Educational Staff

Design Team

Fred Ford

Program and Staff Coordinator

Fred has a long-time involvement in the marching arts as a performer, instructor, administrator and adjudicator.

Fred returns to the Spartans as Program and Staff Coordinator for 2024 after a successful 2023 season. He previously served as Program Coordinator for the 2023, 2013 & 2014 seasons. He
also held similar roles at the East Coast Jazz, Jersey Surf and Citations and was a member of the Boston Crusaders Board of Directors. He was inducted in the Mass Music Educator and Drum
Corps Hall of Fame in 2011. Fred has been an active adjudicator since 1990 and judges for numerous scholastic marching band and indoor circuits as well as Drum Corps Associates. Fred
lives in Wakefield, MA with his wife Cheryl and 2 children. He is the Vice President of Sales for Interstate Outdoor and the drummer for the Soul Revival Orchestra.

Gilles Ouellette

Visual Designer

Gilles is a freelance Visual Designer, Technician and Adjudicator for High School Marching Bands, Drum Corps, Winter Guards and Winter Percussion Ensembles.

Gilles has been the Visual Designer for the Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps from 2001-2007 and from 2010-present.

He resides in Nashville, TN. He is a member and active adjudicator for the Gulf Coast Judges Association (GCJA), Winterguard International (WGI) and is the Contest Coordinator for the Southeastern Color Guard Circuit (SCGC).

Aaron Goldberg

Brass Arranger

A native of Boston, Aaron Goldberg holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from UMass Lowell and a Master’s degree in Music Performance from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.

Aaron Goldberg has been brass arranger for the Spartans since 2019, the year the corps won the DCI Open Class World Championship and took first place in nearly every caption. He is a member of the Crossmen Hall of Fame and has taught numerous World Class & Open Class hornlines throughout the last twenty years. Aaron is currently on faculty in the School of Music at Boston University, where he serves as Director of Athletic Bands, Big Band Jazz Ensemble, and Commencement Brass Choir.

Don MacTaggart

Brass Caption Head

Mr. MacTaggart has adjudicated marching band and drum & bugle corps programs throughout the United States and Canada and is a highly sought-after clinician and judge.

Since his days as a performer with the Revere, MA 27th Lancers, he has judged for Bands of America, Drum Corps International, Drum Corps Associates and many local and regional associations including many national championship shows. Mr. MacTaggart has written and arranged for many marching bands and drum corps. He has also served in the role as program coordinator, staff coordinator and consultant for many others. He is the former marching band director of Peabody, MA HS and is currently on staff with the highly successful Nashua, NH Spartans who have won multiple DCI Open Class Championships.

Mr. MacTaggart is a member of the Massachusetts Drum Corps and Music Educators Hall of Fame and is a recipient of the Fr. Robert Carr Exemplary Service Award. He is the former Music Education Director for the Massachusetts Judges Association and he is the current Judge Administrator for the Massachusetts Instrumental & Choral Conductors Association. In his limited spare time, Mr. MacTaggart gives private lessons in the Boston area.

Addison Kaeterle

Guard Designer and Color Guard Caption Head

Addison is excited to return in 2024 for the 2nd season as Guard Designer and Color Guard Caption Head where he will continue with the Spartans Color Guard tradition of excellence! Addison was an alumnus of the Spartans from 2001-2003. He is currently the Color Guard Director at Dartmouth High School (Dartmouth, MA), where he has been for the past 11 years.

Brian Spencer

Battery Arranger

This is Brian’s 2nd season as the Battery Caption Head and Arranger. Previously, he was on staff with the Boston Crusaders and is an alumnus of The Boston Crusaders, the Spartans, Spirit of America, United Percussion, and Music City Mystique. He is currently the Associate Director of Bands in Everett Public Schools and a snare tech for United Percussion.

Mark Sachetta

Front Ensemble Arranger and Ensemble Specialist

Mark Sachetta is continuing for an 11th season with the Spartans Drum & Bugle Corps, returning as the Front Ensemble Arranger and Ensemble Specialist.

