JOHN MAPES

Program Coordinator, Battery and Visual Designer

This is John’s 16th year on the design team and staff with Pulse. He is a full-time percussion designer and educator involved in teaching over 20 high school and independent percussion programs in Southern California since 1997. He received his Bachelor of Arts in percussion from California State University Long Beach, in the spring of 2000.

He has been the Percussion Director at Chino Hills HS since 2005 and was director of percussion at Pacifica HS from 2000-2011. John joined the design team for the Blue Stars Drum & Bugle Corps as the battery arranger from 2013-2016. Previously, he worked with the Blue Devil B Corps as the percussion arranger from 2007-2012 and was the Battery Arranger/ Percussion Caption Head for the Esperanza Drum & Bugle Corps from San Diego, CA from 2002-2006. His marching experience includes Velvet Knights and Pacific Crest Drum & Bugle Corps organizations.

John is a Vic Firth Signature artist, a Yamaha artist, a Remo artist, a Zildjian artist and a WGI Percussion Steering Committee/Advisory Board member. He is also a co-founder of Box-Six.com, a website compiling original indoor percussion and marching band shows with fellow composer Ian Grom.

IAN GROM

Front Ensemble Arranger

This is Ian’s 16th year on staff with Pulse. He is a composer and educator based out of Southern California. Ian received his Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance from California State University Long Beach, where he specialized in drum set, marimba and composition.

He currently teaches, designs, and composes for the Chino Hills HS percussion ensemble and has been there since 2010. He also instructed Pacifica HS from 2006-2011 and Los Alamitos HS from 2005 – 2011. In the summer of 2009, Ian was brought on as the electronics consultant/arranger with the world famous Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps and worked there from 2009 to 2012. Ian joined the design team for the Blue Stars Drum & Bugle Corps as the front ensemble and Co-Brass arranger from 2013-2016. He also composes original marching band shows for several HS programs around the country.

Ian is a Signature Vic Firth artist, a Yamaha artist, a Remo artist, a Zildjian artist and a WGI Percussion Advisory Board member. In the summer of 2008, he launched Box-Six.com, a website compiling original indoor percussion and marching band shows with fellow composer John Mapes.

noe gomez

Visual Design Team

This is Noe's 2nd year on staff with Pulse and 6th year with Organization. He is a lifelong resident of Los Angeles, California and prolific educator and designer within the marching arts. He has over seven years of performance experience, including Impulse, Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets, and half of a decade with the Santa Clara Vanguard, where he served as drum major from 2012 to 2015. 

Noe is immersed in the upper echelons of the marching arts, as he is a full time visual designer, judge, and clinician for both high school bands and independent programs. Noe served on the visual and drum major education team of the Santa Clara Vanguard and is currently working with the Phantom Regiment. He is on the design team at POW Percussion, Gold Indoor Percussion and Arcadia HS where he is currently the Visual Caption Manager at Arcadia High School. Noe also serves as an advisor to the Color Guard Alliance of the Philippines and Impulso Marching Latino America.

Learn more at:  noegomezproductions.com and on Instagram: @noegomez.productions

ROCHELLE MAPES

Choreographer

This is Rochelle’s 13th year on Pulse staff as a Choreographer where she brings a fresh perspective to the indoor percussion activity with her dance background. Rochelle earned her Master of Arts in Dance from California State University, Long Beach and also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from CSULB. She is the Director of Dance at Mater Dei High School and is on faculty at the American Ballet Theater Gillespie School. Formerly, she was the Commercial Dance Conservatory Facilitator at the Orange County School of the Arts. Rochelle choreographs extensively for nationally ranked dance teams throughout the US and teaches master classes for organizations including the United Spirit Association, the Dizzy Feet Foundation’s National Dance Day, Dance aTAK convention, and virtual classes for dancers in the US, Brazil, Australia, South Africa and the UK. She judges nationally and internationally for UDA College Nationals, USA Dance and the IASF/USASF Dance Worlds. Performance credits include: BARE Dance Company, RhetOracle Dance Company, the TV show Nip/Tuck, and Gladys Knight. In addition, Rochelle is the operations manager for Box-Six.com.

You can find more information about Rochelle by visiting rochellemapes.com

Steven Estudillo

Design Consultant

This is Stevens 11th year on the design team for Pulse! He has been a Visual Designer, Educator, Creative Director and Adjudicator since 2006. His designs have been represented by ensembles within Bands of America, Winter Guard International and Drum Corps International circuits.

As a performer, Steven was a member of Pacific Crest Drum and The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps. Steven worked with Pacific Crest as a visual instructor in 2009, then later served as the Visual Designer from 2010 – 2012. After a two-year hiatus from the ensemble, he returned as the Visual Designer and Creative Director from 2015 – 2021. Simultaneously, he was a visual instructor for The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps from 2009-2015, serving as the Visual Caption Head starting in 2011. Recently he started working at Phantom regiment as the visual designer starting in the summer of 2022.

