2026 Percussion Staff
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Dr. Tyler Wales is a performer and educator of percussion, currently based out of Harrisburg, PA. He has completed his B.A. degree in Music from Kutztown University, and M.M. in Music Performance in Percussion from West Chester University, and D.M.A. degree in Percussion Performance from Arizona State University. Tyler has worked for 2 years in Fort Worth, TX, with some of the best high school bands in the country. His marching experience includes Cadets2 and Reading Buccaneers on snare drum. In addition to Bucs, Tyler is on staff at George Mason University Indoor Drumline, and is currently the Assistant Director of Bands at Shippensburg University. He is ecstatic to be entering his third year on staff at Bucs and his first year as Caption Head! Tyler proudly endorses Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets and Zildjian Cymbal Company.
Dr. Tyler Wales - Percussion Caption Head
Sean Moran - Assistant Percussion Caption Head
The 2026 season will mark Sean's third season on staff for The Reading Buccaneers, where he will be returning this year in a new role as Assistant Percussion Caption Head. Sean began his drumming career at Norristown High School, where he played snare drum for the duration of his high school years. In 2008, he started his drum corps career with the Reading Buccaneers as a member of the snare line. He continued to march with the Reading Buccaneers in 2010 and 2011 before being offered a position with The Cadets in the 2012 snare line. During his time with The Cadets, Sean was a part of an all-rookie snare line that went on to receive the collective "Rookie of the Year" award. After aging out with The Cadets in 2012, Sean continued his drum corps career when he returned to the Reading Buccaneers as the percussion section leader in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Sean was also a member of the snare line for the West Chester University Incomparable Golden Rams Marching Band during the 2009, 2010, and 2011 seasons.
In 2024 and 2025, Sean was a part of the Reading Buccaneers Percussion team that won the DCI All Age Class High Percussion Award and DCI All Age Class World Championship. Sean has also previously served as a Snare Technician and Battery Coordinator for The Cadets2 Drum and Bugle Corps from 2016-2018, where he was a part of the drum corps' first DCA World Championship and High Percussion Award in 2016.
Sean has also taught high school percussion in the Downingtown Area School District and has helped to build and sustain a highly competitive percussion program throughout his time there. From 2013-2017, Sean was a part of the percussion staff for the Downingtown West High School Marching Band and Indoor Percussion Ensembles. From there, Sean went on to serve as the Indoor Percussion Ensemble Director in 2019 and 2020. He currently teaches battery percussion sections at North Penn High School and Spring-Ford Area High School. Throughout his marching career, Sean has been taught and mentored by numerous World Class percussion educators such as Colin McNutt, Johnny Trujillo, Dave Dumont, Rich Hammond, Darren Hazlett, Jacob Gall, and many more.
Outside of drum corps, Sean currently works for Signant Health as an Operational Readiness Manager and resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Brian Selman - Percussion Visual Manager
Brian began his marching career at Wilson High School in West Lawn, PA. In 2010, Brian began marching with the Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps and continued there for four years. While there, he spent two years in the cymbal line and two years as an assistant drum major. Brian also got the opportunity to perform with United Percussion in 2013.
His teaching experience began with Conrad Weiser High School in 2012 and continued until 2015. He also began working with the indoor percussion ensemble at Governor Mifflin High School in 2014 and continued working with both their marching band and indoor groups until 2017. In addition, Brian has been the cymbal tech for various DCA and WGI groups, including Fusion Core, Aftermath Percussion, and East Coast Percussion. Brian also spent time with the Hawthorne Caballeros and United Percussion 2 as a visual technician. This will be Brian’s fourth year with the Reading Buccaneers on staff. Currently, Brian is an active instructor, drill designer, and consultant for several indoor percussion, color guards, and marching bands across Pennsylvania. Additionally, Brian is an active visual adjudicator with the National Judges Association. Outside of the marching activity, Brian is an English teacher in Eastern York, PA.
Wesley grew up in the Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania area and began his marching career at Cumberland Valley High School. He then began his independent marching in DCA by marching with the Hawthorne Caballeros and the Reading Buccaneers. Wesley also spent multiple seasons with the George Mason University Indoor Drumline, as well as being contracted with Carolina Crown for the 2020 season.
In addition to gaining experience in the independent marching world, Wes has also taught at a multitude of high school and independent programs in his area. Currently, he is a battery instructor at Lower Dauphin High School and the Reading Buccaneers and is excited to continue his journey in the marching arts with the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps.
