About Us

Ezekiel has been teaching and writing for the marching arts for over a decade.

He has taught some of the best groups at the highest level in the activity such as Pulse Percussion, Santa Clara Vanguard, Boston Crusaders, The Mandarins, Phantom Regiment, and POW Percussion. Currently, he is the Percussion Director at Los Alamitos High School, but has also been a percussion teacher of varying roles at least a dozen various schools, institutes, and programs in California and Texas.

As a composer and arranger, he uniquely writes for all segments of a marching ensemble, often combining all skills to coordinate and write the entire music package for many ensembles. Some highlights from his current composing / arranging clients include Pacific Crest Drum and Bugle Corps, Bakersfield College Indoor Drumline, Los Alamitos High School Band and Drumline, and Golden Empire Drum and Bugle Corps.

Ezekiel received his undergraduate degree in percussion performance with a minor in music theory and creative writing from the University of North Texas where he studied with Paul Rennick, Mark Ford, Ed Soph, Ed Smith, Jose Aponte, and Christopher Deane. He performed with The Seattle Cascades Drum and Bugle Corps, Esperanza Drum and Bugle Corps, Phantom Regiment, the UNT A-Line, Pulse Percussion, and the Dallas Cowboys Rhythm and Blue Drumline.

Ezekiel is an official Vic Firth, Zildjian, and Mike Balter Artist, and an official Remo Marching Artist. He lives in Huntington Beach, CA. In his free time, he enjoys surfing, skating, his morning meditation time with his adopted cat child, Buttons, and playing video games with his girlfriend, Jennifer.

A Southern California native, Jonathan is an educator, composer, and arranger for the marching arts.

As an educator, Jonathan has worked with some of the best of the best that the activity has to offer such as Pulse Percussion, The Cadets, The Blue Stars, The Academy, and Pacific Crest. His high school programs are no stranger to the medal circle, having worked with such programs as Chino Hills High School, Los Alamitos High School, and La Quinta High School. He is currently the Front Ensemble Director at Sunny Hills High School.

As a composer and arranger, Jonathan is the Front Ensemble Arranger and Musical Director for Pacific Crest, and has also designed for such renowned groups as George Mason University, Élan Percussion, Sunny Hills High School, and Los Alamitos High School, to name a few.

Jonathan’s performance experience includes marching with The Academy, RCC, and The Blue Devils.

Jonathan is an official Vic Firth, Zildjian, and Mike Balter Artist, and an official Remo Marching Artist. He is a respected authority in his home indoor circuit, SCPA, as he resides on the SCPA Classification Committee. Jonathan lives in Huntington Beach, California with his bicycle and Postmates.

Eric Shriver is a composer, arranger, and educator for percussion based out of Southern California.

He is currently the Percussion Director and Battery Arranger at Gold Indoor Percussion, Sunny Hills High School, and West High School. Some of his Indoor related experience includes roles as snare tech, ensemble coordinator, and consultant with Pulse Percussion, Battery Arranger for Élan Percussion, and Percussion Director for Rowland High School.

Eric is also very active in DCI. He is currently the Percussion Director and Battery Arranger for Gold Drum & Bugle Corps as well as a snare tech for The Cavaliers. His past experience includes being the Percussion Caption Head and Battery Arranger for the Blue Stars, and snare tech for the Bluecoats.

Eric has a Bachelor of Arts in Music (Industry Studies) from California Polytechnic University (Pomona, CA). Eric has performed with the Bluecoats, Pulse Percussion, Black Knights, Pacific Crest, and RCC Marching Band.

He is a respected authority in his home indoor circuit, SCPA, as he resides on the SCPA Classification Committee.

Eric is also the creator and owner of the “The Build-Up Method,” which is a set of rudimental percussion practice methods using logical skill building exercises and audio tracks.

Eric is a member of the Zildjian, Remo, Yamaha, and Vic Firth educational teams and lives in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, with his Wife Amanda, Daughter Charlotte, Dog Sammy, and Cat Luna.

As a graphic designer, Chadd has designed costumes, flags, props, floors, drum wraps, and much more for over 200 programs across the U.S.

Chadd attended The University of Nevada Las Vegas. Chadd’s passion for dance, colorguard, and visual design is what has motivated him to share his experience and knowledge with students around the country.

Connor has been a huge part of shaping the Front2Back brand since the very beginning of the company. His passion for the marching arts along with his immense talent with film and media made him a perfect fit. Connor received his Bachelor’s in Film & Electronic Arts from Cal State Long Beach. His marching arts background includes performing with the Mandarins, Blue Stars, Bluecoats, POW Percussion, and Pulse Percussion.

He also worked with POW Percussion, then continued on to teach Pulse from 2017 to the present. Connor also taught the Blue Stars, continuing on to teach the Bluecoats starting in 2019. He is currently the Battery Caption head at La Quinta High School. Connor lives in Cypress, CA.

