Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps Staff
MARC YOUNG
Battery Arranger, Percussion Caption Head, Program Coordinator
Marc Young, a music educator and actor, was born and raised in Southern California. Marc attended California State University, Long Beach where he studied Music Performance and Theater. He is an educator in the marching arts activity, predominately teaching in Southern California. He is currently the Percussion Director at Westminster High School in Westminster, California. Marc is the founder of Instinct Percussion, and previously he has taught at Odyssey Percussion.
Marc has an active performance career, currently performing with Aerial Experience Productions. He is involved in many other theater productions as a performer, collaborator and advisor. He is a founding member of Contigo Theatre Company. He was a performer with Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps (2010 – 2012, 2014) and POW Percussion (2012).
Marc is a proud endorser of Innovative Percussion.
JAZPER SALDAÑA
Front Ensemble Arranger
Jazper Saldaña is currently the Front Ensemble/Private Lesson Instructor at Haltom High School in Fort Worth, TX. Prior to that, he worked with numerous groups in the Southern California and Texas areas including Westminster HS, Ayala HS, and Centennial HS. Jazper has also served as the Front Ensemble Caption Head for the Mandarins Drum and Bugle Corps and Vigilantes Indoor Percussion. Additionally, he is on staff with the Concord Blue Devils.
Originally from San Diego, California, he completed a Bachelors Degree in Percussion Performance from California State University, Long Beach. He went on to receive a Master’s Degree in Percussion from the University of North Texas. Indoor marching experience includes Alternative Percussion, Pulse Percussion, and Riverside Community College. DCI credits include the Sacramento Mandarins and the Concord Blue Devils.
Jazper is a proud endorser of Innovative Percussion. He currently resides in Fort Worth, TX with his wife and two dogs.
ZAK STILLWELL
Drill Designer
This will be Zak’s second year designing for Impulse.
TAYLOR SMITH
Brass Caption Head and Impulse Institute Faculty
AMANDA CRUZ
Colorguard Caption Head
Amanda started her color guard career as a performer at Los Alamitos High School (2010-2014). She was a co-captain her junior year and head captain her senior year of high school. After graduating, she was a performer for Fantasia’s World guard in 2015 and 2018.
In addition to being a performer, Amanda has been a coach at Westminster High School (2016-present) and Mater Dei High School (2015-present). Since she started coaching, Amanda has been promoted to color guard Caption Head at both schools.
ALEXIS MORENO
Visual Coordinator, Visual Caption Head
This will be Alexis’s fourth year on the educational team for Impulse and her second year as the visual caption head. She is currently the visual caption head for Instinct Percussion, Glendora High School, and Westminster High School. She is also on the visual teams at Nogales High School and Millikan High School.
Alexis had the privilege of marching with Impulse for their 2011 and 2013 seasons and with the Troopers for their 2014 and 2017 seasons.
Alexis has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from California State University, Los Angeles and currently resides in Upland, California.
VICTOR TRAN
Brass Tech
Victor Tran is currently the director of bands at Whittier High School from Whittier, CA. He teaches and is in charge of their marching band, concert band, beginning band, colorguard, and drumline and has a vision to start up a jazz ensemble and AP Music Theory course in the very near future.
Throughout his years of teaching, Victor has had the privilege of working with various high school programs in Orange County including Aliso Niguel HS, Esperanza HS, El Dorado HS, Savanna HS, and Whittier HS where he successfully brought his students to a gold medal finish two years in a row.
He was a performing member of the Pacific Crest Drum & Bugle corps for three years and finished his drum corps career with the Blue Devils for two years, in which he earned both a 1st place finish in 2015 and was awarded the Sweet Feet visual award in 2016. He also had the pleasure of teaching the Academy Drum & Bugle Corps during the summers of 2017 and 2018 as a visual instructor. Throughout this time, Victor was a full-time student at California State University, Fullerton where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education and Single Subject Teaching Credential as he student-taught at Ball Jr. High School and Loara High School. His first full-time teaching assignment was at William Workman High School in the City of Industry, CA where he directed their marching band, concert band, drumline, colorguard, and four jazz bands.
Victor is an educator that thrives for high personal and professional growth and will always show determination and commitment to his students.
ERIC VILLALOBOS
Brass Tech
Born and raised in Whittier, California, Eric Villalobos is a music educator, active professional musician, and an Army musician in the Southern California area. His performances have taken him around the United States, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, and Afghanistan.
