The Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps is proud to announce its design team for the 2027 season, bringing together established leadership and new creative perspectives across music, visual design, and color guard.
Creative Director Jessica Glasgow, Program Coordinator Jed Weeks, and Brass Arranger Leslie Gilreath return for their third year with the corps. Mike Jackson rejoins the Blue Knights as Percussion Designer and Music Coordinator after previously working with the organization from 2014 through 2019.
Joining the design team are Peter Bates as Drill Designer, Phil Idell and Aya Strauss as Front Ensemble Designers, and Matthew Rummel as Color Guard Coordinator. Together, the team will shape the corps’ 2027 production, building on recent seasons while exploring new musical and visual possibilities.
The 2027 Blue Knights Design Team
- Jessica Glasgow — Creative Director
- Jed Weeks — Program Coordinator
- Mike Jackson — Percussion Designer/Music Coordinator
- Leslie Gilreath — Brass Arranger
- Peter Bates — Drill Designer
- Phil Idell — Front Ensemble Designer
- Aya Strauss — Front Ensemble Designer
- Matthew Rummel — Color Guard Coordinator
Mike Jackson Returns to the Blue Knights
Jackson’s return reconnects the corps with a designer who spent six seasons with its percussion program. As Percussion Designer and Music Coordinator, he will help shape the Blue Knights’ musical identity and bring together the musical elements of the 2027 production.
“Mike isn’t new to the Blue Knights family — he spent six seasons with our percussion program from 2014 to 2019, and we’re beyond excited to welcome him back to Denver,” said James Barnes, Executive Director of the Blue Knights. “His three decades of championship-level design work make him exactly the kind of educator and designer we want on our team.”
Jackson also serves as Creative Director at Broken City and Vice President of the Southern California Percussion Alliance.
“I’m back, and I get to make stuff with the BK team. That’s a win,” Jackson said.
Peter Bates Joins as Drill Designer
Bates brings visual design experience spanning marching band, drum corps, and indoor percussion. Based in Utah, he serves as Visual Designer and Caption Head for the American Fork High School Marching Band and creates drill, lighting, and video design for Matrix.
A five-year performing member of Phantom Regiment, Bates aged out as horn sergeant in 2017 before performing with Matrix in 2018. He has since worked with drum corps and indoor percussion ensembles as an instructor and designer, including teaching on the Boston Crusaders’ visual team since 2022.
Phil Idell and Aya Strauss Join as Front Ensemble Designers
Idell and Strauss bring complementary backgrounds in percussion arranging, education, composition, and sound design, along with previous experience working with the Blue Knights.
Idell holds a degree in Music Education from UCLA and performed with Pacific Crest, the Blue Devils, and RCC. His teaching experience includes Arcadia High School, POW Percussion, Mandarins, Blue Knights, and Carolina Crown. He currently serves as Assistant Director of Instrumental Music at Vista Murrieta High School and Front Ensemble Coordinator for Broken City, while designing music for scholastic programs throughout Southern California.
Strauss is a Southern California composer, designer, and educator whose work emphasizes expressive music and thoughtful approaches to education. She serves as Percussion Director and Arranger at Woodbridge High School and works with Broken City Percussion as a Front Ensemble Instructor and Audio Technician. Her experience includes Blue Knights, Pacific Crest, Gold, and numerous scholastic programs. She also composes and arranges for projectRISEmusic and is pursuing a degree in Music Composition for Film, TV, and Games at Berklee College of Music.
Matthew Rummel Joins as Color Guard Coordinator
Rummel brings extensive experience in color guard leadership, staging, and production design. He founded, directed, and designed for CGT Dallas and CGT Denton, guiding both programs to multiple WGI finalist appearances. CGT Denton earned the Independent Open silver medal in 2018.
More recently, Rummel served as Program Designer for Independent World finalists Anesidora Winter Guard in 2026 and Icon Winter Guard in 2024 and 2025. He also spent several years on the Blue Stars’ color guard staff, serving as Caption Manager for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Now based in Colorado, Rummel continues to design, stage, and consult for winter guard and marching band programs across the country.
With Glasgow, Weeks, and Gilreath continuing into their third year, Jackson returning, and Bates, Idell, Strauss, and Rummel joining the design team, the Blue Knights look forward to bringing their shared creative vision to the field in 2027.