2007 Staff

Stephanie Ransome
Music Specialist

Stephanie Ransome, instrumental music teacher in the Richmond area, is a native of Harrisonbrug, VA where she received her B.M. at James Madison University. While at JMU, she studied oboe with Michele Kirkdorffer and conducting with J. Patrick Rooney and Robert McCashin. Mrs. Ransome maintains a private oboe studio, teaches strings and elementary music in Hanover County and is a music specialist with the Deep Run High School Band. She performs Oboe and English Horn regularly in the Shenandoah Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Pops Band and the Commonwealth Winds. She is an active clinician and adjudicator for marching and concert venues.

Mrs. Ransome is a member of the International Double Reed Society, Music Educators National Convention and Sigma Alpha Iota, International Music Fraternity. As Province officer for Sigma Alpha Iota, Stephanie works with college and alumnae chapters in Virginia to encourage, nurture and support the art of music.

Lindsay Guerlet
Music Specialist

After receiving her B.M. in music education from VCU in 1997, Mrs. Lindsay Guerlet spent three years teaching elementary general music in North Carolina.  In 2002, she received her M.M.E. from Florida State University and returned to the Richmond area.  Mrs. Guerlet served as band and orchestra director at Fairfield Middle School for five years and begins teaching band at John Rolfe Middle School this fall.

Throughout her teaching career, Mrs. Guerlet has continued to perform in a variety of chamber ensembles and community theaters, bands, and orchestras.  Currently, Mrs. Guerlet is a bassoonist with the Northern Neck Orchestra and Commonwealth Winds.

Matthew Bruins
Music Specialist

Matthew Bruins has Bachelor of Music Education degree from the State University of New York at Fredonia and a Master’s of Music Education from East Carolina University, where he also studied concert band conducting and music technology.
Matthew is currently the band director at Pocahontas Middle School, where he has led a successful award winning program for five years. He has taught previously at Wilder Middle School and at Broad Creek Middle School in Morehead City, North Carolina, where he has met with similar success. He also teaches private brass lessons in the area.
            Matthew is currently a member of the local Rock-n-Roll band “The Escorts” which plays frequently throughout Virginia. He is also a member of the Commonwealth Winds, a concert band made up of professional music educators and performers from the public school to college levels of instruction. The Commonwealth Winds was formed in 2005 with the intention of having one concert in commemoration of Fred Fennel but unanimously decided to continue performing three free major concerts a year. He also performs weekly at church with his praise band at Mechanicsville Church of Christ as well as for wedding ceremonies.

Matthew considers himself a native New Yorker having lived there for much of his youth, but has spent much time all over the world being an Air Force brat. He is also a “die hard” New York Yankees fan and the father of one terrific son, Jack, who also plays trumpet and baseball like there's no tomorrow.

Allen Kilgore
Percussion Coordinator

Mr. Allen Kilgore is in his second year on the Percussion Staff for the Deep Run Marching Wildcat Band from Glen Allen, VA. 

Mr. Kilgore was a member of Carolina Gold Drum & Bugle Corps (Rocky Mount, NC) from the inaugural competitive season in 2002 and served as percussion captain from 2003 to 2006 as well as joining the instructional staff in 2005. Allen then stepped into the Percussion Caption Head role for the 2007 season.  He has also performed with the Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps.

In recent years, Mr. Kilgore has arranged, taught, and coordinated percussion with many other high school programs throughout Virginia; including West Springfield High School from Springfield, Virginia; Ocean Lakes High School from Virginia Beach, Virginia; Alta Vista High School from Alta Vista, Virginia; William Campbell High School from Naruna, Virginia; and Brookville High School From Lynchburg, VA.

Allen is a sought-after adjudicator throughout the Mid-Atlantic, and is on staff as a Percussion judge with the Fall Classic series throughout Central and Southeastern Virginia.  Mr. Kilgore is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University with Bachelor Degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Physics, and resides in Richmond, VA where he works in Project Management.

