Educational Staff

Fred Ford

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 2025 after a successful 2024 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

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

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.

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.

Brian Spencer

This is Brian’s 3rd season as the Battery 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.

Addison Kaetterle

Addison is excited to return in 2025 for his 3rd season as Guard Designer 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 12 years.

Thomas Wilson

Thomas Wilson is currently the band director at Shepherd Hill Regional High School in Dudley, MA. He has extensive experience in the marching arts, including 2 seasons with the Spartans, 2 seasons with the Cadets, and 4 years at the University of Massachusetts Amherst under the direction of Thom Hannum.

He has worked with the Connecticut Hurricanes and currently serves as the front ensemble caption head and arranger for the Jersey Surf.

Thomas has arranged for championship-winning ensembles from around the country and is excited to bring his perspective to the Spartans!

Michael Zellers

Michael Zellers is the assistant director of bands at Stevenson University in Owings Mills, Maryland. He works with the concert, marching, and pep bands for Stevenson’s School of Design Arts and Communication. In addition to his work at Stevenson, Zellers is the electronics designer for the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle corps from Boston, Massachusetts. Before joining Boston’s staff, Michael served on the percussion staff of The Cadets from 2011-2015.

He served as a front ensemble technician from 2011-2013 and the Electronics designer from 2013-2015. Michael worked at Leander High School in Leander, Texas, in various roles from 2012-2022. Zellers received his master’s in music performance from the University of Delaware and his bachelor’s in music from West Chester University.

Don MacTaggart

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.

Coleman Moore

Coleman Moore is an audio engineer from the Boston area. He has been involved in the corps since 2018 where he marched in the front ensemble for 4 years. After that, he worked with the admin team as tour manager for two years and moved over to the audio team last season. His work outside of drum corps extends to being a marching arts sound designer, audio engineer, system designer and consultant. He has had the opportunity to work with many groups in the marching arts, both locally and nationally, including Everett HS (MA), Siloam Springs HS (AK), Fort Zumwalt West HS (MO), and many more. Coleman is excited to be returning to the Spartans for the 2025 drum corps season.

Nathan Bashline

Nathan Bashline is an audio engineer from southeastern Pennsylvania and is returning for his 2nd year with the Spartans. 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.

Brian Spencer

This is Brian’s 3rd season as the Battery 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.

Kelson Lorenz

Kelson returns for his 3rd year with the Spartans Drumline staff. Previously, he was a Snare Technician at the Bushwackers in 2022, and has taught high schools in NJ, PA, and TX. His marching experience includes United Percussion, The Cadets, the Reading Buccaneers, and East Coast Percussion.

Kelson resides in Collingswood, NJ. He recently graduated from the University of Houston with a Master of Architecture degree, and has a Bachelor of Science in Architecture degree from Temple University.

Grace Murphy

Grace Murphy is a band director and percussion educator based in Biddeford, Maine. Grace is an alumnus of The Spartans (2018-2020), The Academy (2021), The Cadets (2022), and United Percussion (2022-2023). Grace studied Music Education at the University of Southern Maine.

Grace currently serves as Band Director at both Biddeford Intermediate School and Biddeford Middle School, teaching grades 4-7. Grace is Assistant Director of the Biddeford Marching Band and Biddeford “Blackout” Percussion, as well as being the director of the Biddeford Middle School “Blackout-B” concert percussion program. Additionally, Grace serves as a technician for the Biddeford “Blizzard” Winds.

Grace is endorsed by Vic Firth and teaches private lessons to students both in-person and online.

Jabari Tovar

Jabari Tovar is a percussion educator based in the North Shore of Massachusetts. Jabari marched with The Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps from 2011-2014 and served as Snare Drum Technician and Battery Manager from 2017-2021.

Jabari earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music from Salem State University in 2016. Currently, Jabari serves as the Percussion Specialist for the Salem Public School district, instructing all percussion students in grades 4-12. Jabari also serves as the Percussion Director/Arranger for the Salem High School Marching Band and Indoor Percussion Ensemble.

In February 2023, Jabari was named by the Yamaha Music Corporation as a “40 Under 40” Music Educator. Jabari was nationally recognized for his efforts in creating a culturally responsive curriculum and challenging the “traditional” aspects of band and percussion repertoire.

Don MacTaggart

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.

Brian McCullock

Brian McCullock is a proud alum of the Spartans, having begun his drum corps journey marching contrabass from 2005 to 2007. After several years away from the activity, he returned to the Spartans in 2013 and has been a member of the brass staff ever since. In 2024, he served as Brass Caption Manager before stepping into his current role as Brass Caption Head.

Outside of drum corps, Brian is the Director of Bands at South High Community School in Worcester, Massachusetts. He is also active as a composer, arranger, and adjudicator for bands across southern New England. Brian holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where he studied tuba. He is currently pursuing an MFA in Composition and Orchestration from Arts University Bournemouth.

Randy Isoda

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.

Cameron Baker

Cameron is excited to be returning for his 2nd year to the Spartans Drum and Bugle Corps for the 2025 Season!

Cameron Baker is the Director of Instrumental Music at Kellam High School in Virginia Beach, VA, where he was honored as the 2022-23 Teacher of the Year. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree, in Music Education from East Carolina University, and received his Master of Music degree, in Music Education as a Summa Cum Laude graduate, from Old Dominion University, where he studied conducting under the incomparable Professor Dennis Zeisler.

Cameron actively performs within his community as a member of the Virginia Wind Symphony, a winner of the Sousa Foundation’s Sudler Silver Scroll Award, and with the Hampton Roads Philharmonic.

Cameron has been a performer and educator in the Drum Corps Activity for the past 25 years, where he has been honored to perform with and instruct World-Class Ensembles, from Florida to the Carolinas, and throughout the Northeast. In addition, he remains active as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the country.

Cameron is a member of the National Association for Music Educators, the Virginia Music Educators Association, the National Educators Association, Pi Kappa Lambda – a National Music Honor Society, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity. Cameron lives at home with his wife, Jessica and their pup, Brady the Beagle Baker.

Addison Kaetterle

Addison is excited to return in 2025 for his 3rd season as Guard Designer 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 12 years.

Kate McKinnon

Returning for her 3rd year as an educator with the Spartans, Kate is excited to take on the role of Color Guard Caption Head! A native of Boston, MA, color guard has always been a part of her life, her mother was the director of Saint Brendan’s of Dorchester. Kate was a member of the Spartans, Boston Crusaders, and is a current member of Blessed Sacrament.

Kate is one of the co-directors of the Everett High School Color Guard and a technician at Dartmouth High School. This spring, she will be finishing her degree in Psychology with a minor in Childhood Studies.

Vic Lee

Vic is returning for their 3rd 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 the Head Drum Major for Bluecoats for the 2022 season and had the privilege of serving as a UMass Minutemen Marching Band Drum Major coming out of COVID. They currently serve as the Visual Caption Head for King Philip Regional High School Marching Band, where they have been for the past 4 years.

Samantha Logan

Sam is an alumna of the Spartans, having joined the front ensemble staff after her final year performing in 2019, and she is excited for her 2nd year as Front Ensemble Caption Head. 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.

Sean Coffey

Sean began working with the Spartans in 2019 and is excited to return for the 2nd year as Visual Caption Head for the 2025 season! He has been a visual consultant and color guard 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.