Andrew Gregory
Caption Head

Andrew Gregory was born and raised in the upstate of South Carolina. He is a graduate of Boiling Springs High School, and studied music education at the University of South Carolina. As a performer, Andrew was a member of the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps from 2012 – 2015.

After graduating college and aging out of DCI, Andrew began teaching full time while designing and judging on the side. As an educator and designer, he has experienced success within Bands of America, Winter Guard International, Drum Corps International, and local scholastic circuits. Andrew has worked in DCI on the staff of the Jersey Surf, Bluecoats, and most recently, the Academy Drum and Bugle Corps where he served as the Assistant Visual Caption Head for the 2023 season.

Since 2020, Andrew has been the Assistant Band Director at TL Hanna High School in Anderson, SC. Under his direction, the programs offered have grown rapidly and the marching and concert bands have had tremendous success. The TL Hanna marching band has been a consistent finalist in the South Carolina State Marching Contest earning the silver medal in 2021, the bronze medal in 2022, and the school’s first State Championship in 2023. The TL Hanna Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble have also experienced success earning consistent “Superior with Distinction” ratings at state concert assessments. In 2023, TL Hanna repeated their success on stage at the SC Concert Performance Assessment and received the “Outstanding Performance Award” for the first time in school history.

On top of TL Hanna’s concert and marching bands, Andrew also leads one of the most awarded jazz bands in South Carolina, consults for the school’s 3 winterguards, and he designs for and instructs the Indoor Drumline who were 2022 WGI Open Class semi-finalists.

In addition to his duties at TL Hanna, Andrew spends his time working with Civitas Independent on the weekends serving as Visual Caption Head, Program Coordinator, and Co-Director.

Robert Peterson
Caption Head

Robert Peterson is a marching arts visual educator and drill writer based in Mesa, Arizona. For the past decade, he has taught and designed for multiple high school programs in his home state of New Jersey and throughout Arizona. Robert earned a Bachelor of Science in Education (BSE) in Music Education from Seton Hall University in 2016 and has recently earned his Master of Music (MM) in Performance Pedagogy from Arizona State University.

Robert started his drum corps journey in 2013 with Cadets2 and subsequently marched with The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps in 2014 and 2015. Transitioning to teaching after his age out, Robert worked at various drum corps until 2019. In 2020, he relocated to Arizona and joined the visual staff of The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps.

During the winter season, Robert serves as the drill designer and visual caption head for Breakthrough Indoor, an open-class WGI Percussion ensemble. In the fall, he assumes the role of the lead visual staff member for the Mountain Ridge High School “Pride of the West” in Glendale, Arizona.

Additionally, alongside his work as a visual educator and designer, Robert is an accomplished bass trombone performer and educator. Currently, he serves as the trombone coach for ASU’s Sun Devil Marching Band and as a low brass educator with Harmony Project. Robert has performed with groups including Millennial Choirs and Orchestras, The North Valley Symphony, and The Nick Maluf Virtual Big Band, among others. Notably, in 2022, Robert was a featured soloist with the Arizona State University Wind Ensemble.

Austin Avery
Visual Instructor

Austin has been a freelance educator/designer for the marching arts since the fall of 2004. He is currently the winter percussion director, program coordinator, and visual designer for the percussion at Trumbull High School. Other high schools he has taught in the northeast have been Norwalk High School, Westhill High School, Stamford High School, and Dartmouth High School. He has also written choreography for schools like Clovis High School and Quitman High School for their fall programs. He is also a visual consultant for the Connecticut Hurricanes, where he has also been the staff coordinator, choreographer, and visual tech. He’s also taught at numerous drum corps like Oregon Crusaders, Jersey Surf, Hawthorne Caballeros, and Fusion Core. This will be Austin’s fourth year with year with Academy and he cannot wait what this new season will bring!

Marc Chacon
Visual Instructor

Marc is excited to be returning for his second year at The Academy on visual staff. He currently teaches visual/cymbals at Campo Verde HS in Gilbert, AZ. He also got brought on this winter season at Breakthrough Indoor Percussion to teach visual.

Marc’s marching experience started in 2011 at Chandler HS in Arizona, then marched The Sun Devil Marching band in 2015, The Academy DBC from 2016-2018, and Flux Indoor Percussion in 2019 & 2020.

He has a great amount of knowledge and experience that helps him teach and grow students into excellent performers in the marching arts and great people in society.

Gerardo Estrada
Visual Instructor

Gerardo, better known as “Tito,” is a Mexican-American visual educator, designer, and announcer based in Phoenix, AZ. Originally from Las Vegas, Tito’s pageantry journey began at Silverado High School, where he played clarinet in multiple ensembles.

In 2015, Tito became a member of The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps, playing tuba and gaining valuable performing arts experience. For the next three years, he marched with The Academy, contributing to their historic achievement of reaching DCI Finals in 2016. Tito also joined the NAU Lumberjack Marching Band in 2017 as a sousaphone player and later served as the drum major in 2018. Currently, Tito showcases his talents as an announcer for the WGASC competition circuit in Southern California.