Mark earned his undergraduate education at Boston University with a dual degree in Music Education & Historical Studies. For most of the past decade, he has been teaching and arranging for an assortment of programs in New England, but Mark is primarily the Director of Band & Percussion at Everett High School in Everett, MA where he has been an active part of the music department since 2009.

Bryson Teel

Sound Designer

Originally from Washington state, Bryson Teel is a full-time marching arts electronics arranger, educator, and audio engineer residing in Western Massachusetts. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Audio and Music Production w/ a Focus in Percussion Performance from Western Connecticut State University.

Bryson has been involved with Spartans since 2019, and actively arranges for drums corps, marching band, indoor percussion, indoor winds, and winter guard.

Brian Murphy

Design and Staff Advisor

Brian brings a vast background to the Spartans with over 50 years of experience. Most recently Brian was the Program Coordinator and Corps Director for The Cadets for the 2023 season. Brian was also the Visual Coordinator at The Cadets for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Brian was also involved with the Boston Crusaders for a number of seasons.

During the 2000 to 2002 seasons, he was the Color Guard Coordinator. From 2008 to 2012 he was Program Coordinator and Visual Designer. Then in 2016 he was Co-Visual Designer.

In addition to Drum Corps, Brian has an extensive background in Winter Color Guard. For the past 20 years he has been a Design Analysis and General Effect judge for WGI. Prior to his judging with WGI, Brian was the lead designer for St. Ann’s Color Guard from Neponset, MA. from 1991 to 2016. Under Brian's leadership St. Ann's was a perennial contender in the World, Open, A, and Regional classes at both the local and WGI levels. Outside of the pageantry activities, Brian lives in Boston MA. He holds a BSBA and an MBA from Suffolk University and works as a Business Transformation/IT specialist for the IBM Corporation.

Performance and Leadership

Mike Mercandante

Performance Coach

Vic Lee

Conducting and Leadership Coach

Vic is returning for their 2nd season as the Conducting and Leadership Coach at the Spartans Drum & Bugle Corps. An alumnus of Bluecoats, the Cadets, and 7th Regiment, they were most notably a Head Drum Major for the Bluecoats 2022 season and had the privilege of serving as a UMass Minuteman Marching Band Drum Major coming out of COVID.

They currently serve as the Visual Caption Head for the King Philip Regional High School Marching Band, where they have been for the past 3 years.

TBD

TBD

Mark Sachetta

Percussion Director/Ensemble Coordinator

Mark Sachetta is continuing for an 11th season with the Spartans Drum & Bugle Corps, returning as the Front Ensemble Arranger and Ensemble Coordinator. Mark earned his undergraduate education at Boston University with a dual degree in Music Education & Historical Studies.
For most of the past decade, he has been teaching and arranging for an assortment of programs in New England, but Mark is primarily the Director of Band & Percussion at Everett High School in Everett, MA where he has been an active part of the music department since 2009.

Audio

Bryson Teel

Sound Designer

Bryson has been involved with Spartans since 2019, and actively arranges for drums corps, marching band, indoor percussion, indoor winds, and winter guard.

Nate Bashline

Audio Consultant

Nathan Bashline is an audio engineer from southeastern Pennsylvania. He has worked with a
variety of groups over the past 14 years through the marching arts. Locally to his home, Nathan
has many groups from all parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, including
Springford, Hatboro-Horsham and North Penn. He has also had the opportunity to work with
many groups nationally, including the Bluecoats, Santa Clara Vanguard Troopers and The
Cadets.

His work extends to the indoor drumline and color guard worlds where he designs and
programs shows for many groups, both locally and nationally, including George Mason
University, United Percussion, and Dartmouth High School. His experiences include audio
design, audio set-up, and consultation. Nathan is the Lead Engineer at the Boston Crusaders.
Nathan is excited to join the Spartans this season as an Audio Consultant.

Anne S. Turner

Audio Caption Head

Anne Turner is a percussion educator and audio engineer currently based out of
Richmond, Virginia, but she called Wilmington, NC home for many years. A
passionate, driven percussionist, she has been involved in different facets of the
percussive arts through membership in varying marching, orchestral, and
symphonic ensembles spanning early high school through post-grad.

