33rd Annual Beechwood Festival of Bands Contest Adjudicators
September 9, 2023
Tom Case | Music
Tom Case recently retired from Adair County High School in Columbia, Kentucky where he served as band director from 2009 to 2021. All of Mr. Case’s concert and symphonic bands received distinguished ratings at the KMEA District and or State Level Performance Assessment Event. His symphonic bands were selected twice to perform at the KMEA In-Service Conference. His symphonic bands have also been selected to perform at the University of South Carolina’s Band Clinic as well as the University of Kentucky’s Concert Band Invitational. Mr. Case has also conducted various All-Region, All-District, and Honor Bands across the state and regional area.
Mr. Case’s marching bands have claimed five Bands Of America Grand National Championships, ten BOA Regional class championships, and several BOA Grand National Semi-Finalist and Regional Finalist awards. Mr. Case’s bands have also won eight KMEA State Championships and have been a KMEA State finalist nineteen times. Mr. Case has also judged various state-level championships in Arizona, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Mr. Case has held several professional offices within KMEA that include the Marching Band Board of Control, various Ad- Hoc Committees, District President, and District Band Chair. In addition, Mr. Case served as the statewide KMEA Band Chair-Elect and State Band Chair from 2008-2012.
Biography and photo courtesy of adaircountyband.com
Brian Brown | Music
Brian began his teaching career in 1986 at Beechwood Independent Schools in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky where he served as Assistant Director and then Band Director for grades five through twelve. He went on to teach high school band in Kentucky and Ohio for 26 years. He has served as a consultant, adjudicator, and visual designer for hundreds of high school band programs, including several Kentucky and Indiana State Finalists and Champions, as well as Bands Of America Semi-finalists including the 2006 and 2011 Music For All Grand National Class A Champion Beechwood Marching Tigers. He recently finished 6 years as program consultant for the Drum Corp International Finalist Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps from San Antonio, Texas. Brian served as the Director of Bands as Thomas More University from 2018-2022. Brian is an active adjudicator for the indoor percussion and winter guard activity as a member of the Tri-State Judges Association and is a Winter Guard International Winds adjudicator. A native of Northern Kentucky, Brian currently resides in Bellevue, Kentucky.
Bob Elliott | Music
Bob began his teaching career at Ft. Thomas Highlands as assistant band director in 1985. Beginning in 1991 as band director at Grant County High School Mr. Elliott developed an award-winning marching band program that included 3 appearances in the KMEA State Championship Finals, highlighted by a KMEA Class A State Championship in 1995. Mr. Elliott then moved to Lexington, Kentucky to assume the Director of Bands position at Tates Creek High School. During this time the Tates Creek Marching Band was a KMEA State Marching Band Finalist in 2000, 2001 and 2002. The marching band was also named a Bands of America Regional Finalist at Louisville in 2000 and 2002 and at St. Louis in 2001.
Mr. Elliott was named Director of Bands at Larry A Ryle High School in 2012. During his tenure the Ryle Marching Band was named a KMEA Class 5A Semifinalist from 2012 – 2016, highlighted by a 5th place finish in 2015. The marching band was named as a Bands of America Dayton Regional finalist in 2013 and 2014. The Ryle Marching Band was also a Bands of America Grand National Semi-Finalist at the 40th Bands of America Grand National Championships in 2015.
Bob is also a member of Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity and has been awarded the KMEA District 6 Teacher of the Year Award. Bob is currently the Band and Orchestra Consultant for Fayette County Schools in Lexington Kentucky.
Biography and photo courtesy of musicforall.org
Jim Strugeon | Visual
Jim Sturgeon has enjoyed over 25 years in the pageantry arts. He serves as an adjudicator for Drum Corps International, Bands of America, Winter Guard International, Gulf Coast Judges Association, Florida Federation of Color Guard, and various marching band and color guard circuits. Jim was a member of the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps and Pride of Cincinnati Winter Guard. He has served as a designer/clinician for the Glassmen Drum and Bugle Corps as well as for several high school band and color guard programs. Outside of the pageantry arts, Jim has spent his professional career in the field of human resources.