Wes Culwell - Snare Technician
Andrew Davison - Snare Technician
Andrew Davison is a passionate marching arts performer and educator based in South Jersey. He is extremely excited to teach the SR9 and work with the rest of the staff!
Andrew started his marching career with the New York Skyliners on snare in 2018 and as the battery section leader in 2019. After COVID, he spent the summer of 2021 on tour with Genesis, the 2022 and 2024 seasons with the Bushwackers, the 2023 season with The Cadets, and the 2025 season with the Reading Buccaneers. Andrew began his indoor career with Imperial Dynasty on snare in 2020 and as the battery section leader in 2022. The next year, Andrew marched with United Percussion and continued until he aged out as section leader in 2025.
Andrew feels honored to have been mentored and taught by some of the most prestigious educators in the field. He has been taught by the likes of Lee Beddis, Travis Peterman, James Sparling, Jake Gall, Alex Beltran, Carlos Botello, Dan Richardson, Omi Batan, Mike Galletta, and many others.
As an educator, Andrew began as a snare technician at high schools in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, such as Kingsway Regional High School and Bangor Area High School. Andrew currently teaches snare drum at Upper Darby High School, Mad Beatz Philly, and United Percussion 2.
Andrew studied percussion performance at Lehigh University and is currently pursuing a career as an electrician.
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Tom has been a member of the Reading Buccaneers since 2018, and he has been a quad tech since 2023. Currently he is the assistant band director at Urbana High School in Ijamsville, MD, where he also directs the school’s indoor percussion program. Tom’s experience in drum corps goes back to 2013 when he marched cymbals at Cadets2. He is looking forward to future seasons of success in the activity. Go Bucs!
Tom Hildebrand - Tenor Technician
Patrick Devlin - Tenor Technician
Patrick Develin is a quad technician hailing from Downingtown, Pennsylvania.
Patrick found his passion for marching percussion through his time spent with the Downingtown West/Downingtown Indoor Percussion program; that passion bordered on “obsession” with Patrick spending most hours of most days learning, writing, transcribing, practicing, and performing for the next six years. During said stint, Patrick earned spots with the Reading Buccaneers on the RQ during the years of 2018 & 2019, and with United Percussion on the UQ for the 2020, 2022, and 2024 seasons, only to return to Bucs after his WGI age-out for the 2024 & 2025 DCI All-age seasons.
Patrick looks forward to contributing to a phenomenal learning experience for the upcoming performers and giving back to the Reading Buccaneers as a whole.
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Kennedy Zimnick - Bass Technician
Kennedy Zimnik, 28, joins us from Frederick, MD. Kennedy has been a percussion instructor for 7 drum corps seasons- Jersey Surf 2018, 7th Regiment 2019, and Reading Buccaneers from 2022-2026. He enjoys disc golf and EDM music.
Jacob Cantor - Bass Technician
Jacob Cantor grew up with music, playing guitar and bass guitar from a young age. When he eventually joined his high school marching band, however, he was drawn toward the drumline. While learning how to drum, Jacob also picked up the tuba, and in 2018, he filled a tuba spot at the Raiders, beginning his endeavors into the independent marching arts. In 2019, Jacob returned to the Raiders in the bass drum section. He then continued to play bass drum with the Bushwackers in 2021, United Percussion in 2022, and the Cadets in 2022 and 2023. After his age-out with the Cadets, Jacob marched with the George Mason University Indoor Drumline in 2024 and 2025.
Jacob has taught multiple high school drumlines in Southeast Pennsylvania and has been serving as a bass drum tech at the Reading Buccaneers since 2024. Outside of the marching arts, Jacob works at Steve Weiss Music and is pursuing a degree in Studio Composition from West Chester University. Since aging out, Jacob has been investing his time in practicing drum kit.
Jarrett began his marching career on the cymbals with Hempfield High School in Landisville, PA, in 2015, where he participated in three seasons. Karrett has spent 2 years marching at the Reading Buccaneers, both on cymbals, during the 2023, 2024 seasons. Independent cymbal teaching experience includes Reading Buccaneers 2025, 2026, and Imperial Dynasty 2026. This will be Jarrett’s 4th year with the organization. Outside of the marching arts, Jarrett is a project accountant for a staging and automation company.
Jarrett Gretz - Cymbal Technician
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Adam Benner - Battery Specialist
Payton Leggett is 21 years old and lives in Harrisburg. Payton has been teaching at Central Dauphin East for 3 years as their audio tech. In high school, Payton played marimba and vibes. A fun fact about Payton is that she can’t tell her lefts from her rights.
