The Madison Scouts are pleased to announce the Percussion Instructional Team for the 2020 season, including:Ryan Ellis, Percussion Caption HeadAndré Wilson, Battery CoordinatorMike Cavanaugh, InstructorCameron Halls, InstructorKevin Pucheu, InstructorRonnie Russo, InstructorZach Tinglan, InstructorEric Pujari, Front Ensemble CoordinatorEllie Mehr, InstructorMichael Reese, InstructorTJ Shaheen, InstructorChristopher Carlin, Cymbal InstructorMason Ferrantelli, Cymbal InstructorAlex Huizen, Cymbal InstructorAaron Tucker, Audio Caption ManagerKyle Jenson, Audio InstructorMel McComber, Audio Instructor
Ryan Ellis, Percussion Caption HeadRyan Ellis is an active music educator in the Cincinnati area and has performed with such ensembles as Rhythm X, Blue Devils, Bluecoats, and the Spirit of Atlanta.Ryan has taught and designed for many schools in the Ohio area as well as for WGI groups Redline and Connexus Independent. He was most recently the battery coordinator for the Crossmen Drum & Bugle Corps. Ryan currently serves as the percussion director at Lebanon City Schools (OH).
André Wilson, Battery CoordinatorAndré Wilson has been a music educator in the Southern Louisiana area for the last decade and has performed with ensembles such as Rhythm X and the Bluecoats.Andre has taught and designed for many schools in Louisiana including Central Lafourche High School, E.D.White HS and Vandebilt HS. He most recently served on the percussion staff of the Crossmen Drum & Bugle Corps from 2017-2019. In 2014, he was part of the inaugural staff of the Louisiana Stars, in DCI’s Open Class. He has also served as a battery technician for the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps (15-16), as well as Cap City Percussion in 2018.André also holds a certification in yoga, as well as a certification in meditation, breathwork, and cold therapy from the Wim Hof Method, designed by the 27-time Guinness World Record holder Wim Hof, “The Iceman”. He has been an active WHM instructor at the Lewis Howe’s “Summit of Greatness” and holds workshops in the Southern Louisiana area.
Mike Cavanaugh, Battery InstructorMike Cavanaugh has been a part of the marching activity since 2008, when he was introduced to the marching activity as a student at Centerville High School. Since then, he has been a marching member of many World Class WGI and DCI ensembles.Mike started his drum corps career with the Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps, performing with them in 2012 and 2013. Mike then went on to march with the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps, where he received DCI silver and bronze medals. He aged out with the corps in 2015.In 2013, Mike also marched his first Independent World WGI season with the WGI medalist, Rhythm X. He was a part of Rhythm X from 2013-2016, where he received a WGI gold medal in 2013, a WGI bronze medal in 2014, and a WGI silver medal in 2015. After ending the marching portion of his career, he went on to teach on visual staff at the Blue Stars and then as bass tech at the Crossmen. Mike spent the WGI seasons of 2017-2019 at Connexus percussion on the educational staff, as well as 2019-present on staff with Rhythm X.Mike currently lives in Centerville, Ohio, where he is a technician with many high schools in the Dayton area, and a registered visual judge with the Central States Judges Association.
Cameron Halls, Battery InstructorCameron Halls is a performer and educator from the Lansing area. As a current Music Education major at Michigan State University, Cameron is an accomplished concert and marching percussionist, performing with the MSU Wind Symphony, Percussion Studio, and the Spartan Marching Band, holding various leadership positions. He studies privately with Dr. Jon Weber and has had the privilege of learning from other outstanding educators in the performing arts over the years.Cameron has an extensive performance history in the marching arts. After joining his high school’s indoor percussion ensemble in 8th grade he has since gone on to march in notable WGI groups including Motor City Percussion, three seasons at NorthCoast Academy, and currently is marching his 3rd year and age-out season at Rhythm X. His drum corps career includes Music City Drum & Bugle Corps (2016); Carolina Crown (2017-2018), receiving a bronze medal for the 2017 season; and the Concord Blue Devils (2019), receiving both the John Brazale Best Visual Award and a DCI gold medal.
