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Announcing Our 2026 Caption Leadership
- Troopers Drum Corps
- 15 hours ago
- 13 min read
“The Troopers are pleased to announce our 2026 Caption Leadership Team. This experienced group will lead the corps forward with consistency, professionalism, and a focus on competitive excellence.” - Mary Cowperthwait, Troopers Corps Director
Tim Snyder
Brass Supervisor
Tim Snyder is a freelance arranger, composer, educator, and adjudicator whose music has been performed on concert stages and football fields across the United States. Specializing in brass pedagogy, he serves as an adjudicator and clinician nationwide.
Tim’s involvement in the drum corps activity dates back to 1997, when he taught with Division III’s Delta Brigade, gaining experience across every level of the activity. He went on to serve as a tuba tech with Carolina Crown (2007–2008) and as the Assistant Brass Caption at the Madison Scouts (2010–2012), where he helped develop the tuba lines as well as the brass program.
The Troopers announced Tim’s return as Program Coordinator in 2020, beginning a new era of stability and creativity. His 2022 production vorAcious ended a 13-year Finals drought. In 2023, To Lasso the Sun propelled the corps back into the Top 10, and Dance with the Devil in 2024 secured a third consecutive Finals appearance—a milestone not achieved in half a century. In 2025, his program The Final Sunset pushed the Troopers to new heights, earning a 90.05 at the DCI World Championships—the highest score in the corps’ DCI history—and cementing their status as one of DCI’s most consistent and innovative finalists.
Previously, Tim led the Mandarins brass program beginning in 2018, guiding them to their first-ever Top 12 finish and establishing a historic run of back-to-back finals appearances in 2018 and 2019. Under his leadership, the Mandarins earned their highest scores in corps history, including the highest 10th-place score ever recorded at DCI Finals until the 2025 Troopers.
Tim also served as Brass Caption Manager for the Oregon Crusaders (2017) and earlier with the Troopers (2013–2016), helping guide both organizations to new levels of competitive and educational excellence. Beyond DCI, he was Program Coordinator for Cincinnati Tradition (2014–2021), where the corps became two-time DCA Class A Champion and advanced to Open Class Finals.
Over the years, Tim has studied with and been mentored by some of the world’s finest educators, including Arnold Jacobs, Donnie VanDoren, Marc Whitlock, Brad Kerr Green, Dennis Johnson, Earle Louder, Ray Conklin, Richard Miles, and Nick Williams.
In 1998, Tim founded BOX5 Media, a company focused on producing high-quality audio and video for the pageantry arts. Under his leadership, BOX5 has grown into a trusted media partner for Bands of America / Music for All and numerous state music associations, documenting and preserving performances by many of the nation’s finest ensembles.
Carol Weirich
Brass Caption Head
Carol Weirich is currently in her eighth year of teaching and her first year as a band director at Hauser Jr. High School in Riverside, IL. She also assists with the Orchestra Program at Hauser and the 5th grade band at Central Elementary School. Carol was previously the assistant band director at Discovery Middle School, part of the Penn-Harris-Madison school corporation in Mishawaka, Indiana.
Carol’s groups consistently earn Gold with Distinction ratings at state contests. The Discovery Honors Band was selected to perform at the 2024 Indiana Music Educators Association Conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Carol is an active adjudicator for ISSMA Solo & Ensemble and Organizational contests. She received a Quinlan & Fabish Michiana Outstanding Music Educator Award in the spring of 2023 through her active participation in her instrumental music education community.
Carol graduated from Butler University in Indianapolis, IN, where she studied piano and horn. While at Butler, Carol participated in the Butler University Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Orchestra, Jazz Combo, Marching Band, Basketball Band, student brass ensembles, and was an active accompanist. Carol also spent a semester abroad at the Piteå Musikhögskolan in northern Sweden studying piano and conducting.
Carol marched mellophone with the Troopers Drum & Bugle Corps from 2015-2017. As a mellophone tech, she has worked with Pioneer (2018), Mandarins (2019, 2020), and the Troopers (2021-2024). Carol is incredibly excited and honored to return for her second year as a caption head at her home corps!
Robert Rivero
Assistant Brass Caption Head
Robert Rivero is a composer, arranger, and educator based in South Florida. He graduated with honors from the Berklee College of Music, earning a degree in Music Composition for Film and Television. Known for his musical versatility and design-focused, ensemble-driven approach, Robert collaborates with performing ensembles nationwide.
