Judges for SVMI
Brianna Gatch
Brianna Gatch holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Master’s Degree in Wind Band Pedagogy from the University of Louisville. While at UofL she served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the concert bands and 200-member marching band at the University of Louisville. She traveled with the band throughout Kentucky as well as Tennessee, Florida, and Illinois. Brianna has studied horn under Dr. Patrick Smith and Professor Bruce Heim. Her conducting teachers include Dr. Terry Austin, Dr. Frederick Speck, and Dr. Amy Acklin. Upon her graduation from the University of Louisville, Brianna was appointed to the position of Director of Bands (and subsequently appointed as the Performing Arts Department Chair) at Clover Hill High School in Midlothian,VA. In her third year of teaching she was named Teacher of the Year for Clover Hill High School. Both her Wind Ensemble and Marching Band have exclusively received Superior ratings at all VBODA State Assessments throughout her time as Director of Bands at Clover Hill. This past season the Clover Hill indoor percussion ensemble and winter guard received gold and bronze medals at the State finals.
Dr. Shaun Evans
Shaun Evans is the Director of Athletic Bands at Shenandoah University, where he guides all aspects of the athletic band program and teaches marching band, pep band, and conducting. Evans holds a doctoral degree in conducting from the University of Minnesota. He received a master of music degree in conducting at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a bachelor of arts degree at Georgia State University. His career began as a band director in Cobb County, Georgia, at Harrison High School. He currently lives in Stephenson, Virginia, with his wife, Hannah, sons Elias and Lincoln, and two dogs.
Evans is a strong advocate for music education. He works with high schools and colleges across the country as a guest conductor, clinician, arranger, and drill writer. He is published as part of GIAs Teaching Through Performance in Band series. Evans is a charter member of the Nu Alpha chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi and an honorary member of the Alpha Iota chapter of Tau Beta Sigma. He maintains active memberships in College Band Directors National Association, National Association for Music Education, Virginia Music Educators Association, Performing Arts Medicine Association, and World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles.
Doug Casteen
Doug Casteen currently resides in Richmond, Virginia and is a graduate of North Carolina State University. He has been judging marching bands, drum corps and color guards for the last 25 years. He has been active as an adjudicator for many band associations across the US. He has recently judged state championships competitions for Oklahoma. Colorado, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. He is the former Chief Judge for the Atlantic Indoor Association (AIA) where he inducted in the AIA Hall of Honor in 2006 for his contributions to the circuit. He is the current Chief Judge for the Virginia Marching Band Cooperative (VMBC). He has judged all visual captions for Drum Corps International (DCI) and currently judges for the Winds Division of Winter Guard International (WGI) and for Bands of America. He served as a General Effect Judge for Color Guard Division of WGI for 12 seasons where he judged over 40 Regional Championships and 6 World Championships. His performing experience includes marching in DCI with Avant Garde from Saratoga Springs, NY, the 27th Lancers from Revere, MA, and the Star of Indiana from Bloomington, IN. He performed the Star Alumni Drum Corps in 2004 and 2010. He has instructed various marching bands, winter guards, and drum corps throughout the Southeastern US.
Matt Liner
Matt Liner is graduate of Appalachian State University where he earned a bachelor of music degree in music education with a minor in psychology. Matt began his career teaching at East Davidson High School and E.L. Brown Middle School in Thomasville, NC. Following his tenure in Davidson County he moved into the position of assistant band director at Ronald Reagan High School and Meadowlark Middle School in Winston-Salem. After two years serving as the director of bands at Ronald Reagan High School from 2008-2010, Matt accepted the band director position at Meadowlark.
Matt was a member of the world championship finalist Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps and was a part of the corps’ instructional staff. As a visual designer, Mr. Liner programs for several marching bands across the Carolinas.
In 2011 Mr. Liner was selected as the Band Director of the Year by the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Band Directors Association. He was also the 2013-2014 recipient of the Northwest District Bandmasters Association Award of Excellence.
