CLINICIAN BIO's

After the marching season, and among other teaching responsibilities, many of our Clinicians also serve as Master Clinicians for the GCISD Percussion Club.  Below is a listing of both current and past clinicians along with a bio and contact information where available. 

BASS LINE

**  Tony King  **

Tony is the Bass Drum Instructor for Surround Sound, the official drum line for the Dallas Mavericks.  In addition to performing with the UTA Marching Band on bass drum, tenor drums and snare drum, he was a member of the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps bass line in 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001, winning the DCI Individual and Ensemble Bass Line gold medal in 2000 and 2001. Tony’s teaching experience includes Burleson High School from 1999-2002, Revolution Drum and Bugle Corps in 2002 and 2003 and Surround Sound 2002, 2003 and 2004. He received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from UTA in 2002 and also performs regularly with the Dallas Mavericks Drumline.

Available for Private Lessons?   Not at this time

**  Arjuna Contreras  **

Arjuna is assisting Tony King with the Bass Line for the 2005 marching season.  Presently, he is touring with Donna Summer.

Available for Private Lessons?  Yes!   Arjuna is available for private lessons in various percussive genres, including drumset.  Contact Arjuna via e-mail or phone:  817-657-7793.

FRONT ENSEMBLE

**  Dan Darrah  **

Daniel Wyn Darrah received his Bachelors of Music degree in percussion performance at the University of Montana studying with Dr. Robert Ledbetter. While there he received numerous awards including winning that schools young artist concerto/aria competition and placing 3rd in the Missoula Symphony's Young Artist Concerto Competition.

Daniel went on to study percussion at the University of North Texas where he received his Masters degree in music performance studying under Mark Ford and Christopher Deane. Dan is currently working on his Doctoral degree in percussion at the University of North Texas. Daniel is a member of UNT's prestigious Wind Symphony and performs regularly with the Baroque Orchestra.

Daniel has been involved with drum corps since 1999 when he first marched with the Troopers from Casper Wyoming. After his age-out year in 2001, he taught the front ensemble of the Troopers from 2002-2004. Dan is also in his 3rd year of teaching the front ensemble for Colleyville Heritage High School.

Available for Private Lessons?   Not at this time

SNARE

**  Chad Gibson  **

Chad comes to CHHS from the University of Texas at Arlington, where he is a senior music education major.  In his three years at UTA, Chad has performed with many of the campus ensembles, including the wind ensemble, symphony orchestra, percussion ensemble, jazz orchestra, marching band, and winter drum line.  Chad performed with his fifth UTA winter line this past spring, and this coming fall will be his fourth marching band season at UTA.  Additionally, Chad has been section leader of the last three UTA winter lines and this fall will be his third year as section leader of the UTA drum line.  In his time at UTA, Chad has studied with Dr. Michael Varner, Jim Yakas, Jeff Ausdemore, Edward Stephan, and Joey Carter.  He has also performed as a member of the UTA percussion ensemble and/or studied with several of the world’s most famous percussionists, including Dave Samuels, Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez, Orlando Cotto, and John Riley.  Chad was also named UTA’s “Most Outstanding Music Student” for the 2005-2006 school year. 

As a 2003 graduate of Martin High School in Arlington, Texas, Chad brought home two NTCA championship gold medals with this drum line.  Additionally, Chad was section leader of the 2004 Insignia Drumline.  Under the leadership of Jeff Ausdemore, this group won the NTCA PIA gold medal in its inaugural season.  Chad was also section leader of the 2005 Surround Sound snare line.  In addition to winning the NTCA championship, Surround Sound Percussion was the WGI PIO Gold Medalist in Dayton, Ohio that year. 