He possesses a BSBA and an MBA in business from the University of Louisville. Currently, Jim is the Vice President of People Services for HealthCare Partners of Nevada, a DaVita Medical Group company. Jim resides in Henderson, NV.
Biography and photo courtesy of musicforall.org
David Veda | Visual
Mr. David Veda has over 25 years of pageantry arts experience to his credit. He has served as a designer and clinician for drum corps, winter guard and marching band throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Europe and Kuwait. He has spent 15 years with the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps, first as a performer, then as a designer. During this time, the corps won a Drum Corps International (DCI) Championship and a DCI Best Color Guard award, along with achieving DCI finalist status every year. Mr. Veda also spent one year as a designer and clinician for the Denver Blue Knights and the Santa Clara Vanguard, both of which were DCI finalists.
Other marching band design credits include Elizabethtown HS (the 1997 Bands of America, Class A Champion), Pomona HS winter guard (1994 Winter Guard International (WGI) Open Class Champions and 2005 WGI World Class Finalist), Green Valley HS, Lexington Lafayette HS, McGavock HS, and Father Ryan HS.
Outside of the pageantry arts, Mr. Veda has worked as a floor manager for the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. In two previous positions, Mr. Veda served as the Assistant Company Manager and Press Coordinator for the national tour of Grease with Cindy Williams and Eddie Mekka and also for Storm an original theater production at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Most recently he has worked with Spamalot at Wynn Las Vegas, The Beauty of Magic with Hans Klok and Pamela Anderson at Planet Hollywood and Jersey Boys at the Palazzo Resort and Casino.
Biography and photo courtesy of spartanallianceband.com
Brandon Spidel | Visual
Brandon Spidel is a Junior High Band Director in Fishers, IN. He has been teaching high school and middle school band since 1998. Brandon received his Bachelor’s of Science in Music Education from Indiana State University.
Brandon is very active is developing and creating unique classroom techniques in the band setting and has presented at the Indiana Music Educator’s Association State conference. He has adjudicated for DCI (Drum Corps International), BOA (Bands of America), MEPA (Mid East Performance Association, IHSCGA (Indiana High School Color Guard Association), MSBA (MidStates Band Association) CITSA(Central Indiana Track Show Association), ISSMA (Indiana State School Music Association), FMBC (Florida Marching Band Coalition), TMA (TriState Marching Arts), MCCGA (Mid-Continent Color Guard Association), OIPA (Ohio Indoor Performance Association), and KMEA (Kentucky Music Educators Association).
Biography courtesy of musicforall.org
Anthony Gilleland | Perc.
Originally from Irvine, Calif., Anthony started his teaching career at Woodbridge High School 2015. Since then, he has taught at other notable groups such as Pulse Percussion, Gahr, and Chino Hills High School. He also holds a Bachelor's Degree in Percussion Performance from CSU Fullerton where he studied with Ken McGrath.
Anthony began his drum corps teaching as a consultant at Pacific Crest in 2019, later joining the Carolina Crown Percussion Staff, where he taught from 2019 to 2022. Anthony is now living in Fort Mitchell, Ky., where he is the Percussion Director at Beechwood High School. He is also currently on staff at ConneXus Independent as a front ensemble technician and George Mason University Indoor Drumline as a consultant.
Biography courtesy of cadets.org
Robbie Arnold
Overall Design Comments (prelims)
& Color Guard (finals)
Robbie Arnold is from Winchester KY, where he is a visual consultant and holds a Master’s Degree in Teacher Leadership. His performance experience includes the Pride of Cincinnati Winterguard and the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle corps. He is currently an assistant director of the Lexis Winterguard from Lexington, Kentucky who most recently placed 14th in World Class Finals at WGI 2019. Winter guards he works with include, Beechwood High School, Black Diamond Independent, Braden River High School, George Rogers Clark High School, and Milford High School, Robbie teaches multiple championship groups in Kentucky including Beechwood High School, George Rogers Clark High School, Larry A. Ryle High School, Madison Central High School, South Laurel High School, and many others. Robbie was also a choreographer for the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps in the summer of 2017. He is married to Dana and they have two sons, Hayden, age 11 and Hudson, age 8.
Biography courtesy of ryleband.com