Adam Benner, a native of Emmaus, PA, is a proud graduate of the University of Delaware with a degree in Music Management, as well as Lehigh Carbon Community College with a degree as a Physical Therapist Assistant. Adam has participated as a performing member of many ensembles, including Aftermath Indoor Percussion Ensemble (2003-2006), Penn State University Indoor Drumline (2008), and the Reading Buccaneer Drum and Bugle Corps (2005-2011). He first began teaching marching percussion in 2005 with the Marching Phantoms of Phoenixville Area High School. Since that time, he has had the opportunity to teach several high school programs, most recently with Spring-Ford High School in Royersford, Pennsylvania, from 2016 to the present. This will be his fourth season teaching with the Reading Buccaneers.
Charlie Gorham - Battery Specialist
Charlie is a percussion performer and educator from Northern Virginia. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in music education at George Mason University, where he teaches courses as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Dewberry School of Music. In addition to his doctoral work, Charlie teaches full-time as an itinerant elementary band director in Fairfax County Public Schools.
In the spring of 2025, Charlie earned his Master of Music in music education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he worked as a graduate teaching assistant with the UMass Drumline for 2 years. He also holds a Bachelor's degree in Instrumental Music Education from George Mason University and is a licensed professional educator in the state of Virginia.
Charlie is highly involved as a teacher and coach in the marching arts and is excited to join the Buccaneers percussion staff in 2026! He currently serves as the Battery Manager and Assistant Percussion Caption Head for the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps, in addition to his position as Battery Manager for the George Mason University Indoor Drumline. He has previously been a percussion staff member with Phantom Regiment, United Percussion, and South County High School. He teaches weekly rehearsals at James Madison High School (Vienna, VA) and has served as a percussion arranger for Westfield High School, Hayfield High School, Millbrook High School, and UMass Amherst.
As a performer, Charlie was a member of the Reading Buccaneers Tenor-line from 2017-2019. Following his 3 seasons with the Buccaneers, he marched with Carolina Crown (2020, 2022) and George Mason University Indoor Drumline (2020-2023).
Charlie proudly endorses Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets.
Joe DeLosa - Battery Specialist
Joe DeLosa began drumming before he could walk, performing for the first 17 years of his life in his family's parade band "The Blue Crew." From 2009 to 2014, he played snare in the University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens Marching Band. Joe has also marched snare with the Reading Buccaneers (2010, 2011, 2016, 2017) and the Cadets (2012, 2013), where he was fortunate to win a DCI high percussion title. Indoors, Joe has performed at each level of independent WGI competition, marching snare in A Class (Imperial Dynasty 2013), in Open Class (Cadets Winter Percussion 2014), and in World Class (United Percussion 2011).
Joe returned to the University of Delaware (2015-2018) and Imperial Dynasty (17-18/18-19) to serve as a snare tech. He was also a snare tech for Carolina Crown (2020-2022). Currently, he serves as a snare tech with George Mason University (2020 -).
Ben is returning in 2026 for his fourth year on staff. He is excited to be heading the front ensemble this year as Front Ensemble Manager. Ben has been teaching in the marching arts since 2010 and performed as a timpanist for the Buccaneers from 2015 to 2017. He believes the Bucs bring out the best in him and wants everyone he teaches to feel the same way as a buccaneer. WAGM
Ben Kern - Front Ensemble Manager
Grant Butters - Front Ensemble Technician
Grant previously served the Buccaneers as the front ensemble arranger and sound designer from 2017-2019 and is excited to rejoin the team for 2026.
He has performed with the Mansfield University Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble, the Hawthorne Caballeros, and the Glassmen. Throughout his performing career, Grant has had the privilege of being taught by Marc Garside, Ryan Pritchard, Conrad Alexander, David Dumont, and Rob Ferguson.
Grant is currently a designer and consultant to numerous groups in the Northeast. Most notably, he is the director of the South County Indoor Drumline in Lorton, VA. After starting the indoor program in 2014, the ensemble grew into a WGI Scholastic Open Finalist in 2017, 2018, and World Class Finalist in 2019. He has also been on staff with Westfield High School, Penn State Indoor Drumline, Fusion Core, Hawthorne Caballeros, and George Mason University Indoor Drumline.
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Grant currently resides in Springfield, VA with his wife and 2 sons and works as a special education teacher at South County Middle School.
He proudly endorses Innovative Percussion, Inc., Pearl Corporation, Remo Drumheads, and DREAM Cymbals.
