Judges for Tidewater Regional 2021
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 Liner 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.
Kent Baker
Kent Baker (ASCAP) recently retired from The United States Air Force Band, DC where he was a hornist, arranger, and composer for 23 years. Kent's works have been featured on NBC's The Today Show 15 times, Fox & Friends, The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Presidential Inaugurals, Twilight Tattoos, Flash Mobs, The USAF Band 75th Anniversary Concert, Kennedy Center Honors, and recently performed by the Dallas Winds, George Mason University Symphony Orchestra, George Mason University Wind Symphony, The Beltway Brass, Oklahoma City University Wind Philharmonic, Quintessential Brass Repertoire, The St. Louis Brass Band, and Barclay Brass.
He is a graduate of George Mason University where he majored in Music Composition and minored in History and is pursuing his Masters in Music Education at Liberty University.
Kent has also performed as a hornist with the Peoria Symphony Orchestra, Carbondale Civic Orchestra, Fairfax Wind Symphony, Prince George's Symphony Orchestra, The Arlington Players, Brass Quintet, and the Beltway Brass Quintet. He is also the Atlantic Indoor Association’s Percussion, Winds, and Color Guard judge. Kent was on the brass staff of The Cavaliers when they won their first DCI Championship in 1992, and on the visual staff of The Cadets in the mid-2010s. He was also the Executive Director of Music City Drum and Bugle Corps from Nashville, TN, in their inaugural year in DCI’s World Class Competition. Kent is in his 19th year as the Program Coordinator, Arranger, Drill Writer, and Music Caption Head for the James Madison High School Marching Ensemble, a 24-time BOA Regional and Super Regional Finalist and 6-time BOA Regional Class Champion. They are the VMBC 2018-2021 State Champions, 2019 BOA Mid-Atlantic Regional Champion, and a 2019 BOA Grand Nationals Semi-Finalist and National Class AAA Silver Medalist.
Kent's concert works have won numerous awards, including recent winners Scenes from an American Childhood, winner of the District New Music Composition Competition (2020), The Eternity Gate, The Tannhauser Gate, and Land of the Free, Home of the Brave, winners of the 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2020 Dallas Winds Fanfare Competition, The Common Good, winner of the 2017 Bay Colony Brass’ Composition Competition, The Bearer of Evil Tidings for Solo Horn, winner in 2017’s Fifteen Minutes of Fame Contest and the reNEW Music Micro-Commission (2020), 75.29.30, a winner in the 2016 United States Air Force Media Contest, and Wichita Falls, After the Rain for Orchestra, winner in the 2015 Musica Merida Composition Competition. His works have been included on USAF Band CDs Home of the Brave and Breaking Barriers. Kent is a 2020 Composer-in-Residence with the Westben Composer/Performer Residency in Campbellford, Ontario, Canada, as well as a finalist in the 2020 North State Orchestra Composition Competition with his work, Archetypes. Recent consortiums include the Carolina Chamber Consortium and the Fairfax County Digital Consortium.
Reiko Casteen
Reiko Casteen is a native of East Tennessee. She graduated from Daniel Boone High School, East Tennessee State University, and Eastern Virginia Medical School. She has taught several guards (fall and indoor) throughout her career. Her judging experience includes serving as a movement caption judge in the Atlantic Indoor Association since 2004 and has been judging marching band competitions across the Southeastern US for the past 20 years. Her winter guard performing experience includes Daniel Boone High School from 1992-1995, Nuendo Winter Guard from 1996- 2000 where they were the WGI Bronze Medalists in 1996, and Infiniti World Winter Guard in 2003. Reiko’s drum corps experience includes marching with Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps from Rockford, Illinois from 1994 (3rd place), 1995 (5th place), and 1996 (DCI Gold Medalist). Reiko currently lives in Richmond, VA with husband and son.