Kevin Pucheu, Battery InstructorKevin is currently completing his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. While finishing school he’s performed with ensembles such as Louisiana Stars, the Madison Scouts, and Rhythm X. Most recently he served on the percussion staff for the Louisiana Stars in 2019 and is currently a percussion instructor at Southside High School in Youngsville, LA.
Ronnie Russo, Battery InstructorRonnie has served as an active music educator for many ensembles in the Cincinnati/Dayton areas and has performed as a member of Spirit of Atlanta, Blue Stars, and Rhythm X. Most recently, he has served as a member of the percussion staff for the Crossmen, as well as Cap City 2019. Since 2018, Ronnie has served as the battery technician for Lebanon High School during the fall and winter seasons. Along with his work in education, Ronnie is currently finishing a degree in graphic design and works as an active designer.
Zach Tinglan, Battery InstructorZach was born in Saginaw Michigan and raised in the Detroit Metro area. He is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Eastern Michigan University, studying hotel and restaurant management. Zach spent his summers in DCI with the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps (2015), Madison Scouts (2016-2017), and Carolina Crown (2018). During the winter season, he performed with Redline (2016-2017), Matrix (2018), and Rhythm X (2019). He is currently teaching high schools in the Detroit Metro area and is very excited to be back with the Madison Scouts!
Eric Pujari, Front Ensemble CoordinatorEric Pujari is an in-demand educator in the Midwest. He holds a B.S. in Neurobiology & Physiology from Purdue University, and currently dedicates his time to teaching high school science and percussion students.Eric is a private instructor, technician, and an integral component of the marching programs at Centerville and Lebanon schools in Dayton, Ohio. Previously, he was an instructor for the Crossmen and a performer at The Bluecoats and Rhythm X.
Ellie Mehr, Front Ensemble InstructorEllie Mehr is excited to be joining the Madison Scouts for her first season on the instructional team. Having been involved in the marching arts for several years, Ellie is passionate about contributing to her students experiences and helping them grow as both musicians and individuals. She is an active percussion educator in Minnesota and is currently the front ensemble coordinator for Irondale High School and a front ensemble instructor for Minnesota Brass Indoor. She is also a member of the Minnesota Percussion Association Board of Directors, working to better the local percussion community for both instructors and students.As a performer, Ellie was a member of River City Rhythm Indoor, Minnesota Brass Indoor, and the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps. In 2018, Ellie graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Therapy. Outside of the marching arts, Ellie is a board-certified music therapist, working primarily with children with developmental disabilities and preschool music students, using music to achieve non-musical goals. Ellie currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Michael Reese, Front Ensemble InstructorMichael Reese is an active music educator and the current Middle School Band Director for the Elida Local School District near Lima, OH. In addition to this work at Elida, he is the Front Ensemble Coordinator at ConneXus (2018 - Present).Michael received his Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Marietta College in the Spring of 2017, along with a minor in Political Science and Teacher Leadership. During his marching career, Michael performed with Legends Drum and Bugle Corps (2014), Cap City Percussion (2014-2015), Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps (2015-2016) and Rhythm X (2016-2017).
