Staff & Program Consultant
Donnie VanDoren
Donnie has extensive experience in the drum and bugle corps activity. From 1980-84, he was the Brass Caption Head with the Garfield Cadets; winning the Jim Ott Award for high brass in 1983 and 1984 while simultaneously winning their first two world championships. In 1985, VanDoren served as the Brass Caption Head with the Troopers which saw them returning to the DCI finals and placing 9th.
Donnie was the Brass Caption Head with Star of Indiana in 1986 and from 1988-93. Star won the Jim Ott Award for high brass in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993 with the corps winning the world championships in 1991. From 1994-98, Donnie served as Brass Theater’s Music Manager and helped the organization transition into the BLAST! production that has been performing in the U.S. and abroad since 1999.
In 1998 and 1999, VanDoren was the Brass Caption Head with the Cadets of Bergen County, winning the world championships in 1998. Since 2005, he has been an adviser to both the Blue Stars and Carolina Crown, and since 2010, is the Staff Coordinator and Brass Caption Supervisor for the Madison Scouts. Donnie VanDoren is an inductee of the Cadets Hall of Fame, the Star of Indiana Wall of Fame, and the DCI Hall of Fame.
Donnie has his own Management Consulting Company, VanDoren Management Group, and is the Casting Director for Mason Entertainment Group, a position he has held since 2005.
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Program Consultant
Marc Whitlock
Mr. Marc Whitlock currently serves as the band director and Fine Arts Chair for Discovery Middle School in the Plymouth-Canton school district in Canton, Michigan. The Discovery Middle School Band Program consists of over 220 students in grades 6 through 8. Recently, the Foundation of Music Education through its national wind honors project, The Mark of Excellence, has recognized the Discovery Middle School Band for their outstanding musical achievement. This is a recorded music contest offering bands, choirs, and orchestras the unprecedented opportunity to earn national recognition for their musical achievement. Discovery Middle School Band met their high-standard criteria and was selected as the highest achieving group from the state of Michigan.
Mr. Whitlock has also been a band director at the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park in Michigan, Hebron High School in Texas, and Marian Catholic High School in Illinois. During his time as a high school band director, his bands earned fourteen state championships, eight Bands of America national class championships, and three times was named the Bands of American Grand National Champion. His bands also performed for the Presidential Inauguration and the Music For All National Concert Band Festival. Other honors include being selected to represent the state of Michigan in the School Band and Orchestra magazine special edition, “50 Band Directors Who Make A Difference”, instructing selected performers for the NBA All-Star game, the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, and was a founding staff member of the U.S. Army All-American Marching Band, and performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City. He has received certificates of commendation from Plymouth High School, the state of New Jersey, the state of Kentucky, Outstanding Young Men of America, Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society of Education, and Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. Marc was formerly the brass manager for the Tony and Emmy award winning Broadway production of “Blast!” Mr. Whitlock has been actively involved in the drum corps activity since 1980 and has been in demand as a specialist/clinician for many corps, such as the Blue Stars, Cadets, Carolina Crown, Cavaliers, Madison Scouts, Phantom Regiment, Santa Clara Vanguard, and the Star of Indiana.
Marc serves an adjudicator for marching bands, winter drumlines, and for concert bands and orchestras. His affiliations include the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA), the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association (MSBOA) the Michigan Competing Bands Association (MCBA), the Michigan Colorguard Circuit (MCGC), Drum Corps International (DCI), and Bands of America (BOA). Besides adjudicating for invitational contests across the country, he has also served as an adjudicator for state championships in Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and South Carolina, and has also adjudicated for the Bands of America Grand National Championships.
Marc is happily married to the Reverend Kellie Whitlock, and they have three wonderful children.
