Mike Roberts

Assistant Tour Manager

Mike Roberts is originally from Orland Park, Illinois. In 2018, Mike graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Instrumental Music Education. While at ISU, Mike performed in the Wind Symphony, Symphony Orchestra, and was a drum major for the Big Red Marching Machine. He most recently graduated with his Master’s Degree in Music Education from the VanderCook College of Music in Chicago, Illinois.

Mike is currently a travel consultant with Guardian Travel Group. His responsibilities include building and managing trips for student groups, tour directing trips in different countries, and working with vendors to provide a successful trip for any group that wants to travel! He has traveled to Italy, Ireland, Mexico, and many states in the U.S. Before he was a travel consultant, Mike was a band director and taught in Illinois for five years. He is very grateful for his time as a music educator. 

Within the marching arts activity, Mike is a part of the marching band staff at Oswego East High School. Mike marched with the Blue Stars for their 2016 and 2017 seasons. After marching, Mike went on to become a trumpet staff member and taught from 2019-2023. He is excited for his new role within the Blue Stars organization and is thrilled to give back to something that gave so much to him! 

Cory Jones

Volunteer Coordinator

Cory Jones is a Business Analyst and avid DCI fan based out of Lexington, Kentucky.

Cory has been volunteering with the Blue Stars since 2018 and has served as Volunteer Coordinator since 2020. Cory auditioned for the Blue Stars in 2011 and while he did not march with the corps, has been a fan ever since. In addition to helping volunteers plan and arrange their time with the corps, Cory also volunteers with Sue on the cook truck himself, you will often find him in Forest City during Spring Training, during Finals Week in Indianapolis, or at the Indiana-based winter camps. 

Outside of DCI, Cory served previously as Assistant Director for Triple Crown Indoor Percussion, a WGI Independent Open indoor winter drum line and as a visual, ensemble, or drum major tech for various marching band programs around central Kentucky. 

Cade Samons

Assistant Tour Manager

Cade Samons has been involved with the Blue Stars organization since 2018. This is his third year as a member of the admin staff. Before joining admin, Cade marched mellophone for the Blue Stars from 2018 to 2021.

Cade graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2022 with a Bachelors in Music Education. Currently, he works as the assistant director of bands for Anderson County Schools in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky directing the middle school bands, and assisting with the Anderson County High School Marching Band.

Becky Winger

Senior Administrative Specialist

Becky Winger is returning to the Blue Stars for her third year on the admin team. After marching trumpet with the Blue Stars in 2018 and 2019, Becky is grateful to continue working with the fantastic Blue Stars team during the 60th anniversary!

Becky is the assistant band director at Jefferson High School in Lafayette, Indiana. At Jeff, she serves as the co-director for 3 curricular concert bands, 2 curricular jazz ensembles, an extra-curricular basketball band, the winter guard program coordinator, and the visual caption head of the Jefferson Marching Bronchos. She holds a Bachelor's in Music Education from Butler University, and is in the midst of a Master of Library and Information Science degree at Indiana University Indianapolis.

Hayden McClure

Hayden McClure

Administrative Specialist

Hayden McClure is an alumni of the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps, performing as a member of the mellophone section from 2012-2014 and serving as one of the Blue Stars’ drum majors during the 2015 and 2016 seasons, respectively.

He holds a Bachelor of Music in music education from the University of Evansville (IN) and a Master of Arts in arts administration from the University of Kentucky. Currently, Hayden is a middle school band director in Southwestern Indiana and teaches grades 6-8. In addition to his classroom teachings, he remains well-connected to the marching arts activity through his involvement with various high school marching band programs in the area.

He is extremely excited to be back and serve the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps as its Senior Administrative Specialist for the 60th Anniversary season!

Jordon Pinchback

Jordon Pinchback

Administrative Specialist

Born in The Old North State of North Carolina and Tampa, Florida raised, Jordon received his bachelor's degree in paralegal studies from St. Petersburg College. Since 2017, Jordon has taught at Countryside High as a visual and brass technician as well as indoor percussion visual designer, choreographer, and director. Jordon is on the visual staff for Leto High, Gaither High, Mount Dora High, and Freedom High. Jordon concurrently serves as the Siege Percussion (PIO) assistant director and board secretary of Siege Performing Arts, Inc. SPA - a 501c3 non-profit organization with the mission of offering students an accessible, high-quality education in the realms of music and visual performance arts. 

Jordon joins the administrative team at Blue Stars with three seasons of marching drum corps experience as a drum major for Heat Wave and a partial season of contra with Pacific Crest, rounding out his age-out season in 2017. Immediately upon aging-out, Jordon joined the administrative team at Heat Wave and played a prominent role in Heat Wave’s first trip to Indianapolis, IN for the DCI Open Class Prelims and World Class Prelims as their operations director. In 2019, Jordon was a tour operations assistant with Spirit of Atlanta. In this role, his primary responsibilities were leading the advance/lead vehicle team and serving as the assistant facilities coordinator. From 2020-2022, some of the administrative leaders of Pacific Crest Youth Arts Organization taught Jordon policy creation; effective communication; transportation/fleet management; and season planning strategies. Additionally, Jordon served as the tour director in 2022 for the Louisiana Stars and the director of operations and assistant corps director for Southwind in 2023. 

