The Blue Stars, aging out as battery captain in 2012. He also marched four seasons with Gateway Indoor, aging out as the snare section leader for the 2013 season. 

David Parker

Snare Technician

David Parker
Snare Technician

David Parker grew up in Oklahoma City, OK, and discovered the marching arts while attending Westmoore High School. While doing high school marching band, David performed with Resistance Indoor Percussion in 2015. After graduating high school, David went on to start his DCI career by performing with The Academy from 2017 to 2018, serving as drumline section leader in 2018. He then performed with Bluecoats from 2019 to 2020, earning a silver medal with them at the 2019 DCI World Class Championships. 

Since 2017, David has taught hundreds of students, both privately and through the high school and drum corps drumlines he has taught. David started writing solo snare material and posting it online very early in his career, which became increasingly popular and led to him self-publishing a series of rudimental snare etudes known as “Snare Food.” 

David currently teaches at Piedmont High School in Piedmont, OK, and is the Battery Coordinator at Resistance Indoor Percussion in Tulsa, OK. He also currently arranges for several high schools nationwide. 

Justin Clement

Snare Technician

Justin Clement
Snare Technician

Justin Clement is an experienced marching percussion educator specializing in snare drum technique/clarity. He was born and raised in central California and has worked with various high school programs, currently serving as the percussion caption head for James C. Enochs HS. He additionally serves as the battery coordinator for Red Wave Indoor in Fresno, CA. Helping to develop high-achieving musicians and encouraging personal growth are a few of many reasons for his commitment to the marching arts. 

Justin’s performance experience includes Blue Knights DBC, Carolina Crown, and Broken City Percussion. Outside of music, he is an avid snowboarder, animal lover, and art enthusiast. He is very excited to bring his expertise and passion for snare drumming to The Academy for the upcoming 2026 season. 

Kyle Angilletta

Snare Technician

Kyle Angilletta
Snare Technician

Kyle Angilletta is an independent drumset player, marching percussionist, and music educator based out of Phoenix, AZ. He has earned his BA in Music Performance (Jazz) from Arizona State University and is currently working on his Master’s in Music Performance (Jazz) at ASU as well!

Kyle is a proud alumnus of The Academy and its various programs; beginning with two years of Phenom Soundsport (2019-20), and then marching with The Academy from 2021-2024. Kyle served as center snare and led the percussion section in ‘23 & ‘24. He also marched many years of WGI, participating with Vision Percussion from 2019-2023 and finishing with Flux Indoor Percussion in 2024. 

Kyle has taught various high school and independent ensembles across Arizona, including: Horizon HS, Corona del Sol HS, Convergence Indoor Percussion, and The Academy. His previous instructors include, Cisco Hance, Dakota McConnell, Jim Ragsdale, Wardell King, John McClean, Roberto Paz, Nick Angelis, Brandon Olander, Miles Kenobbie, and David Parker. 

Alessandro Piombi

Quad Technician

Alessandro Piombi
Quad Technician

Alessandro is an energetic and passionate educator in the Arizona marching arts community. He has performed with organizations such as Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps, The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps, RCC Indoor Percussion, and Flux Indoor Percussion. Alessandro also has a B.S. in psychology from ASU and currently uses his degree in the field of social work. Outside of drumming, Alessandro also likes to go to concerts and spend time with his friends/family. 

Zach Larsen

Quad Technician

Zach Larsen
Quad Technician

Zach Larsen is an alumnus of groups such as Blue Devils B (2019), the Blue Stars (2022), Red Wave Indoor Percussion (2022), and Thesis Indoor Percussion (2023). After aging-out he went to teach Red Wave and Thesis for the 2024 season while completing his undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley. He is now teaching Red Wave Indoor for his second season while continuing to work as a researcher within a nuclear physics group at Berkeley, where he aims to improve optical models and reconstruction algorithms for next-generation hybrid neutrino detectors.

Ryan McDaniel

Quad Technician

Ryan McDaniel
Quad Technician

Hailing from Lawrenceville, Georgia, Ryan McDaniel is an accomplished percussionist and educator with a deep-rooted passion for the marching arts. As a student, he earned multiple accolades and scholarships, including the John LaMatinna Percussion Award, and participated In District Jazz Ensembles. In college, he marched with the Georgia State Panther Band as a quad player, participated as a respected drum set player in the Georgia State Basketball Band following Casey Cooper, and performed as a drum set player in various jazz ensembles within the university.  

Starting in 2016, he developed a strong performance foundation marching bass and quads with Q2. He went on to perform with Equinox Percussion for two seasons—earning Member of the Year while serving as section leader—and spent three seasons performing with Music City Mystique, one of the premier indoor percussion ensembles in the world. His DCI experience includes two summers marching with the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps. 

