The Madison Scouts welcome alumnus Dave Cooksey as Brass Program Advisor to the Scouts brass team under the direction of Chris Tomsa and announce the full brass staff for the 2018 season. The team consists of:Chris Tomsa, Brass Program DirectorSean Phelan, Co-Caption HeadMark Trulson, Co-Caption HeadScott Carr, Assistant Caption HeadDave Cooksey - Program AdvisorDan Blevins - instructorMike Bolla - instructorSean Conway - instructorAlex Darouie - instructorNick DeJarlais - instructorDoug Harris - instructorVictor Perez - instructorNathan Pratt - instructorRachel Spencer - instructorDave Cooksey

Dave is an alumnus of The Madison Scouts. He remains active internationally as a music adjudicator and brass instructor/ Program Advisor. His combined skill sets have allowed to him to work in a variety of settings with groups around the world. Dave’s involvement in the pageantry arts began over 43 years ago. Of those years he has spent 26 of them adjudicating for a number of judging organizations around the world, Drum Corps Midwest Judges Guild, Central States Judging Association, Drum Corps International, Bands of America, Drum Corps Japan, and Drum Corps Europe. During his time as an adjudicator he has had the privilege to judge at numerous local, state, regional, national and international contests, including Drum Corps Europe Championships, Drum Corps Japan Championships, and Championship week panels for Drum Corps International.David has assumed numerous teaching and administrative roles as an adjudicator, from Recruitment and Training Coordinator for new judges and later on as the Judge Coordinator for the Drum Corps Midwest Judges Guild. More recently in 2016 he was invited to work with The Drum Corps Europe Judges where he is currently the Education Advisor – Music Caption. Following his years of judging for DCI, David returned to the instructional ranks where he has spent the past 16 years as a low brass instructor for a number of Americas top drum and bugle corps, those being The Madison Scouts (82,07), The Crossmen (13), The Cavaliers (14,15), and The Phantom Regiment (02,03,05,06,08 *World Championship,09,16,17).He has remains active as a clinician /instructor/advisor for numerous high school bands across the country. He is former staff member at Ben Davis High School, Indianapolis, IN (94-96) and Carmel High School, Carmel, IN (96 – 02). He is currently a program advisor for Lake Central High School, St. John’s, INDavid studied music at The University of Wisconsin, The Royal College of Music, London and Baylor University, majoring in brass performance on Tuba / Euphonium. He has had the privilege to have studied privately with some the world’s great brass teachers Arnold Jacobs, John Fletcher, Harvey Phillips, and Ed Livingston. David is a graduate of Indiana University’s School of Medicine - School of Applied Health Sciences majoring in Respiratory Therapy. He currently works for VyAire Medical as a Sr. Quality Care Consultant.Dan Blevins

Dan is an educator in Cincinnati, Ohio where he attends school at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He will be returning for his second year on the Madison Scouts brass staff and spent four years as a marching member, three of which were spent as baritone section leader. Dan is also a staff member of the Sycamore High School marching band in Cincinnati. In 2015 he performed with the Zinzinnati Trombone Quartet who gave educational master classes to high schools in Cincinnati and Dayton areas. During this time he was also a featured performer with Jr. CYWE at the 2015 Ohio Music Education Association conference and has been awarded first place in several solo competitions. Currently Dan is finishing his Music Education degree while student teaching at Sycamore Community Schools.Mike Bolla

Mike is currently serving in his 15th year as the Director of Bands and Music Department Chair at Center Grove Middle School North, located in Greenwood, Indiana. In addition to his duties at Middle School North, he serves as an Assistant Director of the Center Grove High School Marching Band, and also is an advisor for the Center Grove High School Winter Color Guard Program. Michael is a graduate of Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where he performed as a trombonist in many of the school’s top ensembles.Outside of Center Grove, Michael is an active clinician, adjudicator, arranger, and composer. He has served as a brass staff member for The Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps, as well as the brass caption head for The Colts Drum and Bugle Corps. Michael has arranged and composed for a number of marching bands throughout the United States. He also enjoys performing as a member of the Star United Drum and Bugle Corps, an all-age group that has won 11 of the last 12 Drum Corps Associates (DCA) mini corps championships. He is also the 4-time defending DCA individual baritone solo champion. Michael currently resides in Indianapolis, Indiana with his wife, Susie, and their three dogs, Barley, Lucy, and Betty.Sean Conway