Anne In addition to percussion performance, Anne also enjoys vocal music, rock climbing, and
stage lighting for theater. She began her marching career at John T. Hoggard High School in Wilmington,
NC, joining the batterie sophomore year. With no WGI program offered at her
school, Anne began her indoor journey in 2017 as a charter member of Alchemy
Independent, an open class ensemble out of Raleigh, NC. From there, she
served as the bass line section leader at Carolina Gold and has been a member
of Shadow DBC, the George Mason University Indoor Drumline, Carolina Crown,
and the Boston Crusaders. Anne spent her age outs with RCC in 2023 earning
an silver medal and the Blue Devils in 2022 as a member of the leadership team,
where the ensemble received first place at the DCI Championships after an
undefeated season.
A private lessons teacher and instructor, Anne is currently involved with Spectre
Percussion as a bass drum instructor, and her lessons students consistently
achieve membership in the ensembles of their choosing. Last summer, she
spent time touring with the Blue Knights’ audio team, and she is currently on staff
at the Wilson Center as an audio engineer working productions spanning from
Broadway theater to small jazz ensembles. Additionally, she has been involved
with the Blue Knights, John W. North HS, Hoggard HS, Bruton HS, and Athens’
Drive HS in roles ranging from ensemble coordinator to bass drum technician.
This summer, Anne is honored to be on tour with the Spartans DBC taking on a
new role as the audio caption head.
Outside of her musical endeavors, she received her degrees in Biology and
Environmental Science and Policy (Summa Cum Laude) at the College of
William and Mary where she co-produced the podcast “Conservation Stories:
Trailblazing Women in Conservation”. Additionally, she was a laboratory
research assistant in a climate change ecology lab at the Virginia Institute of
Marine Science under the direction of Dr. David Johnson.

Coleman Moore

Audio Tech

Battery

Brian Spencer

Battery Caption Head

Battery Instructors

Eli Chasteen
Austin Cortez
Allen Edwards
Dillon Jenson
Kelson Lorenz
Joe McSweeney
Cam McHugh
Grace Murphy
Dillon Pinard
Jabari Tovar

Brass

Don MacTaggart

Brass Caption Head

Mr. MacTaggart has adjudicated marching band and drum & bugle corps programs throughout the United States and Canada and is a highly sought-after clinician and judge.

Mr. MacTaggart has written and arranged for many marching bands and drum corps. He has also served in the role as program coordinator, staff coordinator and consultant for many others. He is the former marching band director of Peabody, MA HS and is currently on staff with the highly successful Nashua, NH Spartans who have won multiple DCI Open Class Championships.

In his limited spare time, Mr. MacTaggart gives private lessons in the Boston area.

Randy Isoda

Senior Brass Consultant

Randy Isoda has been in the music industry for over thirty years. His combined experience in music education and expertise in instrument design/construction provides a wealth of information for music educators and professionals alike. He has served as the North American Product Manager for The Weril Corp.

Randy is currently the Judges Coordinator for the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA). Since 1990 he has judged for Drum Corps International and Music For All/Bands of America.

Randy received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance from Northeastern Illinois University and a Masters of Music Degree from DePaul University. He is currently the Principal Trombonist for the Harper Symphony Orchestra, has been a member of the Arlington Brass Quintet, The Wheaton Symphony Orchestra, Northwest Symphony Orchestra, and is a Chicago area freelance trombonist.

Randy has been involved in the drum corps activity his whole life, and marched in the early years of DCI. Randy has taught The Cavaliers, Carolina Crown, and many others. He also served as a worldwide clinician for Dynasty USA. Randy Isoda resides in the Chicagoland area with his wife Debbie, and his daughter Katie. Randy enjoys travel, golf, and spending time with his family.

Brass Instructors

Cam Baker
Ray Fallon
Randy Isoda
Aaron Keebaugh
Brian McCullock
Manuel Mendoza
Chris Regiacorte

Color Guard

Addison Kaeterle

Color Guard Caption Head

Addison is excited to return in 2024 for the 2nd season as Guard Designer and Color Guard Caption Head where he will continue with the Spartans Color Guard tradition of excellence!

