Welcome to the Harvest Marching Band Festival!

Welcome to the
Harvest Marching Band Festival

   Judges/Categories, Finalist Policy and Scoring Sheet for the 2016 Harvest Marching Band Festival on Saturday, October 15, 2016
Zaepfel Stadium are:

Color Guard

Charlotte Morrow

Picture of Charlotte Morrow Charlotte Morrow is the current Director of Compass Rose winterguard and Color Guard Consultant for the Oregon Crusaders Drum & Bugle Corps.  She has over 19 years teaching experience that also includes the Madison Scouts, Boston University Band and Colorguard,  Northern Lights World, Cascades Drum and Bugle Corps, Cascades Independent Winter Guard and several high school programs in the Northwest and California. 

Charlotte performed over the course of a decade with the Blue Devils, Blue Knights and Seattle Cascades as well as Northwest Passage, Northern Lights Independent World and Blast!  She has a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Portland State University and the University of Hawaii and works in energy efficiency consulting in Portland, OR.


Drum Major

Michael Tran

Picture of Michael Tran Michael Tran is currently the music teacher at Inglewood Middle School in Sammamish, Washington. He is also the Director or Seattle Cascades Drum Corps.

Michael has spent the last several years instructing and coordinating numerous high school marching ensembles within the state including, Mercer Island, Kamiak, Newport, Cedarcrest, Chiawana, West Valley (Yakima), Sultan, Naches Valley, and Eisenhower. Additionally, he spent three years writing and teaching for the Central Washington University "Wildcat" Marching Band in Ellensburg, WA.

His marching experience began back in sixth grade in parade band. After four years at Sultan High School, Michael participated in the drum corps activity as a lead trumpet player at Seattle Cascades Drum Corps and The Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps. He served his final year as the Drum Major for the Seattle Cascades.

Michael graduated from Central Washington University with his degree in music education and psychology. During his enrollment, he performed and participated in a varying array of ensembles. He was extremely involved in the music program serving as the NAfME Collegiate Senator, a position he held for three years. He now lives in Redmond where he teaches the best students in the world!


Music Ensemble

Sam Ormson

Picture of Sam Ormson Sam Ormson is currently in his 16th year of teaching his twelfth year at Mountain View HS.

His groups have performed at the Midwest Clinic, the National Concert Band Festival, the Western International Band Clinic, the Tournament of Roses Parade, the Washington Music Educators Conference, and the NAfME All-Northwest Division Conference. His groups have performed and collaborated with many artists including; the Count Basie Orchestra, Wayne Bergeron, Jeff Coffin, Bob Reynolds, Peter Boonshaft, Patrick Sheridan, Gary Green, Carlos Kalmar, Tim Lautzenheiser and others.

A two-time Grammy Signature school award winner and the 2015 OnPoint Community Credit Union teacher of the year, Sam maintains an active schedule as educator, conductor, and clinician.

Sam received his Bachelor degree from Central Washington University in 2000, his Masters in Conducting from the American Band College in 2005, his National Board Certification in Music in 2007 and his Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Music Education at Boston University in 2015.


Music General Effect

Jeff Richmond

Picture of Jeff Richmond As the CEO/Owner of The Richmond Property Group and the Encore Home Groups in Salem, Portland, and Eugene, OR, Jeff Richmond guides the operational mission of the company, structures new business acquisition, facilitates branding, and coordinates hiring. He also owns a technology company specializing in real estate app development.

Jeff previously worked in higher education, having served as Chair of the Music Department at Department at Southern Oregon University. His education includes a doctoral degree in music composition and jazz performance.

Jeff is also a published writer, an internationally recognized speaker, and a real estate business strategist. He marched 5 years of world class Drum Corps International, was the gold medal winner for the DCI I&E brass competition, and composed the Blue Devils A Corps Trumpet I&E gold medal winning composition in 2009.


Music Individual

Jeff Ray

Picture of Jeff Ray Jeff Ray is in his 30th year of public education, and is currently the director of the 350 member Olympic View Middle School Band from Mukilteo, WA. This group was won events all over the Pacific Northwest and California. They were also the first middle school in the United States to perform at a division one NCAA Bowl game, performing with Destiny's Child.

Prior to entering education Mr. Ray spent 25 years in drum and bugle corps as a member, instructor, and as a director. Groups Mr. Ray has been affiliated with include the Percussionaut Patriots, Renaissance, Freelancers, Imperials, Marauders, Argonauts, Spartans, and Cascades Corps.

