The Bluecoats 2024 Drum Majors & Team Hands
We’re excited to announce our drum majors & conductors for the 2024 Bluecoats!
Returning to the Bluecoats in a new position, Antonio (Tony) Gamez will take on the role of Drum Major. 2023 conductors 丛曦 (John) Cong and Catherine Oles will return as Assistant Drum Majors. Collin Jarvis and Red Willhelm join the Bluecoats team as conductors.
Antonio (Tony) Gamez - 2024 Drum Major
Antonio (Tony) Gamez (he/him) was born in El Paso, TX. In 2014, he and his family moved to the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas for two years and then moved to central Texas in 2016. Tony started his band career in middle school as a trombone player and became a member of the Hendrickson High School band. During his tenure a trombone player and drum major, the marching band attended multiple years at the Texas State Marching contest, received 9th place at their first ever Bands of America Grand Nationals competition, and sat principal chair for the Texas All-State Symphonic band in 2022. Tony has also received multiple awards and recognitions for solo & ensemble, jazz band, and leadership roles. Tony is currently a freshman at Oklahoma State University where he is studying music education. In this first semester, Tony was selected the Oklahoma representative for the Music Teacher’s National Association Senior Brass Competition and is looking forward to representing the university at the division completion in the spring. In Tony’s spare time, he enjoys time with his family, playing video games, and streaming drum corp over and over with his younger brother!
丛曦 (John) Cong - 2024 ASSISTANT Drum Major
丛曦 (John) Cong (he/him) is a freshman studying Industrial Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. John moved from China with his family five years ago. He joined the Greater Atlanta Christian School marching band sophomore year and served as the drum major for junior and senior year. John served as a conductor for the Bluecoats 2023 national tour and this upcoming season will be his second year with the Bluecoats.
catherine Oles - 2024 ASSISTANT Drum Major
Catherine Oles (she/her) is a third-year music education major at the University of Texas. This will be her second season at the Bluecoats, having spent 2024 as a conductor and rehearsal assistant for the corps. Catherine is humbled, honored, and excited to be spending her age-out as an assistant drum major for Bluecoats.
COLLIN JARVIS - 2024 Conductor
Collin Jarvis (he/him) could not be more excited to be on team hands with the Bluecoats for the 2024 season! He is from Dallas, TX, and this is his second summer participating in DCI. He is studying biomedical sciences at Texas A&M University (Gig ‘Em) with plans to go to veterinary school. In his free time he likes to play indoor volleyball with friends, or see the great outdoors. He can’t wait to see what this summer holds!
Red Wilhelm - 2024 Conductor
Red Wilhelm (they/them) is a conductor from Papillion, NE. They go to school at University of Nebraska-Lincoln for art with a focus in printmaking. Red teaches at Papillion La-Vista South High School and marches WGI cymbals with Crossroads Percussion. They want to pursue a career in uniform and show design and plan to be a freelance artist.
