The Latest
Kevin Shah Joins Bluecoats Team As Music Design Consultant
Renowned composer, designer, educator, and design education advocate Kevin Shah is returning to Bluecoats as a Music Design Consultant. Kevin, who was the Bluecoats Sound Designer from 2010-2013, has since made a major impact in the marching design community through his work with Broken City, Arcadia High School, Vista Murrieta High School and the Blue Knights (2014-19), where he was most recently the Creative Director and a Composer/Arranger. Kevin is passionate about bringing artistic expression to life through composition and re-imagining the world in creative and meaningful ways.
Bluecoats Fellowship Program Aims to Create a Pathway to More Diverse and Inclusive Marching Arts
The Bluecoats Fellowship is a centerpiece initiative of the Bluecoats 50th Anniversary Celebration. As we look ahead to the next fifty years at Bluecoats, we’re centering our vision around four core pillars:
Investing in the Bluecoats Experience
Investing in Music Education
Investing in our Community
Investing in Accessibility & Equity
The goal of the Bluecoats Fellowship is to invest in accessibility & equity, creating a pathway towards a more diverse and inclusive world in the marching arts.
Inside Look: Team Japan
Every year, the Bluecoats family spans across the globe—including our performers from Japan! Hear from our 2021 Team Japan members about their time with the Bluecoats and what makes the experience so unforgettable.
Tom Rarick Promoted to Director of Percussion, Carter & Team Return, Welcoming Some New Faces in 2022
Bluecoats welcomes Tom Rarick to his new role as Director of Percussion. Allen Justus promoted to Front Ensemble Coordinator & Roger Carter continues as Caption Head. Claire Kenney, Cassius Johnson, Zach Wilson, Jake Lyons, Ben Armeni join team.
Brass Educational Team Returns, Welcomes Some New Faces
Bluecoats promotes Kristen Eck and Kris Hammond to new roles, and welcomes Ben Harloff, Richard Alvarado, Alex Bender, and Alex Szabo. Derek Gipson will return in his eleventh year as Brass Caption Head.
Celebrating Our 50th Anniversary!
Today, we begin a year-long celebration of our organization, and spend some time outlining our vision for the future of Bluecoats. As we reflect on our roots as a community-focused agency, and celebrate our success on the world stage, we write a vision for our future that reinvigorates our commitment to providing local music education and recommits to our goal to reach new artistic heights on the world stage.
The Next Fifty Years
Over the last several years, we’ve spent a lot of time at Bluecoats reflecting on the kind of organization we’d like to be. We’ve examined our roots, celebrated our achievements, and worked hard on the things we can do better. So, as we enter the second 50-year chapter of the Bluecoats organization, it’s time to set our vision for the future and work to create a Bluecoats that celebrates the value of performing arts education for everyone.
Bloo21 Trombone Quartet
Check out this performance of Hello Dolly by our very own Trombone Quartet. This piece is arranged by Ellie Abbott on the far right of this video and was originally performed in the 2021 Virtual I&E Showcase!