During the winter seasons, Steven served as a Visual Designer for several other award-winning indoor percussion ensembles throughout the country, most notably including Chino Hills HS and Meraki Percussion.

Ryan Anderson

Ensemble Coordinator

This is Ryan’s 14th year on staff with Pulse. Ryan started teaching at Etiwanda HS in the fall of 2014. Until then, he taught Los Alamitos and Chino Hills HS’s for many years. He has taught Carolina Crown, Blue Devils B, Madison Scouts from 2013-2016 and most recently with the Bluecoats Drum & Bugle Corps from 2016-2019.

Ryan’s performance experience includes Esperanza Drum and Bugle Corps, RCC Marching Band, Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps (section leader 07) and RCC Winter Percussion. Ryan was also a charter member of Pulse in 2005! He is a member of the Vic Firth educational team

MATT HARTWELL

Staff Coordinator & Visual Caption Head

This is Matt's 7th year on staff with Pulse. Matt has marched with Capital Regiment, The Cavaliers, and Aimachi Marching Band. Matt is a full time drill designer and teacher. He has taught The Santa Clara Vanguard since 2010 and became the visual caption head in 2017. In 2010, he had the extreme honor of designing a production for His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said al-Said’s Royal Guard of Oman Marching Band. Matt spends his month of May working as the Show Director for a Drum Corps style stage show called "Mix It Up" at Busch Gardens theme park in Williamsburg, VA. Matt is a full-time visual designer and instructor based out of Anaheim, CA.

Jesus sanchez

Assistant Ensemble Coordinator

This is Jesus’s 3rd year on staff with Pulse. He is an active performer and educator in both the marching arts and drum set idioms. Jesus regularly performs with the Disneyland Band, among other shows, at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, and is currently the percussion caption head at Phantom Regiment. Jesus holds a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from the California State University at Fullerton and is currently finishing his Masters of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern California.

Zach wilson

Snare Tech

This is Zach’s 2nd year on staff with Pulse. He began his marching career with Chino Hills HS from 2014-2017. He also marched the Blue Stars 2017, Pulse Percussion 2018-2022, and Bluecoats 2018-2021. Zach is running the Townsend Jr. HS drumline program as well the as battery manager at Chino Hills HS and Gahr HS. 

Zach joined the Bluecoats Battery staff in 2022. His responsibilities at Pulse will include some snare arranging, visual detailing and teaching.

Cameron Ayers

Snare Tech

This is Camerons 1st year on staff with Pulse after working with POW for two years. He is a composer and educator from Ventura, California. He has performed with multiple WGI and DCI ensembles across California, including the Sacramento Mandarins, POW Percussion, Golden Empire Drum Corps, and Pulse Percussion. 

Cameron worked with the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps during the 2023 season, and has taught with multiple ensembles around Ventura County. He composed the program for Marching Vlogs’ “MV All Star Drumline,” which brought together members from Broken City Percussion, RCC, and Pulse Percussion to raise money for a food bank in La Puente, CA. Cameron studied music composition for media at Cal State Northridge.

Kyle Smit

Tenor Tech

This is Kyle's 3rd year on staff with Pulse after working with POW for the past 2 seasons. Kyle graduated from Rancho Cucamonga High School in 2013 and graduated from University of La Verne in 2017 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration. He is currently pursuing a Master's in Education in Inspired Teaching and Learning and Single-Subject Teaching Credential at National University to become a secondary-level math teacher.

He marched the Mandarins in 2013, Blue Stars Drum & Bugle Corps from 2014-2016, POW 2014 and Pulse Percussion from 2015-2018. Kyle was a quad tech at Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps in 2018, currently teaches at Pacific Crest Drum & Bugle Corps, and has taught multiple high schools across Southern California.

Elijah Jones

Tenor Tech

This Elijah’s 2nd year on staff with Pulse. He marched at Pacific Crest 2015, Blue Devils B 2016, Blue Stars 2017, Pulse Percussion 2018-22, & Blue Devils 2018-21. Elijah went to UCLA where he got his Bachelor of the Arts in Percussion Performance.

Elijah joined the Blue Devils Battery staff in 2022. His responsibilities at Pulse will include some tenor arranging, visual detailing and teaching.

Chris luther

Tenor Tech

This is Chris’s first year on staff with Pulse. Chris previously marched with Pulse Percussion, POW Percussion, the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps. He also taught POW Percussion, as well as numerous other high schools. Chris attended California State University of Long Beach and received his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Communications . 

