Executive Director
Chris Judd
With hometown roots in Texas and Virginia, Chris Judd has settled into his new home here in Minnesota. Chris graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Music Business and Composition from McNally Smith College of Music. He continues to live out his passions by educating and composing for marching percussion ensembles throughout the state of Minnesota over the past 10 + years. With his career focused on Sales and Project Management, Chris is motivated to bring a positive and fresh approach to the Executive Director position within Minnesota Brass. He is driven to enhance the winter percussion and winter color guard ensembles for years to come. Chris aspires to bring back a summer ensemble that honors the history of the Minnesota Brass Drum and Bugle Corps over the past 75 years to develop a new beginning for the current and future generations.
Ensemble Director
Jake Esterberg
Jake Esterberg is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, holding a Bachelor of Music Education. He now serves as the Elementary Band Director in Waconia, Minnesota where he teaches 5th Grade Beginning Band at three Elementary Schools. Jake is the Director of MBI Indoor Percussion and the Program Coordinator for the Colt Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps.
Jake’s marching experience consists of 5 years of Drum Corps (Govenaires Drum and Bugle Corps, Minnesota Brass Drum and Bugle Corps, and Colts Drum and Bugle Corps), 3 years of Indoor Drumline (MBI Indoor Percussion), and 2 years of College Marching Band with the Blugold Marching Band where he served as the Drumline Captain and Percussion Arranger.
As a Marching Arts instructor and percussion arranger, Jake has taken a variety of roles with groups across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa, including the Colt Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps (2019, 2023 DCI Open Class Finalists), MBI Indoor Percussion (2023 WGI PIW Semi Finalist), the Blugold Marching Band, Minnetonka Marching Blue (YIM Outstanding Percussion 2A 2016, 2017, 2018), 728 Cadets/River Valley Percussion Theatre, Big River Motion of Menomonie High School (MPA Winds Regional A Champion 2018) and Baldwin-Woodville High School (WSMA Class A Champion, Outstanding Percussion 2019). Jake also currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Percussion Association.
Jake is very excited to be back with MBI to continue to grow for the 2024 season
Assistant Director
Connor Woitte
Connor began his marching career in 2011 with the Eden Prairie Marching Band. From there, he went on to perform with MBI indoor in 2016 and 2018 and the Oregon Crusaders 2018 Drum Corps as a bass drummer.
He began his teaching career with Eden Prairie High School after graduating in 2015. He also taught the Menomonie High School indoor ensembles from 2016-2020. Connor continues to teach at Eden Prairie HS, and returns for his 2nd season teaching the MBI bassline.
Connor is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Stout where he received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. He currently works as a software engineer for a student information software company. Connor is excited to return to MBI in a new capacity in 2024.”
Batterie Arranger
Joe Asleson
Joe has been an active marching arts educator and designer in the Twin Cities area for 17 years. Joe worked with the Eden Prairie HS drumline for 12 years in varying roles including percussion caption head, visual designer, and battery arranger. During his time with Eden Prairie HS they were two-time Percussion Scholastic World Class finalists (2013 and 2014). He was also on staff with MBI Indoor Percussion 2010-2019 in various roles including snare technician, visual designer, and director. He returned to the team in 2023 as battery arranger, and will take on the additional roles of visual designer and program coordinator for the 2024 season.
From 2019-2023 Joe served as battery arranger for River City Rhythm Indoor Drumline. Joe also worked with the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps as snare technician and battery choreographer in 2012 and 2013, and has served as battery arranger and visual designer for several ensembles in the Twin Cities metro area and beyond. Joe was elected to the MPA Board of Directors in 2015 and eventually served as 2nd Vice President until 2020.
As a performer Joe was a snare drummer for several seasons with the MN Brass Drum and Bugle Corps, and in 2008 Joe was snare section leader of the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps. Joe was a founding member of MBI Indoor Percussion in 2008. In 2009, Joe joined the snareline of Music City Mystique, earning the 2009 PIW bronze medal. Joe has been fortunate to learn from quality educators including Roger Carter, Casey Brohard, Tim Maynard, Carl Eppler, Shane Gwaltney, Joel Matuzak, and Mike Ferry. Joe graduated from Metropolitan State University with a Bachelor of Social Work, and he currently works as a mental health case manager in Hennepin County. Joe lives in the Uptown area in Minneapolis where he lives with his wife April and cat, Buffy.