Matt Phillips
Matthew Phillips is a native of Chesapeake and is in his sixth year as a band director in the Hugo Owens Middle School program. His responsibilities include teaching the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade bands as well as leading the Hugo Owens Jazz Band. Before teaching at Hugo Owens Middle School, Mr. Phillips taught for three years at Hickory High School and two years at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, VA. Like many other local band directors Mr. Phillips received his Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from East Carolina University and earned his Master's Degree in Secondary Education from Old Dominion University, studying with Jon Wacker, Scott Carter, Christopher Knighten, Dennis Zeisler, and Gregory Hurley. He has performed in the Virginia Wind Symphony for the past ten years, and also serves as a private percussion teacher. Mr. Phillips has served as a successful percussion instructor/clinician to many local schools, with multiple seasons of service at Great Bridge, Hickory, and now Grassfield High Schools. Earning the respect of his fellow Music Educators, Mr. Phillips has most recently been elected to serve as the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association District 4 Representative, serving and representing music educators from Portsmouth, Suffolk, Isle of Wight County, and Chesapeake. Mr. Phillips is currently a member of the Percussive Arts Society, MENC, and NEA.
Bruce Jones
Bruce Jones is currently living in Dayton, Ohio. He is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in education, he is married with 3 teenage children, and has been involved in the pageantry arts for 35 years. His experience includes being a performer, designer, instructor and consultant for many national programs in drum and bugle corps, marching bands and winter color guards, many of which have been finalists in Drum Corps International, Drum Corps Associates, Bands of America, Winter Guard International as well as state champions and state finalists. He has also been involved as a clinician at many national marching band and color guard workshops throughout the United States. He has over 20 years adjudication experience with Drum Corps International, Marching Music for All, Drum Corps Japan and Drum Corps Europe. Has adjudicated DCI finals, semis-finals and quarter-finals over 15 times.
Dan Boothe
Daniel W. Boothe is an internationally award-winning music professional currently serving as a music conductor and public affairs strategist for the U.S. Air Force Bands and as Music Director & Conductor of the Symphonicity Orchestra of Virginia Beach, Virginia. As a recording producer for numerous CD albums, and conductor or performer around the world, his live and recorded concert events for television, radio, and internet broadcasts have reached over 50 million people in 175 countries.
Prior to joining the Air Force, Mr. Boothe served as Percussion Director for the American Wind Symphony’s Winds on the Mon music scholars program, Associate Conductor of the George Mason University Symphony Orchestra, and Director of Percussion at Radford University. He also served as a Visiting Artist for the University of Virginia's College at Wise where he taught and authored innovative curriculum in percussion, composition, and music history.
He is in high demand nationally as a music adjudicator having been recurrently invited to judge for the U.S. Bands, Winter Guard International Percussion World Championships, and various other contests across the country. Since 2004 he has been a Vic Firth Inc. Education Team member endorsed as a Marching & Scholastic Percussion Specialist, and has been a featured artist in multiple Percussive Arts Society "Day of Percussion" state events around the country.
Mark Beamish
Mark Beamish is the former Director of Bands and Fine Arts Team Leader at Green Hope High School in Cary, NC. Originally from upstate NY, Mr. Beamish spent his youth participating in a variety of musically related activities including private and ensemble study at Hochstein and Eastman Schools. Mr. Beamish earned his Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Kentucky, Master of Music Degree from Eastern Illinois University, and Master of School Administration from North Carolina State University. Throughout his career as a teacher, Mr. Beamish taught all levels of music instruction and a variety of experiences as director of musical ensembles. During Mr. Beamish’s tenures at Sanderson and Green Hope High Schools, ensembles under his tutelage received consistent superior ratings at music festivals at competitions. Mr. Beamish has been awarded the Band Director of the Year and Award of Excellence by the Central District Band Association. Mr. Beamish is the Past President of the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Wind Orchestra, has served on the Board of Directors for the Central District Band Association and as Chairperson for the North Carolina Bandmasters’ Marching Band Committee. Mr. Beamish is active as a adjudicator and performer.
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 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 Music for All (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. He was the Chief Judge for the Atlantic Indoor Association (AIA) for 17 years where he inducted in the AIA Hall of Honor in 2006 for his contributions to the circuit. 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.