Judges for Loudoun Invitational
Stan Schoonover
Stan Schoonover (Music) has led the Fairfax Wind Symphony for all of its’ 19 seasons as Music Director. His thirty-two year career in public school education included eleven as Music Supervisor for the Fairfax County (VA) Public Schools, widely regarded as one of America’s foremost school music programs. Ensembles under his direction have appeared at The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, the Ferguson Center, the Center for the Arts, the Midwest Clinic, and 13 times at the VMEA In-service Conference. Mr. Schoonover is an adjunct instructor at James Madison University, is a Coordinator for the Music For All National Concert Band Festival, a member of the MFA Educational Team, and the Midwest Clinic Advisory Committee.
Paul Fadoul
Paul Fadoul's successful career as a performer, composer, and teacher has deep roots in both the concert and marching percussion community. Since 2003, he has performed in the groundbreaking duo, Lawler + Fadoul with flutist Zara Lawler. Hailed as “a great treat” (Classical WETA, Washington DC), the duo blends classical virtuosity with lively commentary and theatrical flair. In 2013, Lawler + Fadoul released its debut album, Prelude Cocktail, which the music blog, I Care If You Listen called “collaborative artistry at its finest.” Since forming, Lawler + Fadoul have performed together in many of North America’s most prestigious concert series and venues, including the Kennedy Center, Strathmore, Trinity Wall Street, the Edmonton Recital Society, and McMaster University’s Celebrity Concert Series.
Paul is also a founding member and principal composer/arranger of Dark by Five, the ensemble-in-residence at Canada’s Gros Morne Summer Music Festival in Newfoundland and Labrador. The ensemble expands the boundaries of musical presentation by weaving classical, contemporary, and popular music with theater, poetry, visual art and visual media working with renowned artists such as the celebrated Canadian poet, Don McKay and guitarist Duane Andrews.
A dedicated teacher and educator, Paul has toured with the ensemble Tales & Scales, where he performed 200 shows annually for children and families, including solo performances with the Milwaukee, Buffalo, and Oregon symphonies. He has taught at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University and the George Mason University drumline. He was director and designer of the Chantilly High School Indoor Drumline which, under his leadership, became a two-time medalist at the WGI World Championships. Paul is currently on faculty at The Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College.
Originally from Fairfax, Virginia, Paul has a Bachelor of Music from George Mason University and a Master of Music from Yale University where he studied with Robert van Sice.
Paul Fadoul proudly endorses Vic Firth sticks and mallets, Pearl/Adams drums and keyboards, and Evans drum heads.
Jerry Philp
Jerry Philp is the director of bands at Skyline Middle School in Harrisonburg Virginia. There, he also designs drill for several high school programs across the Commonwealth and works specifically with the Harrisonburg High School marching band, the James Madison University Marching Royal Dukes, and the WGI medalist Nuance Winter Guard. For the past several years he has been a general effect judge with the Atlantic Indoor Association, and continues to perform with the Massanutten Brass Band.
Patrick Mitchell
Kevin Bell has been involved in pageantry for most of his life. Coming from parents who were both actively involved in the marching activity, Kevin has followed in their footsteps. Kevin’s involvement in the marching activity has taken on the role of performer, designer and adjudicator over the past 28 years. Currently Kevin lives in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and is recognized primarily as a visual designer, clinician and adjudicator for some of the most esteemed Winter Guard and Percussion circuits around the country, as well as many State Marching Band Championships. Kevin is also a former WGI Color Guard judge, DCI Visual judge and DCA Visual judge.
Bob Wall
Bob Wall is from Middletown, VA and is a nationally recognized public safety professional with extensive experience developing and managing traffic and other public safety and educational programs. Bob coordinated the child passenger safety training and traffic safety public information and education programs for the Fairfax County Police Department. In the Commonwealth of Virginia Wall has been active as a consultant to the International and Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, coordinating and assisting with several highway programs. As the coordinator of the IACP National and Virginia Law Enforcement Challenge, Bob made the Virginia state program one of the premier state traffic safety programs in the country.
Bob is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, and an alumnus of the two-time DCI World Champion, Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps. His pageantry experience incubuses over 15 years of instructing the Lake Braddock Secondary Marching Band in Burke, VA as well as instructing or consulting many other marching bands and winter guards in the Commonwealth for more than 25 years. Mt Vernon High School, Madison High School, Thomas Jefferson High Schools and Centerville High School are only some of the schools he has instructed or consulted over the years. His judging experience also spans many years in Virginia and nationwide.
He recently retired, again, as the Public Education Coordinator with the Prince William County Department of Fire & Rescue. Bob is now the Global Car Seat Safety Advocate for Wonderland Manufacturing, representing NUNA Baby Essentials. In 1993 Bob received the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s highest award for outstanding achievements in highway safety, the J. Stannard Baker Award.
Jason Derting
Jason Derting has been involved with winter guard and marching band since 1995. Jason began judging for WGI in 2017 and has been adjudicating winter guard since 2006 with the Atlantic Indoor Association and other circuits across the United States. Jason is currently the Chief Judge /Judge Coordinator for The Atlantic Indoor Association covering Virginia and Eastern North Carolina. He is very active judging all visual captions in the fall for The Virginia Marching Band Cooperative and other marching band contests across the country. His marching experience included Chimeras Independent World and Infiniti winter guard. As a member of Infiniti winter guard, he won a gold medal in IA class in 2000 and multiyear WGI finalist. He is thankful for teaching Fred J. Miller clinics during the summers in 2002-2004. He has experience working with various color guard programs in Virginia and Tennessee. Jason resides in Fredericksburg, VA with his wife and 2 daughters, working as a Physical Therapist Assistant in Orthopedics and Home Health.
Chris Martin
Chris Martin has been a percussion arranger, visual designer, instructor and adjudicator for over 20 years. As a graduate of Florida State University, he has been the primary percussion arranger for the FSU Marching Chiefs since 1992. Within the indoor percussion activity, he was a founder of the George Mason University Drumline after guiding several prominent high school programs in Northern Virginia to multiple WGI regional and national medals. Chris has been a member of the United States Air Force Band in Washington DC since 1997, performing across the United States, Europe, Japan and Southwest Asia.
Elisa Lessard
Elisa Lessard has been involved with color guard as a performer, choreographer, designer, instructor, and adjudicator for over 20 years. She believes in the power of color guard and marching band to shape the lives of those who dedicate themselves to this activity. Ms. Lessard holds a Bachelor of Music Education Degree from Texas Christian University and a Master’s in Music Performance from the University of North Texas. She is a former music educator in Fairfax County before deciding to stay home with her small children. She has taught successful color guard programs in North Texas as well as Northern Virginia. Currently, she serves as an adjudicator for the Atlantic Indoor Association, a thriving winter guard circuit in the Northern Virginia area. Elisa lives in Woodbridge, Virginia with her husband and three children.