Front Ensemble Arranger
Matt Hahn
Matt Hahn is an active designer and percussion educator in the Dayton, OH area. Matt is currently the Front Ensemble and Sound Designer for the Madison Scouts Drum And Bugle Corps. In 2012, Matt founded Resonant Music Design, a company specializing in marching arts design and education of all kinds.
Matt was a member of Rhythm X from 2005 – 2008 and was a staff member from 2009 – 2015. Matt also was a member of the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps from 2006 – 2007 in the front ensemble and was a staff member from 2009 – 2012. Matt graduated from Miami University (OH) in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education degree.
In 2013, Matt was elected to the Board of Directors of the Mid East Performance Association (MEPA) circuit and was recently elected as Vice President of Percussion for the circuit.
Matt is a proud sponsor of Innovative Percussion, Sabian Cymbals, and Evans/Planet Waves products. He currently lives in Springboro, OH with his wife Sara and his son Micah.
Visual Designer & Choreographer
Natalie Sterner
Natalie Sterner is excited to return to MBI Indoor Drumline as a visual and movement designer. Natalie has been performing since 2003 with multiple dance ensembles and has professionally studied ballet, pointe, modern, African, jazz, tap, and lyrical. She has also marched with the Rosemount High School color guard, MBI Winter Guard, and Lux Independent Winter Guard. She studied Dance Movement Therapy at University of Wisconsin-Madison and applies that knowledge to her teaching style and technique.
Natalie also brings to MBI extensive teaching experience including Rosemount High School competitive fall and winter programs since 2016 and River City Rhythm Winter Guard since its inaugural season in 2017. She has served as a designer, choreographer, equipment technician, movement specialist, and winter guard director. She is particularly known for her emphasis on movement, establishing movement programs and building technique for groups that have both experienced and novice dancers, and is looking forward to applying her experience to drumline at MBI.
Natalie holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and works in strategic sourcing for a global manufacturer.
Batterie Coordinator
Joe Jaeger
Joe has been an active music educator and performer throughout the Twin Cities area since 2009. He has experience instructing, arranging, and directing for marching band and indoor percussion at Rosemount HS, Eden Prairie HS, 728 Cadets, River Valley Percussion Theatre, and many more. At the independent level, Joe has found a home at Minnesota Brass, consistently working as a snare tech and battery coordinator for the summer and winter ensembles. He has also worked as a snare technician with the Seattle Cascades Drum and Bugle Corps, and the percussion caption head with Chops Drum and Bugle Corps.
Joe studied music at Normandale Community College, and finished his music education degree at the University of Minnesota. Currently, he is the middle school band director and elementary music teacher at Prairie View Elementary and Middle School in Otsego, MN.
Joe’s marching experience includes 6 years of Drum Corps and 4 years of indoor percussion: Minnesota Brass Drum and Bugle Corps (2009-2010, 2013, 2016), Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps (2011-2012), MBI Indoor Percussion (2010-2013). Other professional performance experiences include the Minnesota Vikings Skol Line, and various rock, funk, hip-hop, and jazz groups around the area.
Batterie Coordinator –
Deryck Lawson
Deryck started his marching career back in 2014 with Burnsville HS, from there, he graduated in 2015 and went on to march with groups such as the Govenaires and River City Rhythm over the next few years until finally aging out with Matrix in 2019.
Deryck is looking forward to year 5 with MBI Percussion and couldn’t be more excited to get the season underway.
Front Ensemble Coordinator
Alex St. Clair
Alex St. Clair started his marching career at El Dorado High School Marching Band in 2010 on baritone saxophone. In 2012, he transferred to South St. Paul Secondary and very quickly found a home in their winter drumline with the front ensemble. He has since marched in the front ensemble at MBI Indoor (2014-2017), Minnesota Brass Drum and Bugle Corps (2014-2017), and Minnesota Brass Sound Sport (2018-2019). The MBI organization has supported and shaped Alex into the hard-working and passionate educator he is now. Since 2018, he has been teaching the front ensemble at MBI Indoor and hopes to give back the same way his instructors did for him. Alex is also the front ensemble coordinator and arranger at South St. Paul Drumline where he’s been since 2014, the front ensemble coordinator and arranger for the Andover High School Marching Band since 2014, and a front ensemble instructor at Irondale High School since 2020.