As an educator, Ryan McDaniel has built a respected career training performers at every level of the activity. He has taught at Brookwood High School in Snellville, GA since 2017, where he has spent nine years developing the percussion program and arranging several of their warmups. He also spent a year with the Lambert High School team in 2021 working alongside Eric Brown and Tonya Mashburn who are well respected names in the activity. He spent his collegiate level teaching at Georgia State University as a quad tech from 2019 to 2025. His instructional experience also includes serving as quad tech for Q2 beginning in 2023;  working as a quad tech with the Colts from 2021 to 2023;  serving as both battery technician and battery coordinator for the Colt Cadets in 2023 and 2024, and teaching with The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps in 2025. He is excited and determined to cultivate fundamental excellence with the Academy in 2026. 

He continues to teach private lessons under twenty-one years of drum set experience and fourteen years of quad drumming experience. 

Driven, experienced, and dedicated to building musicianship through excellence, Ryan McDaniel continues to shape young performers and contribute to programs across the marching arts community. 

Jadon Gomez

Bass Technician

Jadon Gomez
Bass Technician

Jadon Gomez is an Arizona educator and bass drum specialist. Spending many years as a performer in the Arizona community. His marching career involves time with The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps and many indoor ensembles. He helped lead The Academy battery in 2022, also earning the most outstanding percussion member award. His education highlights the importance of consistency, growth, and aggressive attention to detail. He is currently on staff at Flux indoor percussion and will be returning to The Academy for his second season. In Jadon’s life, he spends most of his time with his wife and dogs. Jadon teaches 3rd grade elementary and plays drumset for his local church.

Bailey Perrson

Bass Technician

Bailey Perrson
Bass Technician

Bailey started his world class experience at The Academy playing bass drum for two seasons, then went to age out with the Colts and Music City Mystique. He is now teaching bass drum at Blue Knights Percussion Ensemble and is forklift certified.

Eitan Chervony

Bass Technician

Eitan Chervony
Bass Technician

Eitan Chervony is a bass drummer from Copiague, New York, where he first began his journey in the marching arts. He spent his early drum corps years performing with the Sunrisers Drum & Bugle Corps from 2017 to 2019. After graduating high school, Eitan attended Syracuse University, performing as a bass drummer with the Syracuse University Marching Band (SUMB) from 2021 to 2023. Following the COVID period, he continued to advance his marching career with The Academy in 2023 before completing his final seasons with The Cavaliers in 2024 and 2025. During the winter seasons, he performed with United Percussion in 2024 and 2025, and concluded his indoor career with Rhythm X in 2026 for his age-out. 

Eitan’s teaching experience includes serving on the instructional staff for the Copiague Marching Band from 2022 to 2025 and working with the Hicksville Marching Band in 2025. He is currently a member of the visual design team for the Port Chester Marching Band and Indoor Percussion program. In addition, Eitan served as a Bass Drum Technician for the Sunrisers Drum & Bugle Corps during the 2025 season. 

Outside of the marching arts, Eitan is an alumnus of Syracuse University, where he earned a background in Exercise Science and Nutrition. He intends to pursue a career in Physical Therapy in the near future. 

Ian Petrie

Bass Technician

Ian Petrie
Bass Technician

Ian is percussion educator from Gilbert, Arizona. After graduating from Williamsfield High School, he marched 4 years with Flux Indoor Percussion from 2022-2025 and is currently aging out with RCC. Ian marched 1 year at The Academy in 2022 and the last 3 summers at Blue Knights.

Outside of teaching, Ian likes to watch movies and play D&D with his friends.

Davis Ong

Cymbal Technician

Davis Ong
Cymbal Technician

Davis Ong is an Arizona percussionist originally from San Diego, CA. His experience includes 5 years with the Pride of Arizona cymbal line, as well as 2 years as a member of Flux (2021-2022) and aging out with Pulse Indoor Percussion (2023). He graduated with a BA in Sociology with a minor in music, and currently resides in Tucson. Davis has been an educator in the marching arts since 2020, teaching winter seasons at Rincon University High school (2023) and Sahuarita High School (2020-2024). He has been educated by some of the best cymbal techs in the country including but not limited to Aurora Asher, Matt Warren, Pablo Rodriguez, Alfredo Scott, Albert Avelar Jr., Zach Freeman, and Derek Wu.

