crazy cats who instruct the kids and make this band what it is.
Band Director:
The band is under the primary direction of Mr. Paul E. Tomlin. Mr. Tomlin has been at Clearview for...uh, some really long amount of time. Before arriving at Clearview, Mr. Tomlin was band director at Audubon High School. Mr. Tomlin specializes in brass instruments, and is himself a trumpet player. Yabba. Dabba. Doo.
Assistant Band Director:
Acting as the protagonist of the two man team that he and Mr. Tomlin comprise atop the scaffolding, Mr. Gerry DeLoach is the middle school band director, and the marching band woodwind specialist. He is himself an accomplished saxophonist. Mr. DeLoach also was an marching instructor at Audubon High School in Mr. Tomlin's years there, and they have in fact been working together for years.
Percussion Instructor:
Our drum instructor is Joe -- Joe Visalli, that is, or as we call him, "Coach V." Mr. Visalli is himself an alumni of Clearview Regional High School. Joe is, besides a drum instructor of many years standing, the principal motivator of the band. Nothing could bring a more rousing cheer out of our uniformed ranks before a show than an authentic Joe Visalli rally speech.
Assistant Drum Instructors:
Trying to get people like the ones in our drum line to do anything right requires more work than any one man -- even the mighty Joe -- can muscle. Thus, there are three additional instructors:
Jason Laning: Jay is also a Clearview alumni, though of far more recent years. Jay is our general gofer ;) and marching instruction guy, and our sideline percussion specialist.
Mike Bresnan: Mike is our snare & quad guy. An excellent rudimentary drummer, Mike has been helping the snares & quads with their technique for many years.
Bob Wilson: Bob is the man. Bob is the man because not only does he help us a heck of a lot with our music, he also writes it. Bob also works for Premier drums, and knows a ton of cool tricks AND is mighty quick with nicknames.
Marching Instructor:
This is kind of a grey area as most all the instructors (except Bob & Mike) do some marching instruction. However, none of them even come close to the kind of precision work Randy Nitowski is able to do. Randy takes care of the fine details that make the difference between a dirty, vague show and a clean, precise one. Randy is the guy who is *always* out on the field, observing and working from that up-close perspective.
Guard Instructors:
This year's only line-up change in the instructors is under this heading. We now have the talents of both Barb Nitowski and Anthony Sears instructing the guard. Barb has been a guard instructor for many years, and is, I believe, also a Clearview Alumni. Mr. Sears, a.k.a Tony, is a recent addition to both the Clearview Middle School and the marching band. Mr. Sears is the Middle School choir instructor and also assists with the high school musical.