Wardell King

battery Arranger
battery Caption Head

Mr. King is currently in his 29th year as an independent music educator, arranger, consultant and performer with a specialization in marching percussion. Mr. King is currently the percussion caption head/arranger for Desert Ridge, Red Mountain, Campo Verde and Mountain View High School in Arizona. Mr. King has previously served as caption head/arranger/clinician for various other high schools in the state of Arizona.

Mr. King also has served as the marching percussion specialist at Northern Arizona University and The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps .

As the owner of King Percussion LLC, “Championship Concepts For Percussion,” Mr. King has worked with groups in Arizona, California, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Kentucky in both the marching and indoor percussion arenas. In his twenty seven years as an adjudicator and percussion designer/instructor, he has worked with more than 25 different percussion programs at the high school, college and drum corp levels. As a creative percussion arranger, Wardell’s percussion writing is designed to closely integrate concert and marching percussion techniques to enhance all components of the musical score. Wardell has a strong teaching philosophy guided to offer life lessons through music and dedicated practice.

Excelling educationally and competitively in both the local and national circuit, Mr. King is in high demand as an educator and clinician. He provides both rudimental and drum set lessons to students of all ages and educational backgrounds.

With extensive studies in the jazz arts, Mr. King is part of the W Quartet, who continue to play for audiences around the Phoenix Area.

Wardell proudly endorses Vic Firth Sticks, Zildjian Cymbals, Pearl Drums, Remo Drumheads and Presonus Audio.

Robert Davis

Bass

Robert is a percussion educator from Arizona. He currently works with various schools around the valley as a bass drum and marching technician.

Over his 27 years of teaching, he has worked with top rated drumline programs all over the valley; Including, Trevor G. Browne, Desert Edge (2008 gold  WGAZ Champions) and Marcos De Niza.

He has studied with Steve Hemphill at Northern Arizona University and worked alongside some of the top names from DCI and WGI, including Ralph Hardimon  and Tom Float.

Stephen Bosak

Bass

Stephen was born and raised in Chandler, Arizona and spent 6 years with Vision Percussion as a member of the bass drum section, going all the way back to Vision's inaugural year.

Stephen has taught at many marching programs in the state of Arizona including Perry High School (2017-2021), Chandler High School (2017), Skyline High School (2018-2019) taking home 1st place in percussion with Perry High School (2018) and Skyline High School (2019). This will be Stephen's first year as a member of Vision's staff and is excited to continue to grow the local percussion scene.

Stephen obtained his degree in Civil Engineering from Arizona State University and now currently works as a Civil engineer in the Valley. Since graduating, Stephen has had opportunities designing various aspects of airports, solar farms, and performing traffic studies for future large and small planned developments. When Stephen is not at work, he can be found performing on the Arizona Cardinals Drumline, or spending time with his cats, Legolas and Gimli, and watching personal finance tip videos on YouTube.

Kristina Haney

Cymbals

Kristina is an Arizona native who has performed with a variety of medal-winning ensembles in and out of state. Her marching career started with Basha High School where she was a member of the cymbal line for indoor drumline as well as the marching band.

After graduation, she marched with the Arizona State Sun Devil Marching Band (2009-2010). She joined Dark Sky Percussion in 2010 and was section leader in 2011. In 2012, she moved to California to march Pulse Percussion where the group took home 3rd place at WGI World Championships. Kristina has also marched drum corps with Cascades (2010) and Pacific Crest (2011).

Kristina is currently on the visual staff with Desert Vista High School for marching band, and Williams Field High School for their indoor percussion group. She has previously taught various ensembles in Arizona, as well as in California with Pacifica High School.

In her free time, Kristina enjoys cooking, photography, and spending time with her dog, Shadow.

Kristina proudly endorses Zildjian cymbals.