Addison was an alumnus of the Spartans from 2001-2003. He is currently the Color Guard Director at Dartmouth High School (Dartmouth, MA), where he has been for the past 11 years.

Color Guard Instructors

Anthony Cabral
Thomas Caetano
Savion Chester
Alicia Druid
Joey Gaudett
Austin Horton
Samantha Hussey
Sami Lindscott
Kate McKinnon
Laetitia Miron
Sydney Seaver
Carly Sheehan
Alexis Rowbotham
Mia Wong

Front Ensemble

Samantha Logan

Front Ensemble Caption Head

Sam is an alumna of the Spartans, having joined the front ensemble staff after her final year performing in 2019, and she is excited to take on this new role.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Performance from UMass Lowell, and continues to perform percussion music in the newly-formed marimba duo, Apricus Duo. She has taught many high school percussion programs and is known for her innovative approach to mallet technique. Sam now works full-time as a Mallet Percussion Specialist for grades 5-8 at Everett Public Schools, and teaches their high school marching band and indoor percussion.

Front Ensemble Instructors

Ryan Enos
Jeaneth Lemus
KT Taylor
Jake Ten Eyck

Visual

Sean Coffey

Visual Caption Head

Sean began working with the Spartans in 2019 and is excited to return in a new role as Visual Caption Head for the 2024 season!

He has been a visual consultant and colorguard director for various programs over the last 10+ years and currently works with Hickory High School in Chesapeake, VA. Sean performed with The Cadets, Jersey Surf and Bushwackers Drum Corps & Blessed Sacrament and Emanon Winter Guards.

J.R. Carlisle

Sr. Visual Consultant

Dr. J.R. Carlisle is Owner of Carlisle Educational Services. His teaching experience includes 25 years as both a high school band and choir director in the States of Ohio and
WV, as well as 10 years as a high school principal. This includes serving as the head principal for a world class performing arts school.

His bands consistently received superior ratings at district and state concert band festivals at both the middle school and high school level. He has directed bands to a superior
rating at OMEA State Marching Band Finals in each of the four classes. His Federal Hocking Marching Band was also a Sudler Shield winner. He has also directed numerous WGI regional finalist color guards and drum lines, as well as a national semi- finalist color guard and national finalist drum line. He also served as a consultant with the 2023 Open Class DCI Champion Spartans Drum and Bugle Corp.

Consulting with music programs for over 35 years, Carlisle Educational Services has worked with over 75 bands in the Mid-West, South- East, and Texas as well as annually assigning adjudicators for over 30 marching band festivals across the country. A focus of his judge administration efforts are in Indiana, with such high profile programs as Avon HS, and Lincolnway HS in Chicago area. J.R. has judged 18 different state championships and in 42 states total.

He is a founding member of the Tri-State Circuit for the Pageantry Arts and the Tri- State Judges Association. He also served as the chief judge for the Tri-State Circuit and as the Color Guard/Education Coordinator for the Carolinas based CIPA Circuit. He also served as the marching band judge coordinator for the Nebraska State Bandmasters Association.

He has adjudicated for Winter Guard International, Drum Corp International, and Bands of America. In the fall of 2006 he adjudicated Drum Corp Europe’s Championships, and in 2002 he judged the drum corp competition, at the Music Arts Festival in Kyoto, Japan.

He is currently the director of bands at Hannan Jr./Sr. school in rural Mason County, WV. Starting with just 4 members, he has built an award winning program that represents 29% of the total student body.

The Point Pleasant, West Virginia native received his Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Marshall University in Huntington, WV, a Masters Degree in Education Leadership from West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV, a MBA in Organizational Leadership from Ashford University in Clinton, Iowa, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.

Visual Instructors

Jon Calhoun
J.R. Carlisle
Cyrus Cheung
Jeff Facun
Jenny Gehrke
Vanessa Jenner
Vic Lee
Barron Maskew
Anthony Mingus
Thomas Petrahai
Eric Poster
Kip Smith
Jay Tarrant
Tom White
Mia Wong