TJ Shaheen, Front Ensemble InstructorTJ Shaheen is a percussion instructor in the Metro Atlanta area. Currently, he serves as the Director of Percussion at Mountain View High School in Lawrenceville, GA, where he arranges for and teaches the marching percussion, assists in concert preparation, and teaches the daily percussion class. From 2015-2018, TJ performed with the Atlanta Quest organization, and led the front ensemble as section leader from 2017-2018. He joined the front ensemble staff there in 2019. TJ went to school at Georgia State University, where he completed a Bachelor of Music with an emphasis on percussion performance. While attending, he was a member of the GSU Panther Band in their “Rock Band” ensemble, as well as a performing member of the Wind Ensemble, Orchestra, and Percussion Ensembles. In 2018, he and a colleague, Bryan Wysocki, performed Baljinder Sekhon’s Double Percussion Concerto through the Brumby Concerto Competition.In addition to his work with Mountain View and Atlanta Quest, TJ has also worked with other high schools in the area, including Harrison HS, North Paulding HS, and Wheeler HS through their marching band and indoor percussion ensembles. He lives in Marietta, GA.Christopher Carlin, Cymbal Instructor
Christopher is a graduate from Felix Varela Senior High School out of Miami, Florida. He began marching Cymbals in WGI his senior year with the Independent A Group FIU Indoor Percussion (formally known as Velocity Indoor Percussion), where he marched 2013 - 2015. He fell in love with this unique medium for performing and began auditioning for world class Drum Corps. He marched Spirit of Atlanta in 2015 and aged out with the Madison Scouts in 2016. Christopher also marched World Class WGI with the ensemble Rhythm X in 2016 and aged out with them in 2017. Christopher began teaching in 2014 at Coral Reef Senior High School where he taught cymbals and battery visual for three years. He also taught cymbals at the Colt Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps in 2017. In 2018 Chris moved to Ohio from Florida and began teaching at Centerville High School and Legacy Indoor Percussion. That summer he taught the cymbal line at the Madison Scouts. In 2019, Christopher continued with Centerville High School and also had the pleasure of working with Lebanon High School and Connexus Indoor Percussion.Mason Ferrantelli, Cymbal Instructor
Mason is from Chandler, Arizona, and is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management at Grand Canyon University. Mason has had a passion for cymbal playing since the seventh grade. His marching career started at Gold (14-15) and Breakthrough Indoor Percussion (‘15). He then relocated to the Midwest and performed with the Colts (16-19), Redline (17), and Rhythm X (18-20). Through the years he has taught at Vista Grande High School in Arizona and Novi and Southgate High Schools in Michigan. Currently he teaches at Centerville High School in Centerville, Ohio.Alex Huizen, Cymbal Instructor
Alex has been a cymbal instructor for Genesis Percussion and the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps and is currently teaching at Rhythm X. Alex has performed with programs including Genesis Percussion (2014), Rhythm X (2015-2017), and the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps (2015-2016). He is currently a graduate student at Michigan State University studying Landscape Architecture and will be graduating this spring.Aaron Tucker - Audio Caption Manager
Aaron is a freelance percussion educator and audio specialist living in Cary, North Carolina. He studied Percussion with an emphasis in Jazz Performance at East Carolina University. In 2002, he had the opportunity to march with the Magic of Orlando. Throughout his career, Aaron has had the pleasure of working with world class organizations such as Palmetto Percussion, Spirit of Atlanta, and the Blue Knights. He also serves as the Percussion Coordinator for Atlantic Indoor Association, and served as Percussion Director for BOA Grand Nationals semi-finalist Green Hope High School from 2008 through 2019.In 2018, Aaron helped to guide Carolina Gold to a DCA Class A world championship and high percussion award. He is also the founder and former director of Alchemy Independent Percussion Ensemble. In addition to his various instructional responsibilities, Aaron maintains a studio of private students, and consults and designs for percussion ensembles in the Mid-Atlantic area. He has designed and taught for BOA Grand Nationals semi-finalists, and WGI World Championship Finalists.Kyle Jenson, Audio Instructor
Kyle is very excited to be joining the Madison Scouts for his first season. He currently resides in Mankato, MN and is attending Minnesota State University, Mankato earning his Masters in Fine Arts, Sound Design. He is originally from Fresno, CA and attended Fresno State, where he earned his BA in Theatre Arts. Kyle was a member of the Fresno State Bulldog Marching Band during his time at Fresno State. His audio background has mainly in the theatre arts. He has previously worked as the Theatre Manager at Roosevelt School of the Arts in Fresno, CA and as an audio technician for Celebrity Cruises. Kyle is also a proud member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.Mel McComber, Audio Instructor
Mel McComber is a soon to be a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). While at UAB she majored in theatre and specialized in theatre technology. She strives to be active in Birmingham’s local theatre scene and works as a freelance carpenter and audio engineer whenever she has free time. She is also very involved in the UAB band programs and is a member of the Theta Theta chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi.Mel was introduced to the marching arts audio world in 2018 while working with Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps. Immediately after touring with Southwind, she worked with Cadence Performing Arts from Surrey, United Kingdom as their sound engineer and equipment manager for their DCA tour. She returned to Southwind in 2019 and is excited to join the Madison Scouts sound team for the 2020 season.