Pete is a full time percussion educator and visual designer.  He has worked with many HS groups since 2000 and spent the bulk of his career in Southern California.  

Most recently he was the Percussion Director at Great Oak HS (2004-2018), Chaparral HS (2002-2007, 2011-2018), and Vista HS (2014-2018).  He has also worked with Vista Murrieta HS, Vail Ranch Middle School, Colony HS, Ramona HS, Riverside King HS, Rancho Cucamonga HS, Temecula Valley HS, and Riverside Poly HS. Pete was also heavily involved with the Pulse Percussion organization from 2006-2018 where he started out as a Tenor Tech then being Ensemble Director, Visual Designer, Program Coordinator, Staff/Ensemble Coordinator, and Entertainment Director.  In 2018 he was the Visual Designer and Program Coordinator for POW Percussion, the Pulse organization’s second percussion ensemble. 

Pete has also taught at the drum corps level and worked with Pacific Crest for a total of 8 years (2006-2007, 2012-2017) where he also started as a tenor tech and ended as the Percussion Director/Caption Head and Battery Arranger.

Pete has performed in award winning ensembles such as Northglenn HS, Blue Knights Percussion Ensemble, Blue Knights Drum & Bugle Corps, RCC Winter Drumline, and the Blue Devils. 

Pete recently moved back to his home state of Colorado where he is the Visual Designer and Program Coordinator for the Blue Knights Percussion Ensemble, serves on the Board of Directors for the Rocky Mountain Percussion Association (RMPA) as the Director of Education, and performs with the Denver Broncos “Stampede” Drumline and the Denver Nuggets “Skyline” Drumline.  Pete continues to design and write for clients around the country.

Pete is a member of the Vic Firth Educational Team, a Remo Artist, and lives in Commerce City, CO with his wife Koto, 2 sons Peter and Taiga, and his dog Kona.

Jason is a former instructor and designer of marching percussion. He currently works for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and has left the marching community in order to support work in Immenstaad, Germany.

His percussion experience includes being the Percussion Director for Temple City HS (2001-2020) and Front Ensemble Director for Crescenta Valley HS (2013-2017). Jason had the privilege of working with Temple City HS for the 2004, and 2015 Tournament of Roses Parade. 

Jason has performed in many ensembles, including Temple City HS, Pasadena City College Marching Band, Pasadena City College Indoor Percussion Ensemble, and the Tournament of Roses Honor Band. He has also played in many jazz groups, tracked drums on studio albums, recorded for television shows, and collaborated with various performance ensembles throughout Southern California.

He has been taught by many talented percussion instructors, and studied marching percussion for many years now. Jason currently lives in Germany with his wonderful wife and two kids, but still calls Southern California his home.

Brian is an instructor and composer that has worked with several marching percussion ensembles in Southern California, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.

He was the battery coordinator for the WGI Scholastic A Medalist, Mechanicsburg HS (2005-2018). Brian was also on staff with Pacific Crest (2001-2002, 2010-2015).  He has also held teaching positions with The Cadets and United Percussion.

Brian’s performance experience includes work with various production and entertainment companies across the country such as PCI Productions, Windish Music, SRO Productions, Hop Star, Recycled Percussion, and more. Brian marched in the drumline with Pacific Crest for 3 years and aged out playing snare with The Cadets in 2000.

Brian currently lives in Chino Hills, CA with his wife Megan and their four, lovely children. He works full time as an Artist Relations Manager for Vic Firth & Zildjian.

Douglas Scott Thrower is a free-lance music composer and arranger.

Currently he is the brass arranger for the Canton Bluecoats, a top competitive marching ensemble of Drum Corps International and the 2016 world champion. Doug has been in this role since 1997 and is considered one of the best music arrangers in the marching activity.

You only have to listen to the voice and unique sound he gives the Bluecoats’ brass section. He is associated with signature music features, well known in the marching activity, that include Simon & Garfunkel’s The Boxer, Creep from Radiohead, The Great Gig In The Sky by Pink Floyd, and the wistful ballad Hymn of Acxiom by singer-songwriter Vienna Teng who personally sent him accolades when she heard the Bluecoats rendition.

He has instructed and arranged for a number of bands and drum corps over the years including The Bluecoats, Pacific Crest, The Troopers, Dutch Boy and the Canadian Knights (1986 Class A World Champions).

Doug also composes and arranges for a number of high schools and university bands across North America. That list includes Western Carolina University, Marshall University, the University of Texas and University of Utah.

In addition to arranging music for marching ensembles Doug writes for various ensembles (jazz and symphonic) and theatre groups.

Doug was a student of Don Johnson in trumpet performance at Humber College (Toronto) and studied jazz performance at McGill University in Montreal. He has recorded performances for the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) and can be heard on four recordings by the McGill Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Gordon Foote.