Ethan Evanoff

Cymbal Technician

Ethan Evanoff
Cymbal Technician

Ethan has worked with many ensembles in Southern California including La Habra High school, Ayala High school, Impulse DBC, Dark Sky Percussion and others. His marching experience includes The Academy 2023 and RCC Indoor 2023-2024 all on cymbals. As an alumni and age out of the corps, Ethan is very excited to come back to the place he gave his heart to and contribute to the future of the Academy and cymbal culture as a whole.

Amber Larroque

Cymbal Technician

Amber Larroque
Cymbal Technician

Amber performed on trumpet with Golden Empire Drum and Bugle Corps in 2015 and 2016 and then with The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps from 2017 through 2019. During that time she also marched cymbals for Bakersfield College Indoor in 2018 and 2019, and POW Percussion in 2020 and 2022.

Outside of performing, Amber graduated from California State University of Fresno with a BA in music education. Amber currently teaches cymbals at El Dorado High School (PSW), and this will be her fourth year with Meraki Indoor Percussion (PIW).

Trevor Litschauer

Cymbal Technician

Trevor Litschauer
Cymbal Technician

Trevor Litschauer is a percussionist and educator born and raised in Gilbert, Arizona. As a performer, his experience includes one season with LINEA (2020) and two seasons with Flux Indoor Percussion (2021-2022). Some previous instructors he has learned from include Matt Warren, Payton Governo, Aurora Asher, and Joe Howard.  

Early in his instructional career, Trevor has served as the Visual Caption Head for Eastmark High School for their inaugural year in 2021 up until 2024, serving as a key role in developing their visual program over the years while guiding them to competitive success. He also previously served as a cymbal instructor for Breakthrough Indoor Percussion (2023-2024) helping them become a finalist in 2024. Trevor currently teaches at Casa Grande Indoor Percussion Ensemble (2024-Present) and Flux Indoor Percussion (2025-Present). 

Trevor is currently finishing his studies for a Bachelor’s in Data Science at Arizona State University and works full-time as a Data Analyst. 

Thomas Wharton

Front Ensemble Technician

Thomas Wharton
Front Ensemble Technician

Thomas Wharton is a percussion educator residing in Southeast Michigan. He works with several competitive ensembles around the state, including Redline Percussion, Huron Valley Percussion, Dakota High School, and the Ferndale High School Marching Band. His teaching history spans many other programs around the country, such as Cap City Percussion, Apex Percussion, the Seattle Cascades Drum and Bugle Corps, Lake Orion High School, and Plymouth Canton Educational Park. Thomas is an alumni of The Cavaliers, Carolina Crown, Northcoast Academy, and Cavaliers Indoor Percussion. While not teaching, Thomas can be found performing in his local community orchestras and writing music. Thomas has been with The Academy since 2023 and is excited for his third season with the drum corps!

Nathan Huxtable

Front Ensemble Technician

Nathan Huxtable
Front Ensemble Technician

Nathan Huxtable (he/him) is a front ensemble instructor based in Riverside, CA. Originally from Illinois, Nathan moved to California in 2021 to pursue graduate studies in Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Riverside.  

Nathan’s performance experience includes stints with The Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps, the Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps, Cavaliers Indoor Percussion, and Green Thunder Percussion.  

He has instructed middle, high school, and college age marching arts programs since 2015, and is currently the percussion caption head at Citrus Hill HS (Perris, CA), as well as the front ensemble coordinator at Martin Luther King HS (Riverside, CA) and Frank Augustus Miller MS (Riverside, CA).  

Sammy Aguilar

Front Ensemble Technician

Sammy Aguilar
Front Ensemble Technician

Sammy Aguilar is a dedicated percussion educator from Gilbert, AZ. He has worked with programs across Arizona, including Flux Indoor Percussion, Casa Grande Union High School, and Mountain Ridge High School, where he currently serves as the front ensemble assistant caption head. 

His marching experience includes one season with the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps (2023), two seasons with the ASU Sun Devil Marching Band (2019 and 2023), and five seasons with Flux Indoor Percussion (2020–2024) 

Sammy holds a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy with a minor in Applied Mathematics from Arizona State University. 

Connor Maguire

Front Ensemble Technician

Connor Maguire
Front Ensemble Technician

Connor is a percussionist and educator from Buckeye, Arizona. Starting his percussion journey in 2015, he quickly became mesmerizing by the art and continued to persure any and all recourses available.

Continuing his drive to learn, Connor went on to perform with ensembles across the country such as the Sun Devil Marching Band, Impulse Drum Corps, Colt Cadets, Flux Indoor Percussion, Blue Knights, Carolina Crown, and Broken City.

With nearly a decade of percussion experience, Connor has taught a handful of schools and a wide variety of students from Marching Band, Indoor Percussion, to Private and Classroom instruction across Arizona and California.