Originally from Rosemount, MN, Sean earned his undergraduate degree in Instrumental Music Education from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. There he performed with the university's Wind Symphony, Concert Choir, Symphony Orchestra, and served as Drum Major for the Blugold Marching Band. After two years as an assistant director at Waukesha North High School and Butler Middle School, Sean is now in his first year as head director at St. Croix Central High School in Hammond, WI.An alumnus of the Scouts, Sean marched for four years (2009-2012) before joining the instructional team in 2013. 2018 marks his tenth year with the Madison Scouts organization. In addition to his work with the corps, Sean is a member of the educational team for Forward Performing Arts and serves as a musical instructor for their SoundSport ensemble, MadBrass and the new WGI Winds group, Fleurish Winds.Alex Darouie

Alex is a freelance trumpet player and music educator based in Los Angeles, California. Originally from San Diego, Alex began taking private trumpet lessons at the age of thirteen and was accepted into the UCLA School of Music four years later. Before entering UCLA as a performance major, Alex joined the Cadets in the 2014 season as an upper-lead trumpet player. During his time in the Cadets, Alex received instruction from renowned DCI instructors Steve Bentley and Gino Cipriani. While at UCLA, Alex has had the honor of studying with some of the most acclaimed trumpet players in the world including Order of Canada recipient Jens Lindemann, freelance artist Jennifer Marotta, and the principal trumpet of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Tom Hooten. With the help of these world class instructors, Alex was able to acquire a principal role in both the UCLA Philharmonia and Wind Ensemble.Alex is actively involved in music education as well as the marching arts and teaches a variety of talented musicians. Most recently, Alex taught the trumpet section of the Sacramento Mandarins for their 2017 season, where the corps placed higher than ever before. Alex currently teaches the Alhambra High School Marching Band as well as general music classes at Crenshaw High School and Bursch Elementary. Aside from the marching arts, Alex also teaches private lessons to over a dozen students in LA.Nick DeJarlais

Nick is excited to be returning to the Madison Scouts brass staff for his sixth year with the corps. He is an alumnus of the corps, having marched in the trumpet section in 2010. Nick is a graduate of Indiana State University, where he received his bachelors of Music Education, and of the University of Louisville, where he graduated with his Masters in trumpet performance. Nick is a winner of the Paul Hagan Concerto Competition at ISU and a four time Semi-Finalist at the National Trumpet Competition.

Nick is currently in his fourth year as the director of instrumental music at Morton High School and the Hammond Academy for the Performing Arts, located in northwest Indiana. In addition to the concert bands and orchestra, Nick also directs the school’s jazz ensemble, and marching band. When not busy with school, or on the road with the Scouts, Nick enjoys being home with his wife, Heather, and son, Aiden.

