Scott Rush

is Director of Bands at Wando High School in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where he received a Master of Music degree in French Horn Performance and studied with Boston Symphony principal hornist, Charles Kavalovski. While at NEC, Mr. Rush studied conducting under Frank Battisti and Pascal Verrot. He was a Concerto Competition winner and member of the Boston Philharmonic under Benjamin Zander. Mr. Rush received his Bachelor's degree from the University of South Carolina where he studied under Robert Pruzin and was the recipient of the Arthur Fraser Award for the Outstanding Graduating Senior in Music.

Under his directorship at Wando High School, Mr. Rush's bands have received consistent Superior ratings in the areas of concert and marching band. The Wando Symphonic Band performed at the 2007 Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic and were the 2007 recipients of the Sudler Flag of Honor, administered by the John Philip Sousa Foundation. The Wando marching band was named a finalist at the Bands of America Grand National Championships in 2009.

Mr. Rush is active as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States. He was presenter at the 2002 MENC National In-Service Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, the 2005 Northeast Division MENC Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, and the 2006 Midwest International Band and Orchestra Clinic, and he has presented workshops at several universities and school districts. He is the author of two highly touted books, Habits of A Successful Band Director and The Evolution of A Successful Band Director for GIA Publications and has written the Curriculum Guide for Instrumental Music for the South Carolina State Department of Education. He is also co-author of a method book entitled Habits of A Successful Musician, also published by GIA Publications. He has been the recipient of the National Band Association's Citation of Excellence on five occasions and was named Teacher of the Year in 2004. He is Nationally Board Certified by NBPTS. In 2010, Mr. Rush was elected into the prestigious American Bandmasters Association and he is currently on the board of the National Band Association. He currently serves as vice-president of the South Carolina Band Directors Association. Other professional affiliations include WASBE, Phi Beta Mu, and Phi Mu Alpha.

Lanie Radecke

is an Associate Director of Bands at Wando High School. A native of Elberton, GA, she is a 2001 graduate of the University of Georgia, where she received a Bachelor's degree in Music Education and studied conducting with Dr. John N. Culvahouse and Dr. F. David Romines. While at UGA, Mrs. Radecke studied clarinet under the late Dr. Theodore Jahn and Dr. D. Ray McClellan. She was a member of the UGA Wind Symphony from 1998-2001. She also has earned a Master's degree in Music Education from the University of South Carolina where she continues to study clarinet with Mr. Joseph Eller and conducting with Dr. Carol Krueger. As Director of Bands at Carolina Forest Middle School (S.C.) and Associate Director of Bands at Central Gwinnett High School (GA), Mrs. Radecke's bands have received consistent superior and excellent ratings. Mrs. Radecke continues to teach private clarinet and spends a portion of each summer with the Bands of America Summer Symposium. Mrs. Radecke has been a member of the Cobb Wind Symphony, Northwinds Symphonic Band, Hebron Community Band, and Charleston Wind Ensemble. Her professional affiliations include, South Carolina Music Educators Association, MENC, Sigma Alpha Iota, Kappa Kappa Psi, International Clarinet Association, and the National Band Association. Mrs. Radecke resides on Daniel Island with her husband, Joshua, a professional musician and music educator who teaches chorus at Stratford High School.

Jeff Handel

was born in Indianapolis, IN. He received his Performer's Certificate and Bachelor of Music Degree in Music Education from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN, where he also served as the Drumline Instructor and an Associate Instructor of Percussion. In addition to his college teaching experience, he has worked with several percussion groups in Indiana and South Carolina, and even taught choir for a short time. His musical experiences include performances with symphony orchestras, jazz ensembles, rock bands, and percussion ensembles. He marched with the Indiana University Drumline and with the Blue Coats Drum and Bugle Corps, performed in Star of Indiana's Brass Theater, and was a percussion instructor for the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps. Before moving to Charleston, Jeff toured North America and Japan for four years as a featured percussionist in the Tony and Emmy Award-winning Broadway show 'Blast!' where he met his wife, Cameron Harder Handel. After moving to Charleston, he was given the opportunity to join the Dallas Brass, where he was the percussionist for the ensemble and did shows, clinics and rehearsals for students and audiences across the country and overseas.

Now with his bags unpacked and his feet firmly set in Charleston, Jeff is looking forward to working full-time with the Wando Band program, and enjoying the people, music, food, and beaches that Charleston offers throughout the year.

Tim Cole

comes from the San Francisco Bay Area with over 8 years of marching band and drum corps experience. He is a graduate of Meridian High School (ID) where he served as drum major for two years. After graduating, he went on to play tuba for the 11-time world-champion Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps from 2001 through 2003, twice capturing the brass and visual caption awards and winning the DCI World Championship title his last season there. For the last 5 years, Tim has taught at numerous band camps across the country with the Creative Solutions team, including two years on the staff of the Northwest Marching Academies. He has served full-time on the staff with such nationally-recognized programs as Clovis West (CA) and Sunset (OR) high schools. Tim's travels as performer and teacher have taken him to 40 states and Canada, as well as Japan where he was part of a select group of Blue Devils chosen to take part in the Marching In Okayama Music Festival in 2002 and 2003.