Mr. Ray also keeps a very busy performance schedule as a lead trumpet player. He has backed artists from the Brecker Brothers to George Burns, played for cruise lines, and currently plays for various Latin and Rock groups, as well as lead trumpet for several big bands in the Seattle area.


Percussion

Chris Whyte

Picture of Chris Whyte Christopher Whyte hails from Portland, Oregon.  He is currently Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Percussion Studies at Western Oregon University. 

He recently completed the Doctor of Musical Arts in Percussion Performance from Boston University, where he was a student of Boston Symphony Principal Timpanist Timothy Genis.  Whyte performs frequently in the Portland area as a freelance percussionist and timpanist with The Oregon Symphony, the Portland Opera Orchestra, Third Angle Contemporary Ensemble, FearNoMusic, The Bach Cantata Choir, The Portland Symphonic Choir and the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus.  He has also performed with the Vancouver Symphony, Atlantic Symphony, the New Bedford Symphony, the Eugene Symphony, the Newport Symphony, ALEA III contemporary music ensemble and the Boston Civic Symphony, among others. 

The Boston Musical Intelligencer called Whyte’s playing “a striking diversity of styles and spirit.”  Whyte has worked closely with composers William Kraft, Pauline Oliveros, Allen Strange, Stephen Taylor, Michael Johanson, Mendel Lee and Gabriela Lena Frank, among others.

He is co-founder of the Portland Percussion Group, a contemporary percussion quartet based in Portland, Oregon that strives to foster and promote percussion performance through engaging concerts, educational outreach and the creation of new works in the chamber percussion genre.  The Portland Percussion Group is active in developing relationships with new composers and the commissioning of new works throughout the Northwest region.

Whyte also earned degrees at the University of Oregon as a student of the late Charles Dowd.  While at the University of Oregon, he won the University of Oregon Concerto Competition and performed with a number of professional orchestras and chamber music ensembles in the Northwest region.

Whyte has works published through Tapspace, MSC, Matrix, and Bachovich publishing companies, and can be heard on recordings from Pentatone Classics.

Chris is also actively involved in the marching percussion activity.  He has performed with the Cascades, Bluecoats, and Blue Devils drum corps, and has arranged and taught for the Oregon Crusaders, Cascades and Madison Scouts.  He is currently the Front Ensemble Arranger for the Oregon Crusaders, arranger and designer for the OC Indoor Percussion Ensemble, and remains active as a percussion arranger for a number of high school percussion programs throughout the United States.  

Whyte has presented percussion clinics and given masterclasses at universities throughout the Midwest and western United States and continues to be in demand as a clinician for both collegiate and high school programs.  Chris is a Yamaha Performing Artist, and proudly endorses Vic Firth Drumsticks and Remo Drum heads.

Chris lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Charlotte and their Akita, Decan.


Visual General Effect

Kurt Jull

Picture of Kurt Jull Kurt Jull is from Portland, Oregon and has been actively designing, teaching, consulting and adjudicating the pageantry arts for 30 years. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Northwest Pageantry Association & Winter Guard International. He founded the Every-Body Winterguards and has designed for the Yokohama, Japan Inspires, the Madison Scouts, the Oregon Crusaders, and the Seattle Cascades. Kurt holds a bachelor’s degree in Interactive Media Design and is the senior designer and strategist with A-VIBE Web Development.

Visual Performance Ensemble

Steve Kuske

Picture of Steve Kuske Stephen Kuske is in his 18th year with the Evergreen School District in Vancouver. He served as Director of Bands at Evergreen High School for 17 years. Before coming to Evergreen, he served as Director of Bands for three years at Fred C. Beyer High School in Modesto, California. During his tenure at Beyer High School, the group was selected to perform at the prestigious Bands of America National Concert Band Festival in Chicago. Before moving to Modesto, he taught successful band programs in Eugene and Salem, Oregon. The Sprague Wind Ensemble from Salem, Oregon, under Mr. Kuske’s leadership, placed in the top three at the OSAA State Band Championships during each of his three years at the school. In Mr. Kuske’s last year in Salem, the Sprague Wind Ensemble was the Oregon State Band Champion.