Matt has served as a member of the board of directors for the Northwest District Bandmasters Association and is the past-chairman for the North Carolina Music Educators Association Jazz Section. Matt’s professional affiliations include the National Association for Music Education, North Carolina Music Educators Association, the North Carolina Bandmasters Association, the Northwest District Bandmasters Association, Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society of Education, Pi Kappa Lambda Honors Society of Music, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Professional Music Fraternity and the American School Band Directors Association.
Bob Thomas
Bob Thomas judges or has judged for Drum Corp International (DCI), Winter Guard International WGI), Drum Corp Midwest, Drum Corp Atlantic, Indiana State Scholastic Music Association (ISMMA), Bands of America (BOA), Drum Corp Europe (DCE), Youth Education in the Arts (YEA), Ohio Judges Association, Florida Federation of Judges, Atlantic Indoor Association (AIA), Pennsylvania Federation of Judges, and Marching in Okayama, Japan, Drum Corp Associates (DCA). In 2008 he judged the World Marching Band Championships in Malaysia. He judged the 2009 Thailand Drum Line Competition. He recently returned from Malaysia where he taught the DCE Judges college for DCE license partner M World Band Championships.
He has been the Director of Education for Drum Corp Europe for the past 15 years. He designed the current scoring system for Drum Corp Asia which is currently being used in 16 countries. He has also been the Director of Education for the Florida Judges Association, the Ohio Judges Association, and the Atlantic Indoor Association. Bob was very instrumental in helping establish the VMBC judging system.
Andrew Barberi
Andrew Barberi is from Pensacola, Florida where he first got introduced to the marching arts at Milton High School. After high school, Andrew continued his marching arts career at Spirit Drum and Bugle Corps in 2009, and The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps from 2010-2012. Andrew was a member of Northeast Independent World 2010 and Braddock Independent World 2012, both WGI Independent World Class top five finalists. Andrew was a member of the WGI Advisory Board in 2013 and 2014. He has directed, taught, and choreographed for several of the country’s top Color Guard programs including; Nease High School - 2012 WGI Scholastic Open Bronze Medalist, Chotawhatchee High School - 2013-2014 WGI Scholastic World Class Finalist, and UCF Pegasus World. Andrew has also been involved in some of the country’s top marching ensembles including; The Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps - 2016 Drum and Bugle Corps World Champion, Cedar Ridge High School, Round Rock High School, and Cedar Park High School - All Bands of America National Finalists. Most recently, Andrew was the Director of Color Guards at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, from 2016-2021. Under Andrew’s leadership the program’s three color guards were a consistent TCGC State Finalist, WGI Regional Finalist, Bands of America Regional Finalist, and UIL State Qualifier. Andrew currently resides in Washington D.C., where he is pursing his career in cooperate operations and logistics.
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.
Dr. Tommy Goddard
Dr. Tommy Goddard is a nationally known performer, composer, and educator who has been working in the music industry since 2002. As winner of many drumset, marimba, and marching percussion awards, Goddard has worked in schools, football stadiums, and music venues all across North America. He made his Kennedy Center debut as a snare drummer in the Crossmen Drum Corps in Washington, D.C. in 2008. In 2011, he performed at the Murat Theatre in Indianapolis, IN as champion of the Drumline Live! national solo competition. Goddard has worked with recording artists Neil Patrick Harris, Shania Twain, Lincoln Brewster, Arturo Sandoval, John Clayton, Steve Houghton, Rick Baptist, Sal Lozano, Jonelle Allen, Meloney Collins, Jay Leach, Jennifer Barnes, Robbie Seay, Evans Blue, Kutless, Air Force Band of the Golden West, and many others.
Tommy earned the Doctor of Music Education degree from Liberty University (2022), the Master of Music in Music Performance degree from the University of Central Oklahoma (2011), and the Bachelor of Science in Music Business and Music Performance degree from Southern Nazarene University (2010). He is currently the Assistant Director of Athletic Bands and Drumline at Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA), freelance drummer/percussionist, and judges marching percussion competitions in Virginia, North Carolina, and Arizona. Goddard is the owner of Goddard Music Studios, offering private and group lessons in percussion.