From 2019 to 2025, Robert served on the faculty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, first as Associate Director of Bands and later as Director of Bands. Under his leadership, all ensembles consistently earned Straight Superior ratings at the Florida Bandmasters Association Music Performance Assessments. The marching band became a multi-time FMBC State Champion, a regular Bands of America (BOA) Regional Finalist, a BOA Grand National Semi-Finalist, and performed in the 2023 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Robert has been on the staff of STRYKE Wynds since 2017. In 2019, he was appointed Music Arranger in addition to his role as Music Caption Head. During his tenure, STRYKE Wynds earned a WGI World Class medal every year, including three consecutive World Class Championships (2023–2025). He previously directed and arranged for Flanagan High School Indoor Winds (2015–2019), leading the ensemble to multiple WGI medals, including a World Class Championship in 2018. During this period, he also consulted for numerous high school marching bands that reached Bands of America Regional Finals and Florida state championships.
From 2013 to 2023, Robert served in the United States Army's Florida Army Band as Principal Trumpet and Staff Arranger. As an Active Duty member of the Army Honor Guard, he performed Military Funeral Honors for thousands of veterans.
Robert now works full-time as a composer and arranger, creating custom music for marching bands, indoor winds, and concert ensembles nationwide, while consulting with directors and educators on program design and development.
Patrick Keeley
Assistant Brass Caption Head
Patrick is currently the Assistant Director of Bands at Washington High School in Washington, Indiana, but spent the majority of his career at Jasper High School. His 36 year teaching career also includes time at Logansport High School and Washington High School in South Bend. He graduated from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music with a Bachelor of Music Education, studying trumpet with renowned trumpet teacher Bill Adam, and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Masters in Wind Conducting from Southern Oregon University.
Pat’s marching band was an Indiana state finalist 27 consecutive years, had 12 top three finishes, and two state championships. His band was also a 24 time Indiana Concert Band state finalist, and Patrick’s jazz band was one of eight bands in the state selected as an Indiana State Jazz Finalist in 2017. Mr. Keeley has been on the ISSMA state board, the Indiana Bandmasters Association state board, and is a member of the Phi Beta Mu professional band director fraternity.
Patrick has had over 100 of his private brass students selected to the Indiana All State Band, All State Orchestra, All State Jazz Band, Jr. All State Jazz Band and Jr. All State Band as well as the US Army All American Marching Band, with many of those selected to multiple groups, multiple times. Many of Pat’s former students are now band directors and professional musicians.
Mr. Keeley is currently the Assistant Brass Caption Head at the Troopers Drum & Bugle Corps. This is his 12th straight year teaching Drum Corps, being on the brass staff of both the Troopers and Mandarins. His drum corps highlights include teaching his daughter in the Trooper’s hornline, and being part of the teams that got both Troopers back into DCI Finals and Mandarins into Finals for the first time in their corps history.
Mr. Keeley was inspired to become a band director by his high school band director, Don Robertson, as well as his mother, Rita, who is a retired English teacher from Elkhart Memorial. Besides teaching drum corps, he enjoys watching Indiana basketball and football, Notre Dame football, the Indianapolis Colts, the Indiana Pacers, the Cincinnati Reds and going on adventures with his wife Buffy.
Joshua Brenneis
Visual Caption Head
Josh Brenneis is the current Visual Caption Head of the Troopers Drum and Bugle corps. In 2024 he served as a Lead Visual Instructor for the Santa Clara Vanguard, where he continues to serve as a visual consultant. Before that, he was most recently the Visual Caption Head of The Cadets from 2020-2023. He has also worked with the Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps from San Antonio Texas.
Josh is an active visual clinician, adjudicator and drill designer from Coral Springs, Florida, who works with marching music programs across the country. He began his DCI career as a performer with the Magic of Orlando in 2004 and later joined The Cadets for the 2006 and 2007 seasons, where he aged out in Pasadena, Calif.
Since 2007, Josh has been working with many Florida marching bands that have been successful in both the FMBC, FFCC and BOA circuits. Over the last 15 years, he has held the Visual Caption Head role with Jupiter High School, Stoneman Douglas High School, West Broward High School and Park Vista High School. All ensembles achieved multiple FMBC State Championships and High Visual awards during his time, including Finals appearances and High Visual awards in Bands of America Regionals. Josh continues to write drill for many highly competitive marching bands all over the country.
Josh has been the visual caption head of STRYKE Wynds since 2016 where they won WGI open class. In 2017 the ensemble was promoted to the WGI World Class division and have received a medal in every single season they have attended the World Championships. In 2022, he became the visual designer of Wynds, winning world championships in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
In addition to working with STRYKE Wynds, Josh has taught and/or designed for many ensembles participating in FFCC and WGI nationwide over the last decade. Among many notable ensembles are STRYKE Percussion and Infinity Percussion.