Front Ensemble Coordinator
Emalee Judeh
Emalee is a Twin Cities resident born and raised where she began her marching career at Eagan High School. She found a strong passion for the marching arts that led her to an early performing career as a member with the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps and Minnesota Brass Drum and Bugle Corps. After high school, Emalee moved to Southern California and was a member of Pulse Percussion as well as the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps. Emalee’s teaching career would begin at POW Percussion in Southern California and she eventually moved back to Minnesota to teach at Rosemount High School, and MBI Indoor. Emalee is currently residing in Eagan with her longtime partner Austin, their two dogs Bruce and Teddy, and is excited to be back again for another amazing season.
Batterie Instructor
Vlad Boz
Vlad is a proud alumnus of South St. Paul High School, where he participated in the marching band and indoor drumline 1997–2002. He also marched with the Pioneer Drum and Bugle Corps (2001–2002), the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps (2004–2006), and the Minnesota Brass Drum and Bugle Corps (2003, 2007–2008). He has been teaching South St. Paul High School since 2009, Rosemount High School since 2011 and Minnesota Brass since 2010, in addition to having taught several other local groups in the past. And he’s been president of the Minnesota Percussion Association since 2015. Vlad has a degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota and works in marketing and communications. In his spare time, he enjoys petting strangers’ dogs and writing his bio.
Batterie Instructor
Austin Collins
Austin Collins is a percussion educator based in the Twin Cities, Minnesota where he lives with his partner and their two miniature dachshunds. Austin’s marching background includes Seattle Cascades (2014-2016), Dark Sky Percussion (2017), POW Percussion (2018), The Cavaliers (2018-2019), Pulse Percussion (2019-2020), and the Minnesota Vikings Skol Line.
Austin has been teaching various high schools since 2018 and began teaching drum corps in the 2020 and 2021 seasons at Pacific Crest, He also taught visual at Santa Clara Vanguard 2022. Outside of teaching drum lines and private percussion lessons, Austin is going to school to join the medical field as a Radiologic Technologist.
Austin is beyond excited to be a member of the team of undeniable educators and is looking forward to creating an unforgettable experience of excellence and comradery for the members involved as well as a lasting legacy for the Minnesota Brass program.
Visual Instructor
Sam Conlin
Sam graduated from Rosemount High school in Minnesota where has been on the marching band staff since 2019. He spent four years marching the Madison Scouts (2018-2021), and since aging out he has served on their operations staff since 2022.
Batterie Instructor
Eric Darrington
A proud alumnus of the Brandon Valley High School percussion program from 2015 – 2019, Eric participated in their outdoor marching band and was an inaugural member of the indoor program in 2018. Eric also marched with River City Rhythm Drum and Bugle Corps in the summers of 2018 – 2019 and followed from 2020 – 2023 with MBi Indoor Percussion. He is now enjoying his time being a performer for the Vikings Skol Line.
Eric has taught bass drum for various groups and is currently an educator in the Rosemount HS program. He just graduated from Minnesota State University Mankato with a bachelor’s degree in Music Industry, emphasizing in Audio Production, Songwriting, and Photography, and hopes to be a professional creative in the Minneapolis area!
Eric resides in the southern suburbs of Minneapolis where he enjoys creating music, mountain biking, playing video games, and enjoying life with friends and his lovely cat Verna.
Front Ensemble Instructor
Kai Fang
Kai Fang is a proud, Minnesota-based percussionist and 2023 UW-Eau Claire Alumni. Kai’s love for the arts ignited at Rosemount High School and furthered while performing with River City Rhythm Drum and Bugle Corps in 2018 and earning a bachelors of science degree in music liberal arts at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. During his time in Eau Claire, WI, Kai worked with the Menominee High School Drumline, Menomonie winter drumline, and Baldwin-Woodville winter drumline. He also worked as the Percussion Teaching Assistant for the University Band at UWEC and participated in numerous rock, folk, vocal, and jazz ensembles. Kai was the principal percussionist of the Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra in 2022 and the principal Timpanist with the First Congregation Brass Ensemble in 2022.
Kai currently lives back in his home town in Rosemount as an educator and performer in percussion. He teaches at Rosemount High School as a Front Ensemble instructor and performs with the 7 Swing Jazz band and Sub Zero Brass ensemble. He is very excited to be on staff with Minnesota Brass Indoor this year and looks forward to working with their front ensemble.