Orion Choy

Cymbals

Born and raised here in Gilbert AZ, Orion is proud to continue to help grow the percussion scene here in Arizona. Orion is a proud alumni of Vision Percussion and has been on staff with the organization since the 2020 season. Orion’s marching experience includes Highland High Marching Band(‘12-’16), Highland Indoor Percussion(‘14-’15), Vision Percussion(‘16-’18), Vanguard Cadets(‘16-’17), and Santa Clara Vanguard(‘18-’19).

Chris Canby

Snares

Bio coming soon!

Shad Balot

Snares

Shad Balot is an active educator and battery arranger in the valley. For over ten years, he has taught various high schools including Mesquite high school, Sandra Day O’Connor High school, and Cesar Chavez High School. He has also taught at Phenom as well as Phoenix Union Indoor. has a currently working on a music performance degree through Mesa Community College and Arizona State University.

Currently, he is the battery caption head at Horizon high school and will be starting his second season on the Vision staff as one of their snare technicians. Shad is also working on his BA in music performance from Mesa Community College and Arizona State University. Besides teaching music, Shad has also arranged music for drumlines around the state and has been an adjudicator for WGAZ.

Shad also enjoys spending his free time playing music, and spending with his daughter Athena, his wife Alison, and their five dogs. Shad is passionate about music and his awesome family!

Matt de Jesus

Tenors

Matt is a drummer from Chandler that graduated from Perry High School before marching with several marching arts organizations including Sun Devil Marching Band, Pacific Crest, Breakthrough Indoor Percussion, The Academy, and Dark Sky Percussion.

Matt previously taught for the winter season at Basha High School before joining his first season with Vision. Matt is currently working as an automotive technician when he isn't teaching or drumming himself.

Ivan gonzalez

Tenors

Bio coming soon!

David Larkins

Visual caption head

David is currently the band director at Desert Ridge Junior High. Aside from being an elementary and junior high band director, David has taught many marching programs in the state of Arizona including: Gilbert High School (2014, 2016-2019), Casteel High School (2018-2019), Corona Del Sol High School (2015-2016), Williams Field High School (2013-2016), Horizon High School (2019), and Linea Indoor Percussion. Along with teaching, David has also written drill and composed music for various programs in Arizona and Mississippi.

David’s performance background begins with the Sun Devil Marching Band in 2013 and 2014. He also marched with the Santa Clara Vanguard in 2014 and 2015 on trumpet, as well as the SCV International tour in Taiwan in 2015. David also performed with the Phoenix Suns Drumline in 2015-2016.

Jeff Whipple

Visual Staff

Jeff Whipple brings a rich history in the marching and pageantry arts activities and has served as an educator, clinician, designer, and adjudicator for over a decade. Ensembles he has worked with consistently achieve superior ratings and are highly competitive in Class & State championships as well as BOA Regional Finals. He also serves as a clinician for programs throughout the country.

His love for music began at a young age and soon found himself heavily involved in the marching arts. Jeff’s dedication and passion for marching band grew and flourished into an illustrative performance and educational career as he worked with programs across the country including the Dowling Catholic Vanguard (Des Moines, IA), Mesa High School (Mesa, AZ), Mountain View High School (Mesa, AZ), and Desert Vista High School (Tempe, AZ.)

Jeff currently currently serves as the Visual Caption Head at Desert Vista High School, and is a member of The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps visual team.

Kiri Guldner

Visual Staff
Choreographer

A Chandler native, this will be Kiri’s third season with Vision Percussion. Kiri specializes in modern and contemporary styles of movement, holding an Arts Degree from the University of Arizona, and will be a choreographer for the 2023 season. She has worked alongside members of the Vision staff previously and many have served as mentors during her early days in the marching arts.

Her performance and choreographic credits include Rise Percussion from Boulder, CO and the Mandarins Drum and Bugle Corps from Sacramento, CA. During her six years with the Mandarins, Kiri was a contra player, horn sergeant, and drum major. Kiri is also a member of the visual team for Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps.

Kiri is currently an ICU Nurse, enjoys spending time with her cat, The Purrminator, and also plays harp.