Doug Harris

Doug joins the brass staff of the Scouts after two years working with the Sacramento Mandarins. Prior to that, Doug was on staff with the Teal Sound and Suncoast Sound. He was a soloist and section leader with Suncoast from 1982-1984. Doug is currently serving as the Assistant Director of Bands at Western Kentucky University, where he works with the marching band and pep bands, directs the top Jazz Band, Concert Band and teaches various Music Education courses. Before WKU, he was Director of Bands at Santa Clara University and Southern Utah University. Doug had a long and distinguished career as a high school band director in Florida, where his jazz bands and wind ensembles were viewed as some of the elite in the state. As a trumpet teacher, he has placed many students in All-District and All-State Bands and has had many students receive trumpet scholarships at universities around the country.Dr. Harris earned his Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Florida, and both his Master of Arts and Doctor of Arts degrees from the University of Northern Colorado. His principal trumpet teachers are Bill Pfund (UNC) and Gary Langford (UF), and has also studied with Dr. Tim Walters, Sy Prywellor and has taken lessons with Bobby Shew. His primary conducting teachers are Dr. Kenneth Singleton (UNC), Dr. Richard Mayne (UNC), Dr. German Gutierez (UNC), Richard W. Bowles (UF) and Dr. Raymond Chobaz (UF). He has also participated in conducting master classes with John Paynter, Dr. Stanley Derusha, Doug Akey, Dr. Frank Battisti and Lowel Graham. He is a member of the International Trumpet Guild, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Kappa Kappa Psi (honorary), Kentucky Music Educators Association, National Association for Music Education, California Music Educators Association and California Band Directors Association.Victor Perez

Victor has a passion for music and the marching arts starting as a low brass player in the wind ensemble, winter percussion, orchestra, and jazz bands in high school. Victor continued his love for music at Rio Hondo College where he earned his Associate of Arts in Music Performance, and then at California State University Los Angeles, as a euphonium major, performing in the Cal State LA First Chair Honor Band and Cal State Fullerton Honor Choir. In drum corps, he performed for 4 years, first with Impulse (2008-2009), then Phantom Regiment (2010), and finally with the Madison Scouts (2011) where he aged out. For the past 14 years, Victor has been playing the euphonium professionally, and as part of his local church’s ministry. He has been active in teaching at several schools in southern California for the past 4 years as a brass instructor, private lesson teacher, and visual caption head. This past summer he was a low brass instructor at the Sacramento Mandarins, and he is currently a brass instructor for the Alhambra High School marching band and the visual caption head for the Paramount High School marching band in Los Angeles, CA.Nathan Pratt

Nathan is returning to the Madison Scouts for his ninth summer, having spent three seasons as a member of the mellophone section and five seasons with the brass instructional staff. While he spends much of his time with the mellophone section, he also provides vocal instruction for the corps. During his time as a marching member, he was named Rookie of the Year, performed with an I&E National Champion mixed ensemble, was the I&E National Runner-Up mellophone soloist, served as the mellophone section leader, and was twice named Scout of the Year.For three years, Nathan has worked with Box 7 Ministries, an organization dedicated to leading young musicians in the marching arts to know and to follow Jesus Christ. He has also worked as a band/choir director at Tri-North Middle School in Bloomington, Indiana, and as an assistant director of the Bloomington High School North Cougar Band. He and his wife, Sierra, enjoy the outdoors and plan to spend lots of time living in a tent as they walk along the Appalachian Trail in 2018. In 2014, Nathan received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, where he studied voice with Michael Sylvester and Wolfgang Brendel. He was the 2013 recipient of the Frederick C. Ebbs Memorial Scholarship, awarded annually by the Department of Bands. He performed with the Indiana University Marching Hundred for five years, serving as drum major in 2012 and 2013.Rachel Spencer

Rachel has enjoyed a decorated career in DCI thus far. As a performer, she completed five years with the Bluecoats, serving as a lead trumpet, soloist, and horn sergeant. In her time with Bluecoats, she earned a bronze, silver, and gold medal, as well as was selected to perform in the 2016 Chinese New Year parade in Hong Kong. Ms. Spencer is currently a graduate student at the The University of Texas at Austin where she studies Music and Human Learning, and is a Teaching Assistant for the Longhorn Band, Longhorn Pep Band, and Longhorn Jazz Ensemble.A native of Ohio, Ms. Spencer earned her Bachelor of Music from Capital University in Jazz Studies, where she was an avid performer and educator in the Columbus community. While there, she worked with a variety of high schools in central and southern Ohio instructing marching ensembles. Additionally, she taught and currently teaches private students in brass and visual performance and has been a guest conductor and jazz band clinician. Rachel is very excited to work with the mellophones and anticipates great things from the corps this summer.