Tim Heichelheim
Assistant Visual Caption Head
Tim Heichelheim is the Director of Bands at Skyview High School in Vancouver, WA, and a two-time Grammy quarterfinalist for the award in Music Education. Serving as band director since 2013, Skyview High School has earned numerous accolades on and off the field. He earned his Bachelors in Music Education and Masters in Education (Curriculum and Development) from Portland State University. Tim began his DCI career marching Seattle Cascades 2004-2006 then continued to march Santa Clara Vanguard 2007-2009. After aging out he joined the instructional staff as a visual instructor for Spirit of Atlanta 2010-2011, and then served as the assistant visual caption head for the Crossmen 2013-2015. In 2019, he worked with the Madison Scouts as a visual consultant/instructor. Tim began his journey with The Cadets in 2020. While remaining a member of the instructional staff at the Cadets, Tim served as the Brass Co-Coordinator for the Shadow Drum and Bugle Corps out of Madison, Wisconsin, in 2021 and in 2022 served as a visual instructor with the Santa Clara Vanguard before hopping on tour with the Cadets for that season. Tim joined the Troopers educational team in 2025, Serving as Assistant Visual Caption Head and Assistant Ensemble Coordinator, and is excited to return and continue his role at the Troopers for 2026!
Tim is also a freelance musician around the Portland Metro as well as the band leader and sousaphonist for The River City Riot! Brass Band, the trombone player for ZMusikmakers Oktoberfest Band, and is the managing member of The 1905 Jazz Club in Portland, OR, rated as one of the top 100 jazz venues in the world by Downbeat Magazine.
Alejandro Tavarez
Assistant Visual Caption Head
Alejandro began his journey in the marching arts before high school, but it was during his time at Passaic High School where he truly developed and excelled. After graduating, he returned to Passaic, serving as an instructor for six years in various roles, including Visual Caption Head (2015–2018), Brass Caption Head (2018), and Visual Designer (2021–2023). He also served as Visual Designer for Wayne Valley High School (2024–2025). Since 2021, Alejandro has been the Visual Caption Head at Jupiter High School in Florida.
While teaching at Passaic, Alejandro was selected to march with The Cadets, where he spent four seasons. During his tenure, he held leadership positions as Trumpet Section Leader (2016) and Horn Sergeant (2017). He earned several accolades, including Visual Cadet of the Year (2016), Brass Cadet of the Year (2017), and Rookie Staff Member of the Year (2018).
Alejandro has also brought his talents to a few prestigious organizations, including Carolina Crown (Visual Staff, 2019), Santa Clara Vanguard (Visual Staff, 2024–2025), and his home corps, The Cadets (Visual Staff, 2018, 2020-2023). He is currently entering his fifth season with Stryke Wynds and his second season with The Troopers.
Outside of the marching arts, Alejandro is a high school mathematics teacher in South Florida, where he applies his Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics Education (K–12) from Montclair State University.
Dr. Chelsea Toner
Co-Color Guard Caption Head
Dr. Chelsea Toner enters her third year with the Troopers Drum & Bugle Corps, returning as a Color Guard Caption Head for the 2026 season after serving as Co-Caption Head in 2024 and Caption Head in 2025. A dedicated educator, Chelsea brings over a decade of performance and instructional experience to every team she leads.
Chelsea’s color guard journey began in 2008 with ATX Winterguard (Independent A, 2008–2015) and on the field with the Crossmen Drum & Bugle Corps (2011–2014). Since aging out, she has worked with numerous Texas scholastic programs, including McNeil High School (2013–2019) and Cedar Ridge High School (2017–2018). She also returns for her 8th year as a technician with Origins Performing Arts, contributing a blend of technique, musicality, and artistry.
Off the field, Chelsea is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the University of Colorado Boulder’s Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB) Department, where she teaches Cellular Biology to upper-division undergraduates. A proud Texas State University alumna, she holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Biochemistry and Microbiology and completed her Ph.D. in Biochemistry at CU Boulder in Spring 2024.
During her doctoral studies, Chelsea co-founded S.C.O.P.E. (Science Community Outreach Program and Education), an initiative bringing science to underrepresented middle schools in the Boulder, CO area. She helped establish a board of directors to expand leadership opportunities, curriculum, and funding; laying a foundation for lasting community engagement. She continues this mission through MCDB student organizations and a teaching consortium focused on course-based undergraduate research experiences.
When she isn’t teaching guard or mentoring students, Chelsea enjoys Colorado life with her newly engaged fiancé and dogs—hiking, playing disc golf, and rollerblading—and unwinding with games and new TV series. She’s energized for the 2026 season and can't wait to get started!
Casey McCoy
Co-Color Guard Caption Head
Casey has been involved in the performing arts for over 25 years now; Originally from New Hartford, NY, Casey now resides in Middletown, NY, and continues to share his expertise with programs across the country.
Casey's performance career began in New Hartford, where his passion for the activity quickly expanded to the drum corps arena. He performed with the Syracuse Brigadiers Drum & Bugle Corps, followed by celebrated seasons with the Empire Statesmen (Rochester, NY) and the Hawthorne Caballeros (Hawthorne, NJ).