He attended ATP Flight School and obtained his Commercial Multi-Engine and Single Engine Certificates as well as his Certified Flight Instructor Multi-Engine, Single Engine, Instrument Instructor, Gold Seal, Advanced, and Instrument Ground Instructor Certificates. He worked at SkyWest Airlines, obtaining his ATP Certificate flying The CRJ 200/700/900 and flying to Aspen and Eagle, CO. Chris then went on to work for JetBlue Airlines, flying the Airbus A-320/321/321LR to London-Heathrow, London-Gatwick, Paris, and Amsterdam.

Chris currently works at Delta Air Lines and lives in Long Beach, CA with his beautiful wife Alexis.

Jacob Wetzel

Bass Drum Tech

This is Jacobs first year on staff with Pulse. He marched with Impulse in 2017, Odyssey Indoor in 2018, Vanguard Cadets in 2018, the Santa Clara Vanguard in 2022, and performed in Pulse from 2019 to 2023. Jacob is currently attending Cal State Fullerton for his bachelor’s in Music Education (percussion focus).

Jacob is currently the bass technician for the Phantom Regiment, and his responsibilities at Pulse will include arranging, visual detailing and teaching for the bass drum section.

Timmy Moriarty

Bass Drum Tech

This is Timmy’s 1st teaching Pulse after 3 years working with POW. He graduated from Chino Hills high in 2015. His marching experience includes POW Percussion 2016 & 2017, Mandarins 2017 & 2018, and Pulse Percussion 2018 & 2019. His teaching experience includes Chino Hills High School from 2017 - present and Gahr High School from 2019 - present

Alfredo Scott

Cymbal Tech

This is Alfredo’s 2nd year on staff with Pulse. Alfredo’s performance experience includes Vanguard Cadets 2018, Dark Sky Percussion 2019, and Pulse Percussion 2020-2022. He has been around the Pulse Organization since 2016 and is looking forward to becoming part of the staff. 

He is currently finishing his Bachelors Degree in Kinesiology at Cal Poly Pomona. He plans to further his education afterwards and obtain certifications in Personal Training and Strength and Conditioning.

Christian Ogata

Cymbal Tech

This is Christians first year on staff with Pulse. He started playing cymbals during his senior year at Chino Hills HS in 2016 before marching POW 17/18, and Pulse in 2019. He would’ve aged out in 2021 but stopped marching to pursue his current career 👮🏻‍♂️

Throughout the years, he’s held clinics at various DCI/WGI ensembles and has taught multiple high schools in the area that include: Alta Loma, Colony, Etiwanda and Chino Hills HS.

He currently teaches Chino Hills HS and lives with his girlfriend (Pulse alumni)- Savannah. They have a cat named Juice.

KEVIN SANCHEZ

Front Ensemble Coordinator

This is Kevin’s 5th year as part of the educational staff at Pulse after teaching POW Percussion in 2018. He has also been on staff at Pacific Crest Drum and Bugle Corps since 2017. His performance experience includes POW Percussion, Pulse Percussion, RCC Marching Tigers, Blue Stars Drum & Bugle Corps, and the Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps. Through these experiences he has won two World Championship titles, the Fred Sanford Best Percussion Performance Award, and an I&E Championship in the Percussion Ensemble Category.

Kevin received his Masters in Professional Accountancy from the Paul Merage School of Business at University of California, Irvine. He currently works as a Tax Senior at Moss Adams, LLP in Irvine, CA. In his free time, he helps manage an esports organization called Kinetic Pii.

Trent Gronewold

Front Ensemble Staff

This is Trent’s 3rd year on staff with Pulse and 2nd year arranging for POW. He is a full time percussion arranger and educator from Southern California. He is the Front Ensemble Arranger and Sound Designer for POW Percussion, Pacific Crest Drum & Bugle Corps, and Thesis Indoor. Trent has run the percussion program at Gahr HS since 2017, and has been on staff at Pulse Percussion since 2022. Previously, he was the Front Ensemble Arranger for Gold Drum and Bugle Corps from 2020-2022 and joined the design team at Pacific Crest in 2023

Trent has been working behind the scenes for Box Six since 2016 assisting with front ensemble arranging. Recently he began writing Indoor Percussion shows with John Mapes for Box Six. In addition to Box Six, he has his music published on Front2Back music and Standing O Marching.

His marching experience includes the Blue Stars Drum & Bugle Corps (2015-2016), Santa Clara Vanguard (2018), and Pulse Percussion (2016-2020), where he served as section leader for his last 3 years. During this time he has won a WGI Championship, a DCI Championship and a Fred Sanford High Percussion Award. Trent is also a member of the Vic Firth and Zildjian Educational Team.