Outside of the pageantry arts, Jordon works as an adult education teacher  for Hillsborough County Public Schools. Jordon is also pursuing his masters in social work and human services  with a concentration in leadership and organizational management  from Capella University. In his free time, Jordon can be found supporting local multicultural eateries, coffee shops, and breweries in and around the Tampa bay area. Bowling, tubing, and spontaneous road trips are other hobbies that Jordon enjoys while living in the Sunshine State.

Cameron Ayers

Battery Coordinator

Cameron is a composer and educator from Ventura, California. He has been writing and teaching percussion for ensembles in the greater Los Angeles area since 2016, including Élan percussion, POW Percussion, and Pulse Percussion. Cameron received his Bachelors in Music with a Commercial and Media Writing option from California State University Northridge in 2021.

His performance career in the marching arts includes Pulse Percussion, the Sacramento Mandarins, POW Percussion, and Golden empire drum corps. During the summer of 2020, Cameron composed the program for Marching Vlogs' "MV All Star Drumline," which brought together members from broken city percussion, RCC, and Pulse Percussion to raise money for a food bank in La Puente, CA.

This is Cameron's third year with the Blue Stars.

George Collins

Battery Consultant & & Coordinator

George is a percussion educator in Southern California that has worked with various ensembles such as OCI, Odyssey, Meraki and Dark Sky Percussion. He is also a prolific private instructor seeking to provide mentorship and the training necessary to help performers and staff members achieve their goals.  This work shares many parallels with his day job as a Literary Manager for writers and artists working primarily in the Animated TV Industry.

Benjamin Pyles

Battery Ensemble Consultant

Benjamin Pyles is an active percussion designer and educator based out of New Braunfels, TX.   Ben was born and raised in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, and studied music education at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  He currently serves as the Athletic Percussion Director at the University of Texas at San Antonio and UTSA Indoor ensemble.  Ben is one of the original members of Monarch Independent based out of Houston, TX and still serves as part of the music design team today.    

With over two decades of World Class performing, instructional, and design experience in the DCI community, Ben has been involved with multiple teams including the Glassmen, Bluecoats, Crossmen, Spirit of Atlanta, Colts, and the Mandarins.  Ben also has a large presence in the WGI community, holding multiple State Championships in A Class, Open Class, and World Class, along with instructing and designing for multiple WGI World Championship finalist ensembles. 

Benjamin is a proud endorser of Innovative Percussion Inc, Mapex and Majestic percussion, and Sabian Cymbals.

Jesus Alcantar

Battery Ensemble Consultant

Jesus Alcantar is a marching percussion specialist in Southern California. Currently Jesus is in his seventeenth year as a percussion instructor at South Hills High School. Previously Jesus served as the battery percussion manager at Arcadia High School.

Jesus keeps an exclusive private lesson roster where he enjoys emparting his years of experience with students from beginner to world class levels. Jesus’ long standing reputation for producing high quality students and ensembles at all levels has shaped him as a leading member in his community.

Jesus proudly endorses Vic Firth and Zildjian.

David Ramirez

Snare Instructor

David is a Vic Firth/Zildjian educator from Temecula, CA with 9 years of teaching experience. He is currently the battery manager for Great Oak High School’s open class drumline, while also arranging music and visual design for the program’s A class indoor drumline. He graduated from CSU Long Beach with a degree in English Literature. 

David has formerly taught at various schools and ensembles in the Southern California area, including Chaparral HS, Carlsbad HS, Vail Ranch MS, Los Alamitos HS, Fallbrook HS, POW Percussion, and serving as interim percussion caption head at Pacific Crest Drum and Bugle Corps in 2022, where he taught for 4 summers. David is proud to return for his second year of teaching the Blue Stars battery in 2025.

David’s performance career consists of Pacific Crest, POW Percussion, Pulse Percussion, and the Blue Stars. He is a proud to have aged out with the Blue Stars in 2018 after 2 years of membership.

Bryan Criswell

Snare Instructor

Bryan is an educator/designer based in the Central Valley. His time as a performer was spent solely in West Coast ensembles, including Red Wave Indoor, RCC Indoor, and the Blue Devils. In both education and design, Bryan contributed to the growth of several percussion programs in his hometown of Visalia (2018-2022) and collaborated with some Bay Area ensembles, including a brief stint with Thesis Indoor (2023).

He currently operates as Percussion Caption Head at Clovis West High School, where he also serves as battery arranger and in visual/concept design. During the indoor season, he works closely with Red Wave Indoor in an effort to provide the Fresno area with top World Class education.

This will be Bryan’s second year with the Blue Stars.

