Name:
What year(s) did you march in the Blue Knights?
2012: Met Runner/Backfield ConductorÂ
Where did you attend school?
Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colorado.
Bachelor’s of Music in Music Composition from the University of Denver.
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What is your current occupation? Stay at home dad (freelancing at night when I can).
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Why did you choose to march with the Blue Knights?
The short answer is that the college I attended didn’t have a marching band and I wanted to continue the activity.
The long answer is that Angelo Sapienza, a Blue Knights drum major at the time (and 2020 Blue Knights Hall of Famer), came and taught as staff during my senior year of high school. He recruited my close friend and 2025 Blue Knights Hall of Fame inductee Alex Factor to march contra in the 2011 season of Blue Knights. After watching Angelo and Alex perform the 2011 show, I knew I wanted to be involved however I could and after a few phone calls and chats, I was given the opportunity to run the metronome and learn all about drum corps in 2012; I couldn’t be more grateful for that opportunity.
What is your favorite drum corps memory?Â
July 4th, 2014 – We pulled into Maple Valley, Washington, started the day with a laundry block, and then learned the last pages of drill to the show “
That One Second.” The whole field was surrounded by large trees and Mt. Rainier was just barely peeking out from the tops of them from my view on the podium. Gorgeous. The corps worked hard that day and as the sun set we got into our ensemble block. Though we only rehearsed the closer as a full corps
 because the drill was brand new, we still did what we did at the end of every ensemble block and that was a full run through of the show. Only this would be the first time we had the whole show on the field. I was a little nervous but mostly excited when I heard the drumline do their little pre-run through ritual signaling the start of the run through. We start and the performance is honestly a little rough: everyone is playing their best, but we didn’t rehearse anything but the closer today, so we hadn’t gotten a real feel of how the show should come together. But then, we get to the closer and unbeknownst to me, the color guard was given the actual show flags for this run-through which nobody had seen before. As I’m noticing this and marveling at how amazingly well the flags and the choreography are fitting together with the music, like a scene from a movie, fireworks start to go off. Selfishly, only the drum majors and the staff got to see this, the most incredible scene in all of drum corps history. Beautiful, shimmering flags, the ringing of the brass on the final chord, the subtle power of the drumline and front ensemble, and literal fireworks all tied together with the lyrics incorporated with the show “This is a place where I don’t feel alone”. This will always be one of my most cherished memories.
I chronicled this year on a facebook page and on that day I remembered it as “an utterly glorious moment.” If you want to see more about that day or that summer, feel free to take a trip down memory lane here:Â
https://www.facebook.com/OffTheFieldBK2014Â
How have the Blue Knights impacted your life?Â
Though I was and always will be an introvert, Blue Knights, for lack of a better term, forced me out of my shell and I now have no problem going out of my way to talk to folks, ask a stranger for help if I need it, and just be more open in all my interactions. This may not seem like a lot, but to an introvert, it’s a huge deal.
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What are some of the Blue Knights’ core values/principles that have resonated with you in life? I’m not sure this was a corps-wide mantra, but one of the first things I learned as a drum major at Blue Knights and have kept up to this day is understanding and practicing the concept of “adaptability.” This isn’t so much as just playing things by ear, but it’s being able to achieve a goal through having an adaptable or evolving plan to get there. Being rigid in a single approach or mindset will often lead to frustration and/or the goal not being met. By keeping adaptability at the forefront of my mind, I might not be the best at making plans, but one way or another, I will make sure the goal of those plans is met.
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What advice would you tell someone considering trying out for the Blue Knights?Â
The summer will test you. And the one thing that I would advise is to just bring your authentic self to the audition, the weekend camps, etc., because when the sun is beating down on you and you need to reset to the top of the show, or you just can’t quite get your dot right and keep bumping into the contra line, or for one reason or another you’re running on a single PBJ before a big dome show, the only thing that will be left is your authentic self. There’s no time and no energy needing to be wasted on putting up some kind of performance of what you would like to present yourself as, just come as your authentic self because that is who we will be seeing in the summer.
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How would you like to see other Blue Knight alumni get involved in the organization?Â
Life is a lot. I am always impressed by seeing folks who can volunteer even a part of the weekend at a BK camp. I’m equally impressed by knowing folks who don’t have a lot still donating to the corps. I think that even with life being a lot, I know that my BK experience would have not meant nearly as much if it weren’t for the people who gave what they could to make the corps operate the way it does. Whether it’s money or time, you don’t have to make a big donation or spend the whole weekend with the corps, any little bit you are able to give does actually make a difference. Even just stopping by the booth at a show and saying hello is a great way to show that you’re an alum, in the area, and still hold a spot in your mind and heart for Blue Knights.