Mr. Kuske has also led successful marching bands. The Beyer Marching Band, under Mr. Kuske’s direction, won first place at many festivals and competitions around the country, including the Marching Bands of American Western Regional and the Western Scholastic Marching Band Championships in California. The Evergreen Marching Band has garnered over 250 awards and trophies during Mr. Kuske’s tenure, and is the five-time Northwest Marching Band Champion marching band. The Evergreen Band has twice has been nominated for the National Sudler Shield Award for Excellence in Marching Band.

Since Mr. Kuske came to Evergreen, the Evergreen Band has performed in Seattle, Hawaii, San Francisco, Canada and Los Angeles. In 2009, the Evergreen band was selected from 1400 applicants to march in the Barack Obama Presidential Inauguration Parade in Washington DC. Some other noteworthy performances include the Portland Rose Parade, the premiere parade in the Northwest. Evergreen has won the Sweepstakes Award for this prestigious event in nine of the last ten years. Mr. Kuske has worked with numerous composers whom he has brought in to clinic and work with his bands, including Alfred Reed, Ron Nelson, David Holsinger, David Maslanka, Timothy Mahr and Jack Stamp.

Mr. Kuske is in demand as a guest conductor and band adjudicator. In the past, Mr. Kuske has been guest conductor of the Oregon State University Symphonic Band, the California State University Stanislaus Wind Ensemble and both the Salem and North Coast Adult Concert Bands. Over the past years, he has been invited to speak at the Oklahoma, Arizona, Oregon and Washington State Music Educators Association Conventions, presenting on “Technology in the Music Classroom,” “Creating Success in Your First Years as a Band Director,” “Building a Successful Marching Band Program with Limited Resources,” and “Motivating Band Students.”

He has received three citations of teaching excellence from the Bethel, Salem/Keizer and Evergreen School Districts, but his proudest moments are those he spends with his wife and two sons.


Visual Performance Individual

Mitch DeGrace

Picture of Mitch DeGrace Mr. DeGrace has taught and performed in the marching arts since 1985. He performed four years as a brass player with the marching band at Tahoma Senior High School from Maple Valley, one year with the Imperials Youth Band, from Renton, and four years with the Marauders Drum and Bugle Corps from Longview.

After aging out of drum corps in the summer of 1992, Mitch joined the Cascades Drum and Bugle Corps as a visual instructor where he was on staff until 1998. His final year with the Cascades he held the position of Tour Director where he was responsible for planning and executing all aspects of a full drum corps tour.

Mitch has been working with the Cascade High School Band since the fall of 1993. In this time, he has been a visual instructor, visual designer, music arranger, program coordinator and assistant director. He has also written drill and consulted for Eisenhower and AC Davis High Schools from Yakima, Washington, Shelton High School and Tahoma High School. In addition, he has also worked as an adaptation specialist for Marching Show Concepts of Sarasota, Florida.

Mr. DeGrace is the director of choir and band at Meridian High School just north of Bellingham where his program has grown a great deal in the last 5 years and his music department currently serves 30% of the high school population.

Mr. DeGrace is very pleased to rejoin the judges community at the 2015 Harvest Band Festival!



Finalist Policy

Twelve bands from Preliminary Competition will be selected to participate in Finals Competition in the following manner:
  1. The top 12 bands will be selected based on preliminary scores. Bands performing in the Novice division are not eligible for Finals.
  2. Bands perform in Preliminary Score order
  3. Caption Awards (Best Marching, Auxiliary, etc.) are awarded to the highest scoring band in Preliminary Competition


Welcome to the Harvest Marching Band Festival Saturday, October 15, 2016
Zaepfel Stadium

Preliminary/Finals Competition
Sample Score Sheet

Sample High School - 12:00 PM Exhibition  
Music Performance - Ensemble 300 Possible Points 157
Music Performance - Individual 300 Possible Points 154
Percussion: 100 Possible Points 50
Music Performance - Average: 350 Possible Points 185.5
Visual Performance - Ensemble 200 Possible Points 110
Visual Performance - Individual 200 Possible Points 110
Auxiliary: 100 Possible Points 80
Visual Performance - Average: 250 Possible Points 150
Musical Effect 200 Possible Points 120
Visual Effect 200 Possible Points 130
Effect Average: 400 Possible Points 250

Independent Category
Drum Major 100 Possible Points 75.5

Final Score:
(Total x 0.1)
100 Possible Points
58.55