Michael Gray

is an acclaimed Impressionist painter with representation in 8 galleries throughout the United States. His paintings can be found in government, corporate and private collections throughout the world and at www.studiomichaelgray.com. Gray was a charter member of the Governor's "Canvas the Arts" committee and is a founding member of the Daedelus Workshop Theater and On Stage Theater.

His career as a judge, designer and clinician covers over 25 years in the activity and includes numerous awards and accolades. He has served as designer and clinician for Drum Corps and award winning marching bands and winter guards throughout the country.

He served 3 years as the Ensemble Analysis Facilitator and caption head for WGI (Winter Guard International) where he judged world championships numerous times and is an Ensemble Visual, General Effect and Color Guard Judge for DCI (Drum Corp International) Gray also had the repeated honor of judging DCI World Championships and the Japanese Drum Corp Championships. He has served as a clinician for the BOA Summer Symposium and is an active judge for that organization, including serving as a Grand National Finals Judge in 2007.

Gray's most recent endeavor has seen him become an highly sought motivational speaker. He most recently served as the key note speaker for the Klein School District in Houston, TX and Cobb County School District in Atlanta, GA In Service Days.

Gray is in his 5th year as Visual Coordinator at Wando HS. Mr. Gray is a resident of Charleston, South Carolina.

Bobby Bethea

has been involved in the marching band and winter guard activity as a performer and designer for many years. He was a member of the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corp from 1984-1985, winning the high guard award in DCI in 1985.

He has instucted color guards throughout South Carolina and most recently instructed the SCBDA Winter Guard Gold Medalist. In 2002 Mr. Bethea was the instructor for the CWEA Gold Medalist Winter Guard. Mr. Bethea is a nurse at Mount Pleasant Manor and joined the Band Staff in 2005 as the guard technician at Wando.

Corey Davis

is from Charleston, South Carolina. His education in music began with playing clarinet and later moving on to euphonium. As an alumnus of the Carolina Band, he is a huge Gamecock fan and received his Bachelor's degree from the University of South Carolina. While in school he served two years as President of Kappa Kappa Psi, a band service fraternity. A drum major in high school himself, Corey had the privilege of traveling the country for two summers teaching drum majors for Texas based company, Marching Auxiliaries and Dance. Following his last summer of teaching, his travels continued, this time playing baritone with the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps. He also spent the summer of 2008 working as a Video Production Intern for Drum Corps International based out of Indianapolis, IN. Formally a Theater Manager at West Ashely High School, Corey now enjoys his time as a Photojournalist for Live 5 News. He is currently pursuing his online Master's degree in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University.

Ashley Pittman

is currently a member of The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps. She has marched with The Cadets since 2005 and Teal Sound 2003 and 2004. This summer is her age-out, leaving her an eight-year veteran of The Cadets, a ten-year veteran of Drum Corps International, and a two-time world champion of DCI. Ashley has been one of the captains of The Cadets color guard for the past four years. She brings the tradition of hard work and excellence that she has learned at Cadets to her first year of instruction at Wando. The sabre line, a new addition to the band, is Ashley's main expertise. This will be Ashley's sixth year on the Cadets sabre line. Ashley also choreographs for flag and dance. She attends College of Charleston, where she is an Arts Management major with minors in both Art History and Dance. She also dances with the Charleston Dance Project, a contemporary-jazz company of DanceFX Charleston. Ashley hails from Bluffton, SC, but she is happy to say she has also found a home at Wando!

Danielle Ireton

is from Fort Mill, SC. She was a colorguard member in the Fort Mill High School Marching Band and part of the FMHS Winterguard for 4 years of high school. During college, she performed with Etude Independent Winterguard for their 2008 season. Danielle graduated from College of Charleston with a double Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Secondary Education. She is a math teacher at Wando and helps with Wando's colorguard. She resides in Mount Pleasant with her cat named Fibonacci (after the mathematician) proving that once a math major always a math major.

John McMann

is from Columbia, South Carolina, where he graduated from Irmo High School. While at Irmo, Mr. McMahan was a member of the Bands of America 1997 & 1998 National High School Honor Band, and received the John Philip Sousa Award while under the director of Bruce Dinkins. In 1998 he was the winner of the South Carolina Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition. He then received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Kentucky where he studied with James Campbell. Mr. McMahan has served as a percussion clinician for the Bands of America Summer Symposium, a position which he held for six years. He then went on to work as an Assistant Band Director and Percussion Specialist at Langham Creek High School in Houston, Texas. He was a contributing composer for The Blue Book, a bestselling percussion book published by Tapspace Productions, LLC. Jon and his wife Meaghan, currently live in Charleston, South Carolina, where he works as a percussion consultant, performer, and private instructor.