Judges

Lee Carlson has been involved in the pagentry arts for over 45 years. He has spent the last 39 years as the drill designer and color guard instructor for the University of Southern California Trojan Marching Band. His High School teaching experience includes 18 years at Indio High, Indio, CA. He has taught and written drill for many high schools including four years with Kamehameha Hight School in Honolulu, HI. He has instructed the Denver Blue Knights, Great Bend Argonne Rebels, and the Hutchinson Sky Ryders.

He has been a judge for Drum Corps International, Bands of America, Winter Guard International and many Winter Guard and Marching Band Circuits across the United States. With Drum Corps International he has served 21 years as a judge, four years as Visual Caption Head, five years as Judges Training Coordinator and for the past 5 years has served in the position of Artistic Coordinator and Director of Competition. He has judged in Europe and Asia and has adjudicated the Drum Corps Japan Championships nine times.

He has written for and taught many mass bands including the opening and closing of the Los Angles Olympics (1984), Centennial of the Statue of Liberty (1986), and the Bicentennial of the French Revolution and the Centennial of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (1989). Lee owns and operates a successful pottery studio in Palm Springs, CA., where has have been an active member of the community for the past 39 years.

Jay Kennedy is Vice President for Academic Affairs and Vice Provost at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

He has been an active adjudicator for marching band, drum corps, and indoor percussion competitions for over 35 years, has written for several drum and bugle corps, and composed the theme for the Drum Corps International contest broadcasts.  He was elected to the DCI Hall of Fame in 2007 for longtime contributions as an adjudicator, judge administrator, arranger, and composer.

Kennedy has composed music for hundreds of television commercials and his music has been heard in feature films, including Wayne’s World, Electric Horseman, and Lethal Weapon 2.  His published compositions include works for concert band, percussion ensemble, and marching band.

He received the Ph.D. from Boston College and Master of Music and Bachelor of Music Education degrees from Northwestern University.

John Phillips is an active adjudicator and clinician, whose work has taken him around the world. Phillips has provided his unique approach to marching arts education across Japan, Malaysia, Europe, South America, and North America.

Always in demand as an expert on marching music education, Phillips was a member of the MENC Blue Ribbon Panel on marching music standards. He chaired the DCI Marching Music Academy and in 2010, received the MENC award for Excellence in Marching Music Education. Since 2000 he has served as judge administrator for Drum Corps International and was inducted into the DCI Hall of Fame class of 2015.

Throughout his career, Phillips has participated in numerous initiatives with Music for All including the National Concert Festival – evaluator; the annual Summer Symposium – clinician; and the Bands of America Grand Nationals – adjudicator.  He regularly adjudicates for the World Association of Marching Show Bands (WAMSB) and numerous pageantry organizations in North America and abroad.

Phillips teaches at the Bower School of Music, Florida Gulf Coast University. He recently retired from the University of Western Ontario where he conducted the Symphonic Band, taught undergraduate conducting, and graduate seminars in Music Education. He also taught at York University and the University of Toronto in both the faculties of Music and Education.

John Phillips is a Conn-Selmer Educational Clinician.

Michael Stone resides in West Hills, California and has been adjudicating various pageantry competitions since 1997. He attributes his interest in pageantry to his high school music and marching band program. Mr. Stone has studied, performed and taught in several music programs in California. He is recognized at the highest level of adjudicators for Drum Corps International, Winter Guard International and Bands of America.

Currently Mr. Stone serves as part of the judge Liaison team for DCI. He also is the Executive Director for the WGASC.

As a nationally recognized adjudicator, Mr. Stone is proud to be affiliated with the following organizations:

♦ Drum Corps International (DCI)
♦ Winter Guard International (WGI)
♦ Music For All – Bands of America (BOA)
♦ Winter Guard Association of Southern California (WGASC/MBOS)
♦ Western Band Association (WBA)
♦ USBands
♦ Florida Federation of Colorguards Circuit (FFCC)

Carl Nelson has an expansive history in the marching and pageantry arts activity that spans over 35 years of experience as a performer, designer, instructor, administrator, adjudicator, and clinician. As a visual judge for Drum Corps International (DCI), Winter Guard International (WGI), and Bands of America (BOA), Carl has had the honor of participating in BOA Regional and Grand National Championships, WGI Winds Championships, DCI Open Class Championships, DCI World Class Championships, and the 2019 Indonesia Drum Corps Championships. In his free time, Carl enjoys spending time with his wife, Dia, of 28 years, and his sons, Logan and Tyler.

Mr. David Starnes served as Assistant Professor in the School of Music at Western Carolina University (NC) from 2011-2020 as the Director of Athletic Bands. From 2000-2011, he served as the founding Director of Bands at Kennesaw Mountain High School in Kennesaw, Georgia. Prior to his retirement from a 34-year career, he served as the Director of Orchestras at Kennesaw Mountain High School from 2020-2023. He currently serves as the Chief Academic Officer at the Gift of Music in Marietta, Georgia where he oversees the education department. During his tenure at Western Carolina University, he was responsible for all aspects of the 500+ member “Pride of the Mountains” Marching Band that performed in exhibition at Bands of America Regional Championships in Atlanta, St. Louis, and twice at the Grand National Championships in Indianapolis. Additionally, the band was selected for performance at the 88th and 93rd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. While the Director of Bands at Kennesaw Mountain High School, they were a six-time national finalist at the Bands of America Grand National Championships and named the 2004 “AAA National Champion” and a four-time Regional Champion. The band appeared in the 79th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Kennesaw Mountain High School Wind Symphony performed at the 60th Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago.

Mr. Starnes is sought out nationally and internationally as an adjudicator, clinician, guest conductor, and creative designer. He served as a creative designer and program coordinator at Spirit of Atlanta (2003-2006), Carolina Crown (2013-2017), and The Cavaliers (2022-2024). He served as an Education Consultant at Music for All from 1995-2021. While fulfilling this role, he served as the Program Director for The Honor Band of America, who appeared in the Tournament of Roses Parade in 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, and 2022. Mr. Starnes was inducted into the Bands of America Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2019.

Tom Aungst is the Director of Percussion at Dartmouth Public Schools in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, where he has taught for the past 24 years. Under Tom’s direction Dartmouth has participated in the WGI indoor percussion activity since 1998, capturing five World Class Percussion Championships (1998, 1999, 2008, 2009, 2014). Mr. Aungst has also been involved in the Drum Corps activity for over 36 years. Tom stepped back into the DCI arena again in 2015 becoming the caption head for the percussion section of the Carolina Crown Drum Corps and just recently in 2017 becoming the caption head and arranger for the 10 World Champions Cadets Drum Corps. Mr. Aungst got his start in the late 70’s by marching with the Reading Buccaneer’s all-age corps, winning two DCA World Championships in 1979 and 1980. Before returning to the Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps in 2017, he was first a member from 1981 through 1984, then  the Percussion Arranger and Caption Head through 2008, later returning as a consultant in 2013. While with the corps Tom was involved with capturing nine world championships and 7 percussion awards. Mr. Aungst has always remained actively involved in the Drum Corps activity, recently writing for the Cadets 2 all-age corps in 2013, and working with various groups like the Blue Stars, Pacific Crest, Hawthorn Caballeros, and the Connecticut Hurricanes. Tom is a member of The Cadets, Drum Corps International, WGI, and World Drum Corps Hall of Fame. Mr. Aungst is a Graduate of West Chester University, where he received his bachelors in Music Education and has a Masters in Jazz Performance from Rutgers University.