While drum corps laid a strong foundation, Casey’s true artistic passion has always been indoor color guard. He has been a member of several WGI finalist ensembles, including Brigadiers Winterguard (Syracuse, NY), Spectrum Winterguard (Binghamton, NY), and Alter Ego (Trumbull, CT). In 2015, Casey was selected to perform in David Byrne’s live performance event Contemporary Color, which premiered in Toronto and Brooklyn and was later featured at the Tribeca Film Festival.
For the past two decades, Casey has turned his attention to design, instruction, and consultation, working with high school, independent, and drum corps programs nationwide. His recent collaborations include McNeil High School (TX), Spectrum Winterguard (NY), Delazure (DE), Cadets2 (PA), and Fusion Drum & Bugle Corps (NJ). Currently, he is actively involved with Mohonasen High School (NY), West Milford High School (NJ), and Origins Performing Arts (TX). In 2025, Casey served as the Assistant Caption Head for the Troopers Drum & Bugle Corps (WY) Color Guard and has been appointed Co-Caption Head for the upcoming season.
Outside of the performing arts, Casey enjoys hiking, traveling, and spending quality time with family and friends in Upstate New York and enjoys binging reality television.
Lauren Teel
Percussion Caption Head
Lauren Teel is the Instructor of Percussion for Jacksonville State University and the Percussion Caption Head for the Troopers Drum & Bugle Corps. She is actively involved in the percussive arts community as a performer, educator, and adjudicator.
Prior to Laurens appointment at JSU, Lauren served as Director of Marching Percussion for the East Texas A&M “Pride” Marching Band and Assistant Director of Percussion for the East Texas A&M Percussion Studio. In 2012, Lauren had the privilege of traveling to Chennai, India to perform for an audience of over 75,000 people with Oscar winning composer, A. R. Rahman. Lauren also appeared in the 2013 blockbuster, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, as a timpanist.
Lauren proudly endorses Innovative Percussion, Remo, Marimba One, and Zildjian.
David Cavazos
Battery Coordinator
Alabama-based musician, David Cavazos, is a versatile percussionist with a number of specialties ranging from orchestral to marching percussion. Originally from Monterrey, Mexico, David uses his unique background to create a cohesive approach to a wide range of musical styles. David started his career in the North Texas area where he worked with a number of award winning programs and performed with ensembles around the state. Currently residing in Jacksonville, Alabama, he is an active freelancer throughout Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. He also proudly serves as the battery coordinator of the Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps, and is the current principal percussionist with the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra.
As a performer, David has performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, and the National Repertory Orchestra, among others. He has competed and performed concerts in notable events such as the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, Texas Music Educators Association Convention, and Drumfest in Opole, Poland.
As an educator, David has had the privilege to work at some of the best high school and college programs in the state of Texas. His students have gone on to become all-state percussionists, march at top world class drum corps, and study at top universities in the country. David has also presented clinics all over the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica.
When not performing, teaching, or writing music, David enjoys cooking, woodworking, and spending time with his Yorkie, Keiko and German Shepherd, Tex.
David proudly endorses Zildjian cymbals and Remo drumheads.
Justin Ratcliff
Audio Caption Head
Mr. Ratcliff earned a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in 2007, National Board Certification in 2015, and a Master's in Educational Leadership at George Mason University in 2024, Mr. Ratcliff also completed course work in Curriculum and Instructional design at the University of Virginia.
Mr. Ratcliff is the Director of bands at Rock Ridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia and opened Rock Ridge HS in 2014. In 2022, Justin served as the interim caption supervisor for the audio team with the Madison Scouts drum and bugle corps and as the Audio Caption head for the 2023 season. In 2024, Mr. Ratcliff served on the Audio team for Carolina Crown.
Mr. Ratcliff is an active adjudicator, clinician, consultant, arranger, visual designer, program consultant/coordinator, music designer, and sound designer for high school and college programs across the United States. Mr. Ratcliff currently serves as the Virginia Band and Orchestra Association District 16 state marching representative and VBODA State Adjudicator. Mr. Ratcliff is a Member of VMEA, VBODA, and NAFME. Justin also served on the Virginia Music Educators Association conference planning committee for 17 years as the Exhibit Hall Business manager and coordinator.
Travis Sinsabaugh
Conducting & Leadership Coach
Travis Sinsabaugh is based in Central Florida, where he currently serves as the Band Director at Deltona High School in Volusia County. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Florida Southern College. In 2022, he had the honor of conducting with The Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps. As an active drummer in the Central Florida music scene, Travis regularly performs with the Maitland Stage Band and The Intersection Big Band, a community project that he founded in 2020. In 2025, he joined the Troopers as part of the Leadership and Conducting Staff, and he is thrilled to be returning with the corps.