James Taylor IV

Snare Instructor

James is an educator from Southern California. He was the Co-Battery manager for Great Oak High School’s world/open class drumline from 2021-2024, and managed their A class indoor battery as well from 2021-2023. James currently teaches at élan percussion, returning this year for his second indoor season with them as a snare technician.

James’ performance career includes Pulse Percussion from 2020-2023. Pacific Crest 2019 and Bluecoats 2022.

James is currently pursuing a degree in Kinesiology, with a focus in Movement Science from CSU San Marcos and is expecting to graduate in May of 2025.

This will be James’ second year with Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps, and he is ecstatic about his return!

Isaiah Wood

Snare Instructor

Isaiah is originally  from Irmo, South Carolina. Currently residing in Indianapolis, Indiana Isaiah spends the majority of his time giving private lessons, composing and arranging battery, and working towards his degree in biological psychology. 

Isaiah began his independent marching career in 2017 with North Greenville Indoor and continued to perform with ensembles such as Civitas Independent, Veritas, Cincinnati Tradition, and Rhythm X. 

Being aged out, Isaiah is very excited to contribute from the other side of the drum in his 2nd year on staff with The Blue Stars. Other ensembles Isaiah has instructed include: Irmo High School, Greenville High School, Batesburg Leesville High School, Ninety Six High School, East Central High School, Plainfield High School, Cincinnati Tradition, and Connexus Indoor Percussion.

Charlie Davis

Tenor Instructor

Entering my 10th year as a marching percussion educator, I am thrilled to be back with the Blue Stars percussion staff for my third consecutive season. 

Having marched at the Bluecoats, Oregon Crusaders Indoor, Vanguard Cadets, and Blue Devils B, I bring a variety of knowledge and experience to my students whom I hope to empower and develop into incredible people and performers.

Building on the tremendous growth the last two seasons, I am beyond excited for what we have in store for 2025.

Luis Garcia

Tenor Instructor

Luis Garcia is excited to return for his third summer with the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps. He’s also had the pleasure of working with Vanguard Cadets in 2022, POW from 2023 to the present, and Pacific Crest in 2024, helping students grow their skills and love for the marching arts.

When he’s not on the field, Luis works as a mechanical engineer in aerospace manufacturing, where he enjoys applying his problem-solving skills and technical knowledge. He’s also looking forward to returning to school for an M.S. in Mechanical engineering to focus on propulsion systems, combining his passion for engineering with a drive to keep learning.

Luis is thrilled to be part of the Blue Stars team and looks forward to another memorable summer with the corps.

Evan Smith

Tenor Instructor

Evan Smith is an active rudimental percussion educator in Southern California, based in the San Gabriel Valley. Evan was a performer most notably with the Blue Stars (2021, 2022) and RCC Indoor (2023, 2024).

When not working at his day job with California Drums, he enjoys working with the battery at Arcadia High School and working on other creative projects in his spare time.

Max Salce

Tenor Instructor

Max Salce teaches drums and private lessons in Southern California . From the staff side of things, there are many people I’ve known from marching and finally get a chance to work alongside. It’s an honor to be chosen and trusted for this role and I look forward to seeing what ways my experience guides the members to further develop their performance qualities. 

Marching Experience: Vessel ‘19/‘20, Mandarins ‘21, Broken City ‘22, Pulse ‘23, & Bluecoats ‘22/‘23/‘24

Teaching Experience: Etiwanda High School ‘21/‘22, El Toro High School ‘24, Rancho Cucamonga High School ‘24

Max is super excited to be teaching quads for Blue Stars this summer!

Genevieve Hilburn

Bass Instructor

Genevieve Hilburn is a percussionist and educator based in Southern California. She holds a bachelor's degree in percussion performance from California State University Northridge and a master's degree in percussion performance from Texas A&M University Commerce.

Her performance credits include several national competitions and conventions, including the Modern Snare Drum Competition, hosted by the Cleveland Institute of Music, and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. Genevieve heads the percussion programs at Bakersfield College and California State University Bakersfield, as well as leading their joint Percussion Ensemble. Her further educational appointments include the Glendale Youth Orchestra, the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps, and several public school programs in the Los Angeles area. She also serves on the Percussive Arts Society’s “Rudimental and Marching” committee.

Through her work as an educator, Genevieve hopes to foster a mindset of agency and joy within her students through their work in the percussive discipline. She is excited to return to the Blue Stars for her third season.

Kyle Harry

Bass Instructor

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Kyle began his musical career playing drum set at the age of 9. After attending Musicians Institute, he had a short but meaningful marching career with Pacific Crest, RCC fall, and RCC indoor. Since then, Kyle has taught bass drum at several different world-class ensembles, including the Mandarins, the Academy, Pacific Crest, and Dark Sky Percussion. He was the bass drum instructor for Arcadia High School World Line from 2014-2020. This is is second year with the Blue Stars Drum & Bugle Corps.

Kyle currently resides in La Habra, CA and works as a drummer for the Disneyland Resort.