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Batterie Instructor
Zach Fitzgibbon
Zach Fitzgibbon is a freelance instructor, designer, and arranger in the greater Twin Cities area. Zach began his marching career at Eden Prairie High School in both the summer and fall programs (2011 – 2014), then later went on to march with Minnesota Brass (2014), the Madison Scouts (2015), the Cadets (2016), the Bluecoats (2017 & 2018), MN Brass Indoor (2015 – 2018), and ended his career with a first-time world championship as a member of Broken City (2019).
As an educator, he has worked with the Eden Prairie High School drumline since 2016, now holding the titles of assistant director, battery arranger, visual designer, and ensemble coordinator. He is excited to be entering into his third year with MN Brass Indoor as well on the staff side. Zach has also served as a battery technician with the
Boston Crusaders Drum & Bugle Corps in the 2019 & 2020, the battery arranger for the Andover High School fall marching band in 2020 & 2021, and just wrapped up his first summer on the Carolina Crown 2023 battery staff.
He credits his strong career in the marching percussion world to the world-class instruction of those like Joe Asleson, Colin McNutt, Jacob Gall, Ryan Kilgore, Roger Carter, Ryan Anderson, Joe Woodie, and Mike Jackson. In addition to the DCI/WGI circuits, Zach has spent several years as a member of the Minnesota Vikings Skol Line, as well as with the Pride of Minnesota Marching Band during his undergraduate studies.
He currently lives in Minneapolis, where he enjoys running up and down the Mississippi River
Batterie Instructor
Lucas Monaghan
Lucas Monaghan started his marching career in 2012 with the Rosemount High School Marching Band. Since then, he has performed with River City Rythm, Minnesota Brass, The Oregon Crusaders, and Music City Mystique.
His teaching career started with Forest Lake High School as a cymbal tech for the 2016 indoor season and continued through the 2018 indoor season. He then worked with MBI Indoor Percussion for the 2020 and 2022 season.
Lucas currently works as a Technical Support Analyst and plans to continue his career in technology.
Audio Engineer
Jared Olson
Jared (he/him) is excited to serve his first year as Audio Engineer for MBI Indoor Percussion. He also serves as Director of the Eden Prairie HS Winter Drumline program as well as Percussion Caption Head/Front Ensemble Arranger for the EPHS Eagle Band. Past programs he has worked with include Champlin Park HS (MN) and Valley HS (IA).
Jared’s marching percussion experience as a performer includes time with MBI Indoor and Drum and Bugle Corps, the Madison Scouts, and Twin Cities Area Independent indoor drumline.
Jared is an information technology professional by trade in the Twin Cities area and resides in Minneapolis with his partner Cristina and their 2 cats, Daisy and Kirby.
Front Ensemble Instructor
Nicholas Soden
Originally from Buffalo, Minnesota and currently residing in Saint Paul, Nicholas’ passion for music and the marching arts began at Buffalo High School, where he performed in various concert and marching ensembles. Nicholas has extensive marching experience in both indoor ensembles and drum corps, including MBI Indoor Percussion (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017), and RCC Indoor Percussion in 2018, and serving as the ensemble’s section leader in 2019. Minnesota Brass Drum and Bugle Corps (2013), Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps (2014, 2016), and Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps in 2017, aging out at section leader and center marimba in 2018. In the realm of teaching, Nicholas has worked with the front ensembles at Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps, Irondale High School, Warm Springs Middle School, and Loara High School.
In 2017, Nicholas obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Interpretation and Translation for both Portuguese and Spanish language from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Outside of the marching activity, he works for an international airline and loves to dance, write music, and spend time at the beach. He is looking forward to teaching the MBI Indoor Front Ensemble this upcoming season
Batterie Instructor
Andrew Wennekamp
Andrew started his marching career in 2014 at Sauk Rapids-Rice HS. He graduated in 2018 and marched with the Govenaires Drum and Bugle Corps and Minnesota Brass Drum and Bugle Corps. Andrew also marched with MBI Indoor Percussion from 2019-2022.
Front Ensemble Consultant
Anthony Gilleland
Anthony Gilleland is a performer and educator based out of Northern Kentucky. He is currently the Percussion Director for Beechwood Independent Schools in Fort Mitchell, KY where he teaches percussion methods, lessons, and marching ensemble rehearsals.
Anthony is currently on the front ensemble staff at ConneXus. He has also been involved with groups such as Carolina Crown, The Cadets, Pulse Percussion as well as the design team for George Mason University Indoor Drumline.
He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in percussion performance from California State University, Fullerton, and plans to return to school in the near future for a Master’s in percussion performance.
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