Meet The Judges
ISSMA CRITERIA
Carl Miller
Individual Music
Carl Miller is currently on the Adjunct Music Faculty at Allegheny College and is the Director of the AC Symphonic Band and Brass Ensemble. He was employed by the Crawford Central School District for 34 years and retired as Director of Bands and Music Teacher at Cochranton Junior-Senior High School and Cochranton Elementary School in June 2024. His duties have included Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, Marching Band, Pep Band, Jazz Band, Instrumental Lessons and General Music Classes. Carl led the Cochranton High School Marching Band to over 30 championships in the Lakeshore Marching Band Association, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Marching Band Association and the Tournament of Bands. Carl was on staff with The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps for the 2023 Season. He has also worked as a drill designer, consultant and instructor for many marching bands and winter guards in Pennsylvania and Illinois. Other awards and accomplishments include “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers”, “Golden Apple Award” sponsored by Edinboro University and JET-TV Erie and the “Citation of Excellence Award from the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association.
Carl is a member of the Pennsylvania Federation of Contest Judges and USBands. He is a music and visual adjudicator for the fall marching band season and the winter guard / percussion / winds season all over the United States. Carl is an adjudicator for the PMEA Music Performance Assessments and has been a guest conductor for several senior high county band festivals, PMEA Jr. High District Band Festivals and he was guest conductor at the PMEA District 2 Jazz Festival in 2023. His other professional memberships include PMEA, NAfME, Crawford County Music Educators Association, PSEA, NEA and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia professional music fraternity.
Dave Tippett
Ensemble Music
David Tippett, a freelance artist and music consultant has performed with Jazz greats, Joe Williams, Bill Evans, Clark Terry, Zoot Simms, Ernie Watts, and Jiggs Whigham. He has toured with the Russ Morgan Orchestra, Columbia Artist Tours including: The Stars of Lawrence Welk, Andy Williams Christmas Tour, Four Lads, The Aces, Cordetts, and the Diamonds. He played lead trumpet for the Buddy Rich Big Band and has been a house musician for Norwegian, American Holland, Royal Viking, and Carnival Cruise Lines. Recently, he has been on tour with Frankie Valli, Temptations and The Four Tops. Mr. Tippett is a widely respected Jazz Ensemble and Marching Band clinician and adjudicator for numerous festivals throughout the U.S. He is currently the Music Specialist for the PLD High School from Lexington, KY and serves as a Teaching Artist for Aesthetic Education through Lincoln Center for the Arts in New York City. His involvement in the Pageantry Arts Activity has spanned over 30 years. Working with many groups through the years such as The Blue Stars, Stars of Indiana, and Caption Head for The Glassmen (87-97), Carolina Crown, Garfield Cadets, and Capital Regiment. He has also served as the Director of the Toledo Jazz Orchestra and the assistant director of the University of Toledo Marching Band.
Don Newman
Individual Visual
Don Newman has just recently retired as Director of Bands at West Harrison High School in Gulfport, Mississippi. He retires after teaching for 33 years, all in the state of Mississippi. While at West Harrison, Mr. Newman directed the “Pride of South Mississippi” Marching Band, and the Wind Ensemble, in addition to overseeing a program of more than 140 students in grades 9-12.
Mr. Newman’s work as an adjudicator, consultant, and designer in pageantry dates to 1995 when he began to judge winter guard for the Gulfcoast Judges Association. Since that beginning, Mr. Newman has served as a local judge for the Gulfcoast Judges Association, a General Effect judge for Winterguard International, a Visual judge for Drum Corps International, where he was on the Championship week panel six times in twelve years and has judged marching bands extensively throughout the United States. He has written, consulted, and taught bands in Mississippi and Texas over the course of his career. In addition, he was the Visual Caption head for the Southwind Drum Corps in 1995 and 1996, where he helped lead the corps to their first Semi-finalist ranking.
Mr. Newman currently resides in Gulfport, Mississippi with his daughter Mackenzie, and their awesome cat Moses. His son, Ryan, is currently a Sophomore at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee and his daughter Mackenzie will be a Freshman at Mississippi State University in the fall as part of the Shackleford Honors College.
Scott Seal
Ensemble Visual
Scott Seal has been involved with drum corps and marching band in some capacity since he was five years old. He marched in The Cavaliers organization for fourteen years, served on their visual staff for over a decade, and was privileged to spend a few seasons on staff with the Bluecoats Drum & Bugle Corps as well.
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For fifteen years, Scott was the visual caption head for former BOA champion Lake Park High School of Roselle, IL and he still instructs and advises several high school marching bands.
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Scott has served as a marching band clinician and judge in several states for the last 30 years. In the real world, he is married with three children and loves coaching youth baseball.
Tim Yontz
GE Music
Dr. Tim Yontz is Professor of Music, Head of Instrumental Studies and Director of Bands for the Bower School of Music & the Arts at Florida Gulf Coast University. Before his appointment at FGCU, Dr. Yontz was Professor of Music Education and Director of Bands at Wheaton College (Illinois), Associate Director of Bands at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and Director of Bands at Marinette High School (Wisconsin), New Palestine High School (Indiana), and New Albany High School (Indiana). He is Music Director of the Symphonic Winds of Southwest Florida and The Naples (Florida) Concert Band. Dr. Yontz holds a Ph.D. in Administration, Curriculum and Instruction in Music from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Master of Music from Butler University (Indianapolis), and Bachelor of Music Education from Indiana University-Bloomington. He is a member of the College Band Directors National Association, National Association for Music Education, Phi Beta Mu International School Bandmaster Fraternity, and recipient of the National Band Association “Citation of Excellence.”
Ron Comfort
GE Visual - Head Judge
Ron Comfort has been involved in the marching arts for over 40 years, beginning as a member of the color guard at Shikellamy High School in Sunbury, PA. He performed with the Madison Scouts and the State Street Review from 1986 to 1989.
After moving to Florida in 1990, he founded the WGI independent color guard, Shaktai Performance Company. Shaktai achieved remarkable success: reaching Independent A Class Finals for two years, winning the Bronze Medal in Independent Open Class in 1993, and making Independent World Class Finals for five years.
In 1995, he began his judging career with the Florida Federation of Colorguards Circuit, marking the start of his 30-year national judging career, including both WGI and DCI. During that period, he has stayed very active in coaching, consulting and designing on the local, regional and national level.