Frankie Rice

Front Ensemble Staff

This is Frankie’s 3rd year on staff with Pulse. He is a music educator and designer based out of Newport Beach, California. His performance experience in the marching activity includes The Mandarins Drum & Bugle Corps, The Blue Stars Drum & Bugle Corps, POW Percussion, and Pulse Percussion from 2017-2020. Frankie graduated with a degree in Percussion Performance at Cal State University Long Beach, is a member of the Vic Firth education team. He works works with multiple high school programs and was the Front Ensemble Coordinator for the Gold Drum & Bugle Corps in 2021.

Richard Diaz

Front Ensemble Staff

This is Richard's 3rd year on staff with Pulse, but first year back with the organization since 2017. Richard graduated from Valley View HS in 2004 and began teaching multiple high schools throughout Southern California beginning in 2005. Currently he is the Front Ensemble Manager for Great Oak HS, Percussion Director for Great Oak HS PSA in the Winter, and Audio Manager/Instructor for Rancho Cucamonga HS and Pacific Crest Drum & Bugle Corps.

Jimmy Madonia

Front Ensemble Staff

This is Jimmy’s 4th year on staff with Pulse after working with POW Percussion from 2015-2018. Jimmy moved to Southern California after teaching and writing for many programs in Arizona. He was also on the WGAZ (Winter Guard Arizona) Board of Directors from 2010 to 2014 in the roles of Percussion Director/Liaison and Percussion Judges Coordinator. He was a member of the Troopers Drum & Bugle Corps in 2005 and the Colts Drum & Bugle Corps in 2006 playing marimba in both ensembles, Momentum Percussion Theater (PIW) from 2004 to 2006, and the Arizona State University Winter Drumline (PIW) in 2007 as timpanist. Jimmy studied in the Audio Production Technologies program at Mesa Community College in Mesa, AZ.

Jimmy was on staff with The Mandarins Drum & Bugle Corps in 2016. Jimmy is currently an active clinician and judge for both marching band and indoor percussion circuits. He is a member of the Vic Firth Educational Team, a Remo Educational artist, lives in Cerritos, CA and works at SpaceX in Hawthorne, CA.

Brianne Kikuchi

Front Ensemble Staff

This will be Brianne’s 6th season working with the organization. Brianne has performed with Pulse Open Percussion (2012) and also Pulse Percussion (2013-2015).
Brianne is currently one of the front ensemble managers at the Blue Stars. She has previously been on the instructional staff at POW Percussion as well as being the caption head of Pacific Crest where she worked from 2017-2022. She is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Information Technology at Arizona State University.

SAMANTHA DOBSON

Visual Staff

This is Sammie’s 6th year on staff with Pulse. She currently resides in Long Beach, CA where she is actively pursuing degrees in Dance and Kineseology. She's a full time dance teacher, color guard director, visual instructor and choreographer. 

She has been the Dance and Guard director at Redondo Union High School for 4 years. She also actively designs and choreographs nationally for groups including State Champs Gibson County HS in TN. Previous teaching experience consists of movement designer and visual instruction for the Spirit of Atlanta, Assistant color guard caption head at Pacific Crest, Director of Choctawhatchee World Guard, and choreographer/technician for O2 Independent World.

Sammie's WGI performance experience consists of five years with the O foundation in Dayton, OH. She began in 2010 with Open Class Champions O2 and then spent '11-'14 with Onyx World to earn two World Championship titles. Sammie spent the five summers of '08-'12 performing with the Teal Sound Drum & Bugle Corps where she served as color guard captain for her final three years. Sammie aged out in '12 with the Colts Drum & Bugle Corps.

In her free time she enjoys spending time with her cats Stella and Mr. Moo.

Noah Weule

Visual Staff

This is Noah’s 3rd year on staff with Pulse. He has been teaching in Southern California since 2018 and runs the Visual Programs at El Dorado and Marina High Schools. On top of his teaching responsibilities, he is currently a finance major at Cal State Fullerton. Noah spent 4 years performing with the Santa Clara Vanguard and marched in the Visual ensemble for Pulse Percussion in 2019. During the 2022 Drum corps season Noah taught visual at both the Santa Clara Vanguard and the Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets.

Justin Samuels

Visual Staff

This is Justin’s 2nd year on staff with Pulse. Justin is a full time visual designer and educator. He has worked with The Bluecoats since 2022. Justin also worked with The Cadets in 2021.

During the fall Justin currently works with Marcus High School TX, Wakeland High School TX, Braswell High School TX, and Keller Central High School TX, as well as having taught, and consulted for others nationally.

Justin has had the pleasure to have created productions for award-winning programs in the WGI winds activity such as STRYKE Wynds, and Flanagan Winds. In March 2017 Justin had the honor to stage and choreograph a winds and drumline 360 stage performance for the Veuve Clicquot Carnaval in Miami FL. He currently splits the year between Frisco Texas and Long Beach California .