Doug and his wife Evelyn Blackwell have two daughters, Shelby and Claire, and make their home in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

Dave Fry is an active designer, arranger, sound engineer, and educator in the Philadelphia area. He first began his music endeavors in elementary school with general percussion as well as private instruction on drum-set. 

Dave’s teaching experience began in 2001 with Souderton HS. Dave has been with Perkiomen Valley HS since 2009 where he took over as Percussion Director in 2010, as well as battery arranger, visual designer, and sound engineer. Most recently, Dave created soundscape for the 2018 DCA Champion, Reading Buccaneers. 

Dave’s marching career started at Norristown Area HS under the instruction of Dave Schopp, Rob Misener, Scott Brown, and Tommy Wynder. After HS, Dave went on to march snare drum with the Reading Buccaneers in 2001.

Dave is a District Analytics Manager for a national fire protection wholesale company. He is also a proud member of the Vic Firth Education team and currently lives in Downingtown, PA where he spends his free time with his wife, Briana, his new son Grayson, and his two Akita rescues Lumen and Rigel.

Jon Kline is an active marching arts designer, arranger, and educator in the Philadelphia area.

Jon’s teaching experience includes: Director of United Percussion 2 for their inaugural 2019 season, and various high schools in the Philadelphia region. Most recently serving as the bass tech, music/visual designer, and Assistant Drumline director of Perkiomen Valley HS from 2009 to 2020. 

His marching career as a bass drummer included Souderton HS, Lehigh Valley Knights Drum and Bugle Corps (2003-2004), Jersey Surf Drum and Bugle Corps (2005), United Percussion (2006, 2008-2009).

Jon has an Associates Degree in Education and also a B.S. in Organizational Leadership from Philadelphia University.  He is currently working as an Accounting Manager at a local corporation. 

Jon is also a very proud member of the Vic Firth Education team and lives in Harleysville, PA where he spends his free time with his wife Denna and their son JJ.

Ryan has worked with WGI World Champion Chino Hills HS (2007- 2014), winning 2 WGI Gold Medals. In addition, he worked with Los Alamitos HS (2007- 2014), El Modena HS (2012- 2014), Damien HS (2015) and Rosemead HS (2014-2016 ). Ryan was also the director of percussion at Townsend MS in Chino Hills CA (2009 – 2012) and Etiwanda HS (2014- 2019).

Ryan currently works with Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps as Battery Manager (2017-Current), Pulse Percussion (2010-Current) where he serves as the Battery Manager/ Ensemble Coordinator.

His past Drum Corps teaching experience includes Madison Scouts Drum And Bugle Corps (Tenor Tech, 2008-2009, 2012-2014, Battery Manager, 2015-2016), Blue Devils B Corps (Manager, 2010-Open Class Champion and Drum Title) and Carolina Crown (Tenor Tech, 2011).

Ryan Anderson’s marching career includes Pulse Percussion (Charter Member, 2005), RCC Winter Drumline (2006-2009), Esperanza (2005-2006, Section Leader) and Carolina Crown (2007, Section Leader).

Ryan is a proud member of the Vic Firth Education Team and is a Remo Marching Artist.

At an early age, Allan Tan grew up with a developing passion and love for music and the marching arts.  His post high school education includes a degree in Music Production and Audio Engineering from the Los Angeles Recording School.  Later continuing his passion at world renowned Westlake Recording Studios in Hollywood, CA. 

From 2016 to 2020, Allan served as the creative director, drill designer, visual caption head and battery manager for the Temple City HS indoor percussion ensemble where they achieved their first ever SCPA medal and WGI World Championships finalist standing in Scholastic A Class.  He currently provides creative direction and is the Visual Caption Head for La Quinta HS (Westminster, CA) marching band.

In addition, Allan stays involved in music production and creative direction/development.  When not designing or teaching the marching arts, he finds time to stay active running and dabbles in culinary arts.

Mike McGee is a former designer and educator in the marching arts and is currently established in his career as an Operator and General Manager in the Hospitality Industry.

As a Designer and Educator, Mike worked with numerous groups in Southern California and Arizona. Mike has worked with such groups as Claremont HS, Upland HS, Mandarins Drum and Bugle Corps, POW Percussion, The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps, Ayala HS and Gilbert HS. From 2014 to 2016, Mike served as the Ensemble Coordinator and Battery Arranger for Breakthrough Indoor Percussion in Peoria, Az, leading them to their first WGI finals appearance in their history in 2015 and a top 5 finish in 2016.

Mike’s marching experience includes Pacific Crest (2005-2007, Baritone), the Blue Devils (2008, Baritone) and was a charter member with Pulse Percussion Open (2011, Snare).

Mike is a member of the Vic Firth Education Team and currently lives in Johnstown, Colorado with his lovely Wife and newborn Son.