Eric Villalobos is the Band Director at Valley Christian High School in Cerritos CA, Assistant Director at California High School in Whittier CA, and a Tuba Instructor at Riverside City College Marching Tigers. In this role he works with the Wind Ensembles, Marching Bands and Jazz Bands. Prior to joining Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps, Eric Villalobos was the Assistant Director of Bands at Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, Executive Director for Élan Percussion from Covina, CA, he was the Tuba Instructor and Visual Instructor for Grand National Finalist Ayala High School in Chino Hills, CA. When Eric Villalobos was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011, his primary mission was to teach the Afghan National Army Band. Eric Villalobos is a member of the CMEA and SCSBOA. Currently Mr. V is the principal Tubist for The Orange County Wind Symphony, the Corona Symphony.
He received a Bachelors in Music Education and a Bachelors in Tuba Performance from Azusa Pacific University where he served as the teaching assistant to Dr. John Burdett. Throughout the years, he has had the great privilege of receiving instruction from Dr. John Burdett, Dr. Tony Mazzafero, Doug Nordquist, John Van Houten, Chuck Koontz, and Lise Friisbaastad in addition to masterclass instruction from many including Dr. Emily Moss, Dr. Peter Haberman, Dr. Abel Ramirez, Dr. Dan Tempras, Prof. Larry Gookin, Prof. Scott Teeple, Colonel Timothy Holtan, Prof. Craig Kirchhoff and Avital Handler.
KAHO AKIYA
Colorguard Tech
Kaho Akiya is a Southern California based freelance illustrator/designer and color guard instructor. She is currently pursuing a BFA in Illustration from California State University, Long Beach.
Kaho started her career as a performer while attending Palm Desert Charter Middle School (2007-2010) and Palm Desert High School (2010-2015). After graduating high school, she performed as a member of Diamante winterguard’s Independent Open team (2016). Upon retiring as a performer, Kaho returned to the performing arts as a color guard instructor, and is now the co-director of the color guard at Westminster High School (2017-present) and Assistant Coach at Mater Dei High School (2019-present).
In addition to coaching, Kaho has also worked as a sketch artist for color guard and indoor percussion costume and floor designs since 2018. She has created successful custom designs for many groups including Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps and Westminster, Green Hope, Mission Viejo, and Downingtown High Schools.
COURTNEY COFFEY
Colorguard Tech
Courtney Coffey is currently the colorguard program designer at Colonial Forge High School as well as an Associate Producer with the Walt Disney Media Group. She has been involved in the marching arts for over 8 years, marching with The James Madison University Marching Royal Dukes, Nuance Winterguard, Vox Artium Winterguard, Troopers Drum & Burgle Corps, and more.
She has worked with the Impulse colorguard for the past two years and is very excited to come back for the 2020 season!
JORGE PRECIADO
Colorguard Tech
Jorge Preciado resides in Ventura County, California and is currently the Caption Head for his alma mater: Royal High School.
Jorge started his colorguard career at Royal High School (2014-2016). While attending high school, he was a member of the Tournament of Roses Honor Band for 2 years (2015-2016). After High School, Jorge went on to march at The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps for 3 years (2016-2018), Icon Winterguard (2017 and 2019) where him and his teammates won Independent A Class at WGI finals, Fantasia Winterguard (2018), and finished his drum corps career with The Santa Clara Vanguard (2019).
Jorge has also worked with many stellar programs including: Pasadena City College, Etiwanda High School, Westminster High School, and Burbank High School.
JEFF RAMOS
Battery Manager
Jeff Ramos is musician and instructor with a Bachelor of Music degree from CSU Long Beach with an emphasis in Percussion Performance.
Jeff has taught multiple high school drumlines over the past several years, filling whatever roles were necessary, including music composer, drill writer, visual designer, choreographer, marching instructor, and more.
Aside from teaching drumline, Jeff performs with the NFL Charger’s Thunderbolt Drumline, and performs with Sidle Entertainment for various events and artists, including 2 Chainz on Jimmy Kimmel Live, American Ninja Warrior, the LA Kings, and more.
KYRA TAYLOR
Front Ensemble Manager
Her DCI experience includes The Academy (2012), Pacific Crest (2013, 2014), and Carolina Crown (2015). Her WGI experience includes Orange County Independent, and Broken City from 2012-2018. Her teaching experience includes Wilson Classical High School (2014-2015), Millikan High School (2014-2016), and Edison High School (2018 – Present). Kyra was also the Front Ensemble Manager at Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps (2018-2019).
Kyra also graduated from CSULB with a BA in psychology and mental health. Kyra is passionate about dedicating time to teaching music and believe that this activity provides members with opportunity for positive personal development.
SEAN KOHLER
Snare Tech
Sean has taught groups from the San Diego area including Valhalla High School and El Capitan High School.
Sean has marched with several DCI and WGI groups such as Impulse, Gold, Mandarins, Blue Stars, Orange County Independent Open, and POW Percussion.
In his spare time he enjoys reading, writing fiction, and playing the guitar.