Tito started teaching as a visual instructor for several schools in the Vegas Valley in 2015. His dedication led to him being appointed as the Visual Caption Head for Silverado High School in 2019, where he played a key role in the school’s visual success. Prior to the pandemic, Tito was involved in the inaugural seasons of Sage V Percussion and Phenom Drum and Bugle Corps.

Since relocating to Phoenix in 2022, Tito has had the pleasure of working with various high schools, including Sandra Day O’Connor, Corona Del Sol, Moon Valley, and his main program at Tempe High School. He has also been involved with independent groups, such as Breakthrough Indoor Percussion and The Academy Drum & Bugle Corps, where he continues to teach.

Most recently, Tito has taken on the role of Visual Caption Manager for Impulse Drum & Bugle Corps for the 2024 season. He is eagerly anticipating his third season with The Academy, where he looks forward to sharing his passion and expertise with fellow performers and fans.

Carter Goldsworthy
Visual Instructor

Carter Goldsworthy currently resides in Phoenix, AZ. Spending over 10 years in the marching arts activity, Carter began marching euphonium with The Academy in 2016, 2017, and 2018, and completed his performing career with Blue Knights in 2020 and 2021.

Throughout Carter’s performing career his passion for education became clear. His teaching experience includes serving as Canyon View High School’s first-ever visual caption head during the fall season of 2021, and being on the music staff at Sandra Day O’Connor High School through the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

The Academy holds a special place in Carter’s heart, and he is happy to be returning for his second year as a visual staff member!

Bryan Hopps
Visual Instructor

Bryan Hopps brings a wealth of performance expertise to the stage, with notable experiences including stints with The Phantom Regiment and The Sound That Lights the South. As a dedicated educator, he has spent three years working within the marching arts landscape in Cobb County, GA. Bryan commenced his journey with the Combined Kellgrove Ensemble in 2021 and has since served as the Visual Caption head for Hillgrove High School, contributing his skills to both the Marching Band and Indoor Percussion Ensemble.

Residing in Woodstock, GA, Bryan is a passionate middle school teacher by day and a dynamic performing ensemble instructor by night. His enthusiasm for the arts is palpable, and he eagerly anticipates the opportunity to collaborate with The Academy.

Chace LeBlanc
Visual Instructor

Chace LeBlanc is an assistant band director at Queen City HS in far North East Texas and specializes in 6th through 12th grade brass and percussion as well as leading visual training for the Band of Champions. He began his musical career as a trombonist in the Erath High School Band from Erath, Louisiana and quickly turned to learning valve instruments and 4 mallet marimba before the end of middle school. He spent 4 years performing with the Pride of McNeese college marching band and studied bass trombone performance with a minor in percussion education and performed in many ensembles on bass guitar. During the summers outside of college, he spent 4 summers marching euphonium with The Academy, Madison Scouts, Troopers, and aging out with the Blue Devils in 2011. 

Before becoming a full-time band director, time was spent as a private lesson instructor and visual technician with various programs throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex including Lewisville HS and The Colony HS. Chace began his DCI educational career as a visual technician for the Louisiana Stars during their inaugural and second season in the activity. He then went on to join the visual staff here at The Academy in 2017.

Benjamin Lynch
Visual Instructor

Benjamin (Ben) Lynch is in his 7th year of teaching. He is the Band Director at the Sierra Verde STEAM Academy, a feeder school to Mountain Ridge in the Deer Valley Unified School District, and the assistant director of the Marching Band at Mountain Ridge High School. His groups have received the highest ratings in concert and marching band festivals.

Ben graduated from Northern Arizona University in May 2017 with his degree in Instrumental Music Education and obtained a certificate for Secondary English Immersion. Before graduating, Ben completed his student teaching in the Deer Valley Unified School District at Deer Valley High School, under the direction of  David Kuhns, and Desert Sky Middle School, under the direction of  Evan Dixon. Throughout college, Ben was actively involved in the marching band scene as a visual technician with Shadow Mountain High School, under the direction of Natan Simon, and Coconino High School, under the direction of Ms. Jennifer Hamilton. Ben was the Assistant Band Director at Paradise Valley High School from 2016-2022.

Ben has marched with the Academy Drum and Bugle Corps and Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps. Ben was involved with the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps, a world-class performing arts group associated with Drum Corps International. He was one of numerous staff members to assist with the drum corps, working as a part of the Visual Team.

Kaitlyn Misch
Visual Instructor

Kaitlyn Misch is a visual and dance-focused marching band educator native to Arizona who has taught numerous fall and winter seasons at different Arizona High Schools.

Over the last few years she has become a Choreographer and Visual Technician at Breakthrough Indoor Percussion, Visual Caption Head at Campo Verde High School and has been teaching visual for the Academy Drum and Bugle Corp for the last two years.

Kaitlyn received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Arizona State University as well as a Minor in Dance. She then received her Master’s Degree in Communications and strives to apply her education and experience to her teaching methods.