2023 LONE STAR JUDGES
Jeff Ausdemore
Jeff Ausdemore serves as President and Co-Founder of Stryvemind.com, a revolutionary online educational platform that impacts students and educators around the world. Prior, Mr. Ausdemore was the Director of Music at Grapevine-Colleyville’s iUniversity Prep. In this expanded role, Mr. Ausdemore oversaw all music curricula, including music theory, music history, music composition/arranging, as well as applied music for all primary and secondary level students. In addition, Mr. Ausdemore created the iMusic Club, a club dedicated to enriching the lives of all students enrolled at iUniversity Prep.
Prior to this post, Mr. Ausdemore served eleven years as the Director of Percussion Studies at Colleyville Heritage High School. In this role, Mr. Ausdemore served as the percussion coordinator, head of jazz studies, and co-director/composer/arranger of the Colleyville Heritage marching band. Under Ausdemore’s direction, the Colleyville Heritage High School percussion program flourished, gaining national notoriety through chamber music, guest artist concerts of all genres, recitals, and ensemble competitions. The percussion program has enjoyed competitive success at many levels, including the 2013 and 2014 gold medal for the North Texas Color Guard Association, as well as capturing the 2008 Percussive Arts Society Marching Percussion title. Other accolades include the Percussive Arts Society’s “Call for Tapes” winners, the Percussive Arts Society’s Small Ensemble Champions, the Plano Drum Line Competition marching percussion champions, as well as the Lone Star Drum Line Competition champions.
In Mr. Ausdemore’s first year at CHHS, he launched the GCISD Percussion Club, expanding the students’ musical education and enriching the lives of GCISD middle and high school percussion students throughout the district. The GCISD Percussion Club presented master classes, clinics, solo and ensemble performances by local and regional professionals throughout the north Texas area. The GCISD Percussion Club has produced a record amount of students selected for the GCISD “Select Band”, the Region 24 “All-region Band”, the Region 24 “All Region Jazz Band”, and the Texas “All-State Band”. CHHS is proud to have produced several percussion students who have earned the national title for the Percussive Arts Society’s solo champion on several different percussion instruments as well.
In addition to his teaching duties at Colleyville Heritage High School, Mr. Ausdemore served as the percussion arranger and caption head for the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps from 2006 through 2010. During Ausdemore’s tenure at the Blue Knights, the percussion program produced several individual solo championships, ensemble championships, and a strong reputation for excellence, placing in the elite “top 12” in the Drum Corps International Championships consistently.
Adam Bruce
Adam Bruce is an active composer, clinician, and performer residing in the greater Tulsa area (OK). His compositions and arrangements, published by C. Alan Publications and Tapspace Publications, have been performed at The Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference, Bands of America Grand National Finals, the MACY’S Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC).
Adam was the director of percussion for Union Public Schools (2014-2022) where his teaching and arrangements helped to lead the marching band and indoor drumline to multiple BOA Grand Nationals and multiple WGI World Championships finals appearances. Previously, Adam was the percussion specialist at Western Heights Public Schools and Casady School, both in Oklahoma City. He has taught, presented, and performed at numerous conventions and camps including the OkMEA Conference, Music for All Summer Symposium, National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy (NCPP), and the Yamaha Sounds of Summer.
As a performer, Adam has played with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, and the Tulsa Signature Symphony as well as the Colts, Bluecoats, and Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps. Adam taught on the DCI and WGI instructional staffs of The Cavaliers (winners of the 2011 Fred Sanford High Percussion Award), Spirit of Atlanta, Crossmen, Memphis Sound, and Gateway Indoor. Prior to his involvement in drum corps, Adam was a student at the Juilliard Summer Percussion Seminar.