WILLIAM MACTAVISH
Snare Tech
Will has been heavily involved in the marching activity since 2012. His marching experience includes Impulse, the Mandarins, the Blue Stars, the Bluecoats, POW, and Pulse percussion.
Will has taught several high schools in the San Diego area including Valhalla and Rancho Bernardo high school. Upon moving back to Pasadena, he is currently an educator at South Pasadena high school and Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps.
In his free time, Will likes to take his dog, Honey, on long walks around the neighborhood.
TIMOTHY LEE
Quad Tech
Timothy is currently the assistant percussion director and co-designer at Burroughs HS and Burbank HS. He joined on staff with Impulse as the tenor tech for the 2019 season, and he is presently serving as the tenor tech at Etiwanda HS. Other schools he’s worked at include Glendale HS and Granada Hills Charter HS.
Timothy likes to spend his time off composing for percussion, taking dance classes in Studio City, and going out to try new foods with his friends.
BRIAN MUÑOZ
Bass Tech
A native to Santa Fe Springs, Brian got involved in the percussive arts at the age of 13.
His drum corps career started with Gold 2013 where he took home a 1st place I&E medal and stayed for his age out in 2015. He went on to march WGI with Dark Sky Percussion 2014, followed by a year with Orange County Independent Percussion in 2015.
He currently attends Fullerton College with a focus on nuclear medicine and works as a Central Services Tech at PIH Whittier.
RUDI MOORE
Front Ensemble Tech
Rudi Moore began his career as a music educator in 2002, while he was still a senior in high school. Since then, he has worked with high school and middle school music programs from Los Angeles to San Diego.
He has served as a conductor, composer/arranger, consultant, sound technician, marching instructor, concert percussion instructor, and private lesson instructor.
He began working with Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps in 2019, and is extremely excited to continue working with the organization in the future.
In his spare time, he performs in several bands as a drum set player. He also is an amateur recording engineer/producer. He is currently working on his fourth album and has plans to start his fifth very soon.
EMILY TRAN
Front Ensemble Tech
Emily Tran is from San Jose, CA. Her marching experience includes Broken City Percussion, Pacific Crest Drum and Bugle Corps, and Ontario High School.
This will be Emily’s second year on staff with Impulse.
CHRIS ESTRADA
Visual Tech
Chris Estrada is a Marching Arts Educator from Southern California. Since his first marching experience as a student at Azusa High School, Chris has been very passionate about the marching arts. This love for the activity led Chris to spend his first summer in DCI with the Blue Devils B Drum and Bugle Corps in 2015 and afterward he would spend the rest of his marching career with Gold Drum and Bugle Corps from 2017-2019.
As an educator Chris has had the privilege to serve on the Visual Staff at Paloma Valley HS and Nogales HS, also having previous experiences with Azusa HS and South Torrance HS.
Chris is very excited to share his knowledge and passion with all of his students and is beyond grateful to be able to play a small part in the growth of the next generation of performers, educators, and leaders.
JULIA ROBLES
Visual Tech
Julia has spent four years performing as a member of the Oregon Crusaders, Phantom Regiment, and the Santa Clara Vanguard. Outside of drum corps, she has performed with the RCC marching tigers and Dark Sky Percussion.
As an educator, Julia has had the pleasure of working with various high schools throughout Southern California. She has worked with Impulse in 2018 and currently serves on staff at POW percussion and Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps.
Julia is excited to be back on board with Impulse for the 2020 season.
ADAM SIDERS
Visual Tech
Adam Siders is a euphonium player from Whittier, and has played euphonium for 13 years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Music Performance on euphonium under Scott Whitfield from the University of California, Riverside. In his time at UCR, he played tuba for the UCR Concert Band and Riverside Community Band, performed on trumpet and guitar and sang for the UCR Mariachi Alteños, played bass trombone and had a featured vocal solo with the UCR Jazz Band, and sang with the UCR Chamber Singers.
Adam began his drum corps career in 2011 with Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps on Baritone. He went on to march with Pacific Crest from 2012 to 2016 on Euphonium, being a featured soloist in 2016. He then performed with Phantom Regiment in 2017 and 2018, where he aged out as one of the Buicks. This will be his second year joining the Impulse visual staff.
DOMINICK VILLEGAS
Visual Tech
Dominick has five years of marching experience which includes time at Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps, the Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps, and the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps.
During the last eight years, Dominick has worked with seventeen marching programs, most notably Pacific Crest Drum and Bugle Corps, Bell Gardens High School, and Gahr High School. Dominick currently works with Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps, Pacific Crest Drum and Bugle Corps, Instinct Percussion, is the visual caption head at Bell Gardens High School and Millikan High School, and is currently training to be a judge for the California State Band Championships.
During his free time, Dominick likes to cook, study philosophy, and visit the Pacific Northwest.