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Peter is a music educator from the Philadelphia area. His drum corps experience began with the Reading Buccaneers in 2015 where he played marimba. He marched with Field of View Indoor (2015) and the West Chester University Golden Rams Marching Band (2014-2017). After finishing school, he came back to the Buccaneers again as a member and played marimba in their 2019 season. He has taught for various front ensembles in the region including Great Valley HS, Imperial Dynasty, and Fusion Core.
Peter holds a Masters Degree in music education. He is very excited to return with the Buccaneers for another season on staff and looks forward to a great season. In his spare time Peter likes to arrange music, go on hikes, and spend time with family and friends.
Peter Garcia - Front Ensemble Technician
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Jeremy Maytum - Front Ensemble Technician
A native of Colorado, he is a graduate of Colorado State University in 2009, where he earned a Master's Degree in Percussion Performance and served as the graduate Teaching Assistant for the award-winning CSU Percussion Studio. Jeremy completed his Bachelor's Degree in Percussion Performance from Colorado State University-Pueblo in 2007. His primary teachers include Aaron Turner and Dr. Eric Hollenbeck. As an orchestral musician, Jeremy has performed with the Cheyenne Symphony in Wyoming, the Fort Collins Symphony, the Greeley and Boulder Philharmonic, the Lexington Philharmonic, and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. He has also made a guest appearance playing timpani with The United States Army Field Band in Washington, D.C. As an international performer, Jeremy completed a week-long residency at Inner Mongolia University in Hohhot, China, and served as Principal Timpanist for the Prague Summer Nights Music Festival in the Czech Republic. A dedicated performer in the world of the marching arts, Jeremy served as timpanist for the Blue Knights Drum & Bugle Corps in 2005.
Jeremy has formerly taught at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, WY as the Adjunct Professor of Percussion. He has held the position of Director of Percussion Studies at Bear Creek High School in Colorado, as well as serving on percussion staffs at Adair County High School and Beechwood High School in Kentucky, and Urbana High School in Maryland. Additionally, Jeremy served on staff for The Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps as a front ensemble technician.
Currently, Jeremy serves as the Coordinator of Marching Percussion at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD, where he writes and arranges for the UMDrumline and serves as head instructor. In addition, he works as the Communications Director and Inventory Coordinator for UMD Athletic Bands, and is on faculty at the UMD School of Music as Lecturer in Percussion and Coordinator of the World Music Program. During the winter and spring season, Jeremy occupies his weekends serving as the Front Ensemble Manager for George Mason University Indoor Drumline in Fairfax, VA.
Jeremy is completing his Doctor of Musical Arts in Percussion Performance and Pedagogy at the University of Kentucky (currently A.B.D.), where he studies with James Campbell. He regularly performs as timpanist with the Maryland Winds in Columbia, MD. As a chamber musician, he tours nationwide with his percussion quartet BlueSHIFT, giving clinics/masterclasses at universities as well as performing at various Percussive Arts Society “Days Of Percussion”. As a composer, he has contributed to the Blue Book, Vol. 3 from Tapspace Publications.
Jeremy proudly endorses Yamaha as a Performing Artist and serves as an Artist/Clinician for Black Swamp Percussion, Innovative Percussion, Remo Drumheads, and Sabian Cymbals. He remains very active as a member and contributor to the Percussive Arts Society, serving on the Marching & Rudimental Percussion Committee as well as Vice President for the Maryland/Delaware Chapter.
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Natalie DiTommasso - Front Ensemble Technician
Natalie DiTommasso is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of South Carolina, where she serves as a graduate assistant directing the Palmetto Pans steel band. She holds a bachelor’s degree in percussion performance from the University of Delaware and a master’s degree in music performance from Oklahoma City University.
Natalie has a background in steel band, world percussion, and large ensemble playing and was a member of the Oklahoma City University Graduate Percussion Group, playing percussion chamber music. She has served as a percussion teacher in various schools and community organizations around her hometown, in Oklahoma City, and currently in Blythewood, South Carolina. In addition to concer percussion playing, she has previously been a member of Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps and is entering her 5th year on the BFE staff.
Meet Reed Kimmel. With a lifelong passion for drumming that ignited at the age of 5 and an impressive decade-long career as an audio engineer in the marching arts, he looks to continue that passion with the Reading Buccaneers. Reed lent his talents to renowned ensembles such as The Cadets, Spirit of Atlanta, United Percussion, and Towson University, showcasing their productions in the marching arts community. Returning to the Reading Buccaneers, Reed will act as Audio Manager.