Program Coordinator and Battery Arranger
Dan Schack
Dan Schack is a designer, educator, clinician, and adjudicator in the marching arts.
He currently serves as the Creative Director & Battery Caption Head for the George Mason University Indoor Drumline, a Battery Coordinator for the Bluecoats Drum & Bugle Corps, and the Program Coordinator & Battery Arranger for the Connecticut Hurricanes Drum and Bugle Corps.
Outside of his musical endeavors, Dan is a Project Manager at Huge Inc., a global design and technology company, where he works with clients like Google and YouTube.
He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English and Women’s Studies.
Dan proudly endorses Vic Firth drumsticks, Zildjian Cymbals, Remo drumheads, Pearl/Adams percussion instruments, and Lot Riot apparel.
Brass Arranger
Key Poulan
Key Poulan is a composer and arranger primarily for the marching arts and has written for the world’s most famous drum corps including the Santa Clara Vanguard, Mandarins, Glassmen, Spirit of Atlanta, Seattle Cascades, Vanguard Cadets, Spartans, Caballeros, Bushwackers, Renegades, Sunrisers, Juliana, Millennium and the Star United Mini Corps. As the owner of Key Poulan Music, he has been recognized as one of the country’s top arrangers and composers in the area of contemporary marching band and has several concert band works to his credit. His marching band arrangements have won several national titles at the Bands of America Grand Nationals Championships. His works have won many state titles throughout the United States and have been performed around the world. His transcription of “The Promise of Living” from Copland’s “Tender Land” was extremely well received at the Bands of America National Concert Band Festival and his original works “Carnegie Fanfare and Dance” and “A Fortune in Steel” were both premiered at New York City’s Carnegie Hall.
Key received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from East Texas State University (currently Texas A & M – Commerce) in 1985 and had the opportunity of studying under many fine educators including: Gary Hill, Dave Ward, Dr. Robert Houston, and Dr. Gene Lockhart. Key studied trombone under the late Dr. Neill Humfeld and composition with Dr. Ronald Yates and Dr. Margaret Wheat at ETSU. Key also credits his success to his mentors: Philip Geiger, Bill Watson, Eddie Green, Dr. Lawrence Sutherland, Dr. Gary Gilroy, Dr. Jerry Payne, Melvin Reddic, Hubert “Butch” Almany and the person who started him on trombone in the 5th grade – Jasper Huff.
Front Ensemble Arranger
David Paradis
David has always called the Hurricanes his drum corps home. He is currently going on his 17th year with the Hurcs. He has served several different roles within the corps(Bass drum, Timpani, Xylophone, Drumset, In-line front ensemble tech, full-time front ensemble tech, and bass drum tech) and has always had a love for the corps, as multiple members of his family have also been a part of the corps as members and some serving on the Board of Directors.
David began his marching arts career in 2005 as a bass drummer at the age of 15 in the Hurricanes and marched until 2012. In 2006 he started instructing his first high school
drumline. In 2007 he was starting to write/arrange and tech for the front ensemble at Shelton HS. Currently he is the percussion caption head and front ensemble arranger for New Milford HS.
His experiences teaching are East Haven (2006), Shelton (2006-2011), Cheshire (2008), Naugatuck (2009), Wethersfield (2010), New Milford (2011-2014, 2016-present), CT Hurricanes(2014,2017,2020-present), and Fusion Core(2018-2019). He has also had the pleasure of marching world class WGI group, United Percussion, as the xylophone player for 2011 and 2012.
Sound Designer
Bryson Teel
Bryson is a full-time marching arts electronics arranger and sound designer based in New Haven, CT. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Audio and Music Production with a focus in Percussion Performance from Western Connecticut State University. He has been designing with the Connecticut Hurricanes since 2020, and this will be his seventh year with the corps!
Originally a quad player, Bryson performed with 7th Regiment (2011–2013) and the Madison Scouts (2014) before shifting his focus to education and design. In 2019, he joined the Spartans’ instructional team for their DCI Open Class Championship season and later served on the design team through 2024. During that time, the corps secured back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024.
In addition to a wide range of clients across the country, his electronic design work is featured with ensembles including The Bentonville Pride Marching Band (AR), Mililani High School (HI), Milton High School (GA), and Evansville North High School (IN).
Outside of the marching arts, Bryson is a sci-fi bookworm, A24 film enthusiast, and Connecticut apizza connoisseur.
Guard Designer
Conor Kovatch
Residing in Connecticut, Conor has been involved in the marching arts since joining the colorguard in Newtown, CT in 2002. As a performer, Conor has had the opportunity of performing with organizations such as Connecticut Hurricanes (05,06), Madison Scouts (07,08), The Cavaliers (09,10,11,12) and Alter Ego Winterguard (08,09,10,11).
Since aging out as a performer with The Cavaliers, Conor has had the opportunity to teach and choreograph for numerous groups throughout the years. His teaching experience includes Blessed Sacrament Winterguard, Emanon Winterguard, Fusion Winterguard, Shenendehowa High School and Newtown High School.
Outside of colorguard, Conor works as a graphic designer and enjoys painting in his spare time.
Visual Designer
Matt Hartwell
Matt is a full-time Visual Designer and educator living in Long Beach, CA. Matt has marched with Capital Regiment (2004), The Cavaliers(2005-2008), and Aimachi Marching Band (2007). He taught at The Santa Clara Vanguard from 2010-2021, serving as Visual Caption Manager since 2017. For the summer of 2022, Matt taught both The Blue Devils & Bluecoats. In 2010, he had the extreme honor of teaching and designing several productions for His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said al-Said’s Royal Guard of Oman Marching Band. Matt is currently the Visual Caption Manager for Pulse Percussion and Visual Caption Head at Phantom Regiment.
Production Manager
Joe Brown
Joe Brown (Jobama) has been part of the marching arts community for over two decades, dedicating his career to performing, teaching, designing, and supporting programs that inspire performers to reach their full potential. His journey began at Brien McMahon High School in Norwalk, Connecticut, where his passion for music and performance first took shape. Those early experiences sparked a lifelong commitment to the activity and the community that surrounds it.
Joe joined the Connecticut Hurricanes Drum and Bugle Corps, where he marched from 2000–2003 and again from 2006–2010. He later transitioned into a management role with the organization in 2011 and 2012, helping guide and support the corps from behind the scenes while giving back to the group that shaped so much of his early experience.
Since 2006, Joe has served as a visual judge for USBands and several other competitive circuits, offering insight and feedback to help programs grow both artistically and competitively. Judging has allowed Joe to connect with educators and performers across the region and to continually learn from the evolving artistry within the marching arts.
Throughout his career, Joe has also taught and designed for a number of outstanding ensembles, including Brien McMahon High School (CT), Northern Valley High School (Demarest, NJ), Rahway High School (NJ), the Raiders Drum and Bugle Corps, and more recently, Jersey Surf. Each of these experiences has shaped Joe’s approach to education and design, reinforcing his belief that the best programs are built on trust, collaboration, and creativity.
Currently, Joe is in his fourth year at Elizabeth High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he serves as Program Coordinator. In this role, he helps shape the vision, design, and overall direction of the program while working closely with students and staff to build an environment of excellence and pride.
This year also marks an especially meaningful milestone for Joe as he returns to the Connecticut Hurricanes—the organization where it all began—to serve as Production Manager. Stepping back into a design capacity with his home team has been both exciting and deeply rewarding, allowing him to reconnect with familiar faces and contribute to a program that began his drum corps journey.