Staff

Drum Major Instructors

Glen Brough has been as the Visual Coordinator for the Spartan Marching Band since 1988. He was the Drum Major of the MSU Band for four years and has taught drum majors nationwide for over 35 years. He has also instructed marching with the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps and has written marching drill for dozens of high school bands. Glen is assistant director of admissions for Michigan State University.

Galen Karriker will begin his 12th year as the Assistant Director of Bands and Marching Band Director at the University of Akron in Ohio. Prior to that, he was the Assistant Marching Band Director at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for five years. Galen is completing his Doctorate in Wind Conducting at MSU, where he also completed his Masters degree. He has a BA in Music from Louisiana State University. Galen has served as an instructor the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps, as well as the corps' conductor in 1991.

Chris Owen served as the Drum Major for the Spartan Marching Band from 1998-2001, a position that only six others in the history of the ensemble have held as long. Chris has assisted with the instruction of several Michigan high school marching bands, and is an accomplished performer with the signal baton. He is a graduate of the College of Engineering at MSU and currently works as a civil engineer.

Marc Compton was the drum major of the Spartan Band from 2005-2006. A former trumpet player in the SMB, Marc is originally from South Haven. He is a 2007 graduate from MSU where he majored in Secondary Education. He is currently a history teacher and baseball coach at Rochester (MI) High School.

Rachel Linsmeier has the distinction of serving as the second female drum major in the history of the Spartan Marching Band. Majoring in Music Education, she is an accomplished trumpet player from Okemos who plays in some of MSU's finest wind ensembles. Rachel's expertise with the signal baton and movement choreography has been extremely beneficial to both the Performing Arts Marching Band Auxiliary Camp and the Spartan Marching Band during her tenure as the drum major.

Simon Holoweiko is a Music Education major from Grand Ledge and will serve in his second year as the drum major of the SMB in 2011. He, too, is one of the university’s finest trumpet players. Simon possesses the rare combination of not only being a highly skilled musician and marcher, but also the ability to convey this knowledge at a very high level in a variety of instructional settings.

Color Guard Instructors

Orlando Suttles has been the Color Guard Instructor with the Spartan Marching Band since 2002. He is also the Co-Director of "State of Art", MSU competitive winter guard that won the WGI Independent A World Championship in 2009. He has extensive instructional experience in a variety of environments that includes the Michigan Competing Bands Association and Winter Guard International (WGI). He is a highly sought-after adjudicator and is the only WGI judge from the state of Michigan. Orlando is a marketing/customer relations specialist in the banking industry.

Peter Eichler has an extensive color guard resume which includes performing with two drum and bugle corps, Carolina Crown and the Glassmen, and he currently instructs the Phantom Regiment. He is Co-Director of the MSU "State of Art" Winterguard. His winter guard experience includes membership in Third Edition and Pride of Cincinnati. He is a former member of both the national and international touring companies of BLAST! Peter has instructed numerous color guards including Carolina Crown, Plymouth Canton Marching Band. Peter is a Music Education graduate of MSU where he played French horn and mellophone in several ensembles, including the Spartan Marching Band.

Joshua Benningfield is from Indianapolis, IN where he designs and choreographs for leading color guards around the country. He was a member of the 2005 world champion Pride of Cincinnati Color Guard, as well as Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps. He has instructed the color guards from Spirit of JSU and Carolina Crown drum and bugle corps. Joshua also served as the designer for the 2007 world champion Carmel High School Winter Guard and the 2009 world champion "State of Art" Winterguard.

Percussion Instructors

Jon Weber has taught the Spartan Marching Band Drumline for the past 15 years. Dr. Weber also teaches applied percussion in the MSU College of Music. He has presented at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention on creating a model drumline in the university setting and using rudimental drumming as part of the overall percussion curriculum. University marching bands across the country have performed his arrangements. Jon has also taught at Oklahoma State University and the Detroit Pistons Drumline, for which he still writes many of their performance works. His students have performed in Phantom Regiment, Santa Clara Vanguard, Cavaliers, Carolina Crown, Cadets, Bluecoats, Glassmen, Redline, Rhythm X, Northcoast Academy, East Side Fury, and many more. He received his DMA from Michigan State in 2008.

Steve Wulff is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Music Performance at MSU where he studies percussion and teaches the MSU Drumline. Steve is originally from Eaton Rapids, and he has a bachelor’s degree from MSU in Music Performance. He performed with the SMB Drumline, Wind Symphony, and Symphony Orchestra. He has also been a featured soloist with the MSU Percussion Ensemble. Steve completed a Master’s in Music Performance at the University of South Carolina where he was the director of the USC Drumline. Steve has also been a member of Northcoast Academy and the Detroit Pistons Drumline.

Derek Koning served as a MSU Drumline staff member in 2010 after playing bass drum in the section in 2007 and 2009. Prior to his performing experiences with the SMB, Derek attended UCLA where he played snare and tenor drums for three years in the Bruin Marching Band. He was also a member of the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps Drumline when the ensemble won DCI’s Fred Sanford Best Percussion Award in 2004 and 2005. This past May, Derek completed a second degree at MSU, a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, and he will be pursuing his teaching certificate in 2011-2012.