Chad began his drum corps career with the Madison Scouts at the age of 17.  He marched on the snareline for three years total (2002-2004), serving as section leader in 2003.  During his time with the Scouts, Chad toured over 40 states from coast to coast and placed in the top eight at DCI World Championships.  He has placed in the top five at the DCI Individual and Ensemble competition, and was crowned the 2003 Drum Corps Midwest Snare Drum Champion.  During his time with Madison, Chad was taught by many of DCI’s finest instructors, including Jeff Moore, Jim Yakas, Daniel Neimeyer, and Patrick Fitzgibbon. 

Chad has provided drum line instruction, clinics, and lessons to many schools all over the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex.  Chad’s duties at CHHS began in the summer of 2005 as the snare line clinician.  This past spring, in addition to assisting with the GCISD Percussion Club and maintaining a full lesson schedule, Chad collaborated with Dan Neimeyer and Jeff Ausdemore to create Colleyville’s first ever WGI show.  Adapted from the hit Broadway musical “Wicked,” “The Dark Side of Oz” entertained audiences all over North Texas and brought home the gold medal at the 2006 NTCA championships.

Available for Private Lessons?  Yes!   Contact Chad via e-mail.

TENORS

**  Dan Neimeyer  **

Dan comes to CHHS with a wealth of varied percussion experience and knowledge, from performing to teaching and everything in between.  The 2005 CHHS Tenor section enjoyed their best year ever under Dan's leadership.

For twelve years Dan performed with six various Midwest Drum and Bugle Corps, the last six years dedicated to playing tenors in the Madison Scouts from Madison, Wisconsin.  With the Scouts, he toured California and various destinations in Europe, winning the 1988 DCI World Championships.  He frequently performed in the individual tenor competition at DCI (often placing in the top 5), and was the 1992 Drum Corps Midwest Champion.

While attending the University of North Texas, Dan performed with many of the campus ensembles, including the percussion ensemble, wind symphony and symphonic band, African and Brazilian ensembles as well as the steel drum band.  He has studied with many excellent instructors, including Dr. Robert Schietroma, Ron Fink, Ed Soph, Jeff Prosperie, Paul Rennick, Dave Gluck, Tom Float, and Ralph Hardimon - to name just a few!

During his time at UNT, Dan performed with the highly acclaimed North Texas Drum Line.  With Dan playing tenors each year, the drum line won the Percussive Arts Society World Championship in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994.  UNT won the Best Tenors award in 1989, 1990 and 1995.  In 1991, Dan was awarded the Tenor Solo Champion during PASIC competitions held in Anaheim, California.  In 1996, Dan was on the UNT staff when the North Texas Drum Line won the 10th PASIC World Championship, including Best Tenor Line.

As an educator, Dan taught the Madison Scouts Drum Line from 1993 to 2003 under Jeff Moore and James Yakas.  Many members of the Scouts performed individual solos during this time, including Jeremy Kunkel, the 1994 DCI Tenor Champion.

Continuing his career as an educator, Dan was the drum line arranger and instructor for the University of Central Florida from 2000 to 2003.  With UCF, the line traveled to Georgia Tech, Alabama, Virginia Tech, Clemson and also performed at the Superdome in New Orleans.  Many members of the drum line performed in Drum Corps, including the Boston Crusaders, Magic of Orlando, Carolina Crown, Spirit of JSU, Tal Sound, Southwind, Madison Scouts and the 2003 World Champion Blue Devils - all having been taught at one time by Dan.

His involvement with CHHS began with the school opening in 1996.  He was on staff under Arjuna Contreras from 1996-1998, teaching the drum line, Brazilian ensemble and various other percussion groups, while also teaching privately at CHHS, Heritage Middle School, and Grapevine Middle School, serving as the Percussion Coordinator from 1999 until 2000.  During this time, CHHS performed in their only state marching competition thus far, receiving sixth place.

Currently, Dan is continuing his education at UNT while serving as CHHS clinician and private lesson instructor and maintaining a full time time job as supervisor at Barnes and Noble, Children's Department.

Available for Private Lessons? Yes!   Contact Dan via e-mail or feel free to call him at 972-420-1163.