Adam has a master’s degree in Percussion Performance from Oklahoma City University and a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma Christian University in Instrumental Music Education. He works for the Palen Music Center in Broken Arrow, OK as the store manager where “…it’s about the kids” and is proud to be endorsed as an educational artist with Innovative Percussion, a Marching Artist with REMO Inc., and a Sabian Educational Artist. Adam serves as the Vice President of the Oklahoma chapter of the Percussive Arts Society and is a member of ASCAP. Adam lives in Jenks, Oklahoma with his wonderful wife and daughters.
Martin Griffin
Martin Griffin has been a Band Director in New Jersey for 32 years, and he is currently the Director of Bands and Coordinator of Fine Arts at Monroe Township High School. His responsibilities include directing the Marching Band (17 years), Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and Percussion Ensemble as well as teaching AP Music Theory. The MTHS Marching Band was crowned New Jersey State and National Champions in 2013, and they were selected to represent New Jersey at the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor in 2016. In addition, the MTHS Wind Ensemble has received multiple Gold and Superior ratings, and they have been selected to perform at Carnegie Hall and the NJ Performing Arts Center.
Griffin performed for five seasons with the Hawthorne Caballeros Drum and Bugle Corps. He has been a percussion arranger for high school bands throughout New Jersey since 1987, including J.P. Stevens High School, a multiple Bands of America regional finalist. Griffin currently judges for numerous organizations including Bands of America, Drum Corps International, and Winter Guard International. In 2006, Griffin was selected to judge for the Drum Corps Japan Championships held in Yokohama, Japan. He is currently the Percussion Caption Head for Drum Corps Associates as well as the judging coordinator for The Mid Atlantic Percussion Society. Griffin has served on the Winter Guard International Percussion Advisory Board and was on the staff for the Bands of America Honor Band that marched in the Rose Parade® on New Year’s Day 2022. Griffin received his bachelor’s degree in music from William Paterson University, where he performed with the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble and the New Jersey New Music Ensemble. Griffin also has a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Kean University.
Ben Maughmer
Ben Maughmer is in his twelfth year as associate director of bands at L.D. Bell high school. His duties include teaching percussion and wind band at the high school and teaching beginner classes on both Bedford, and Hurst junior high campuses.
Ben worked for seventeen years teaching in the Birdville Independent School District, the last 11 years of which were Associate Director of Bands at Haltom High School, located in the Dallas – Fort Worth area. Under his direction the Haltom High School Percussion Ensemble won the 2004 Percussive Arts Society International call for tapes contest and performed a showcase concert at the 2004 PASIC convention in Nashville Tennessee. In 2019 the L.D Bell chamber percussion ensemble won 1st place in the PAS chamber ensemble contest held at PASIC.
As a performer and instructor Ben has accumulated thirty-five years of drum corps experience, ten DCI world championships, and four Fred Sanford high percussion titles. Ben is in his sixteenth year teaching the Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps, where he coordinates the music ensemble for the corps and assists with the instruction of the percussion section. Prior to joining the Blue Devils instructional staff in the fall of 2005, Ben served on the instructional staff of the Bluecoats from 2003-2005, the Cavaliers from 2001-2003 and Blue Knights from 1992-1998.
He earned his Bachelor of Music Degree from the University of North Texas where he performed with the world champion U.N.T. drum line for three years and served on the instructional staff for three years.
Ben is endorsed by System Blue, Pro-Mark drumsticks, Evans drumheads, and Zildjian Cymbals. His professional affiliations include, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Band Masters, and the Percussive Arts Society. He is an active clinician, judge and arranger in the United States, Japan and China for marching band and Drum Corps. In 2013 Ben travelled to China to serve as a judge and clinician at the 16th Annual Beijing Students Arts Festival. In 2016 Ben traveled to Beijing on a clinic tour where he gave twenty-two clinics in eleven days including training for the top marching programs in the city as well as the Peoples Liberation Army and Navy percussionists.
Ben served on the staff of Metro Alliance Indoor Percussion Ensemble. He has served as a judge in the indoor percussion circuits NTCA, TCGC, MEPA, IPA, RMPA, MIA, NWAPA, and WGPO.