CYMBALS

**  Jeremy Gomez  **

Jeremy is a popular drumline instructor in the Denton/Dallas/Fort Worth area.  He holds a music performance degree from the University of North Texas and is at the forefront of several contemporary fields of percussion.  His focus on modern teaching methods, mixing 'world' rhythms into drumset, and his inventive marching cymbal technique has led him onto a distinctive career path.  He is a dynamic drumset player in the Denton/Dallas area, having played kit with the North Texas Lab Bands, UNT Steel Band, UNT Drumline, and UNT Pop Ensemble.  Since 1995 he has studied South Indian rhythms and concepts under Poovular Sriji, going to India in 2000.  With Jeremy, the UNT Cross-Cultural South-Indian Ensemble has premiering several pieces and arrangements of Sriji's.

As a cymbal instructor, Jeremy has written a unique method defining motions and their applications to cymbal movement in the drumline idiom.  Since 1998 he has been instructing and writing the choreography for the UNT Cymbal Line, winning 4 Percussive Arts Society championships and 2 Best Cymbal Line caption awards.  At UNT, Jeremy has expanded cymbal applications in percussion and 'world' ensembles.  Working with composers Paul Rennick, Poovular Sriji and Christopher Deane, Jeremy has arranged and premiered numerous cymbal ensemble pieces at both UNT and P.A.S.I.C.  He was formerly the cymbal tech for the prestigious Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corp, winning 2 groundbreaking cymbal ensemble championships, fusing South Indian and Asian music forms with choreography to entertain and educate.

Available for Private Lessons?  Yes!   For private drumset or group cymbal instruction, send him an e-mail to Jeremy Gomez or call 940-453-6275.

ALL ELEMENTS of PERCUSSION

**  Warren Dewey  **

UPDATE 21MAY06:  In late July, Mr. Dewey will travel to Toronto to study with the world-renowned percussion ensemble, NEXUS, a unique group that has defined the art of modern percussion since 1971.  For over three decades, there is still nothing else quite like it.  To the great benefit of his students, Mr. Dewey will share what he has learned upon his return to the studio.  Feel free to contact Mr. Dewey to learn more about his upcoming residency and NEXUS percussion.

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EXPERIENCE:  25 YEARS AS A FREE-LANCE PERFORMER AND COLLEGE INSTRUCTOR

CREDENTIALS AND COLLEGES ATTENDED:  BME, MME, & STATE OF TEXAS Certification

University of Louisiana at Monroe

University of Miami at Coral Gables, Florida

KOSA Percussion Workshops (CASTLETON COLLEGE), Castleton, Vermont

 ACHIEVEMENTS:  Percussion Lecturer at the Moscow Conservatory of Music

 PRIOR PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE:   FT. WORTH SYMPHONY, FT. WORTH OPERA, LIBERACE, TOM JONES, LEANNE RIMES, BOB HOPE, STEVE HOLY, CHARLIE BIRD, DONALD BYRD, ENGLEBERT HUMPERDINK, EMMETT KELLY CIRCUS, SHRINE CIRCUS, ROY CLARK, GARY MORRIS, JOHN ANDERSON, MERLE TRAVIS, BUCK TRENT, TERRY MCMILLAN, LEON McCAULEF, FT. WORTH RODEO BAND, HOUSTON RODEO BAND, DALLAS JAZZ ORCHESTRA, FT. WORTH CLASSIC JAZZ ORCHESTRA, JAZZ MONSTERS ORCHESTRA, THE INK SPOTS, THE PLATTERS, DALLAS (TV SHOW), HUNDREDS OF RECORDING SESSIONS (SEVERAL WITH GRAMMY NOMINATIONS)

ALSO:  PERFORMANCE TOURS IN ITALY, KOREA, AND RUSSIA

Available for Private Lessons?  Yes!   Space is limited.  Send an e-mail to Warren or call 817-223-7653.