Tony McCain
Color Guard Coordinator

Tony "Baba D"McCain has over 20 years of experience in Marching Band and Pageantry of the Arts. He has instructed numerous high schools, workshops, clinics, camps, organizations, and James Madison University. He is currently Director of Ngoma African & Contemporary Dance Company( University of Richmond), The Colorguard Coordinator at Deep Run HS Glen Allen,VA,), Colorguard Instructor at Lee-Davis HS Mechanicsville, VA, Co-director of The Ezibu Muntu African Dance Theatre, Richmond, VA( which recently performed at the prestigious Brooklyn Academy of Music, NYC, has appeared in The Dave Mathews Band "STAY" Video, and The Sally Hemings Movie, CBS.

He is also currently a performer with Carolina Gold Drum and Bugle Corps, Rocky Mount, NC for 7 years, and he received Most Outstanding Performer 2003, Captain 06, 07, 08, The Light Brigade World Winterguard Philadelphia, PA for 3 years( which recently performed in London England UK, representing The United States and are The Winterguard International European Champions! He also received Most Valuable Member 2006 and Co-Captain 2007.

Mr. McCain has adjudicated at numerous USSBA, Fiesta-Val, and local marching band / dance competitions. He also served on the Board of Directors of The Atlantic Indoor Association as the Dance Coordinator. He is a professional dancer, choreographer, and costume designer. Has worked closely with Baba Chuck Davis, Durham, NC and danced with Baba Melvin Deals' African Dancers and Drummers, Washington, DC. He is also a
member of The Dzifa Masquerade Fraternity. Among these many talents he has also had the opportunity to travel to Senegal, West Africa as a dance liaison. His educational background includes study at The Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA with a major in Physical Education and a minor in Dance/Choreography. These are just a few accomplishments acquired by Mr. McCain over the past 20 years in the field of Visual and Performing Arts.

Ryan Gillis
Front Ensemble Coordinator

Ryan Gillis is in his first year as percussion staff with the Deep Run Marching Wildcat Band from Glen Allen, Va. 

He is currently the Front Ensemble Instructor. Mr. Gillis has been involved with percussion instruction since 2004 throughout the Central Virginia Area.  He has worked in private percussion instruction as well as with Drumlines and Percussion Ensembles.  Mr. Gillis worked most currently with Monacan High School in Chesterfield, Va.

He attended Monticello High School where he studied with Kevin Murphy.  Mr. Gillis is currently a Music Education major at Virginia Commonwealth University and a student of Professor Kris Keeton. 

Mr. Gillis has performed in many various concert settings within the Virginia Commonwealth University music department and most notably at the Kennedy Center with the VCU Wind Ensemble in 2006 under direction of Dr. Terry Austin. 

His experiences outside his scholastic career include the Richmond Philharmonic Orchestra, the Richmond Pops Band, and the Carolina Gold Drum and Bugle Corps.  He is currently in his third season with the Carolina Gold Drum and Bugle Corps. Mr. Gillis resides in Richmond with his wife Tinisha and son Aidan. 

Marty McCartt
Music Arranger

Marty McCartt is a freelance composer and arranger for junior high, high school, and collegiate level concert, marching, and jazz bands, as well as percussion and other small ensembles. His music and conceptual design services are showcased at MarchingMonk.com, where he serves as Creative Director.

He has written for and instructed the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps, the Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps, the Western Carolina University "Marching Cats," the Tarpon Springs High School Outdoor Performance Ensemble, and many other outstanding national scholastic musical organizations.

Acclaimed for his fresh, creative, and unique compositional style, Marty is always at the forefront of cutting-edge musical design. Presently residing in Atlanta, Georgia, Marty maintains an active schedule as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the United States.

Ralph Stewart
Drill Designer

Ralph currently lives in Orlando and is a 1998 graduate of East Carolina University, where he received a Bachelor's degree in Music Education. He has been a visual clinician, designer, adjudicator and consultant for many championship organizations within DCI, WGI, and BOA for more than 15 years.

He marched in the brass section of the 11 time DCI finalist Carolina Crown Drum & Bugle Corps from 1991-1996, where he served as Drum Major for three years. He served as their tour manager in 1997, a role he reprised with Magic of Orlando in 1998.

In 1997, Ralph took a position as the visual designer of Carolina Thunder, an independent world class WGI percussion finalist. This was a position he held until the group chose to no longer compete.

Ralph then joined the visual staff of the Boston Crusaders in 2000 as a marching technician and was their visual designer in 2005. Ralph has been the visual caption supervisor for the Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps for the past 2 years.

Ralph is the co-founder of Wicked Liquid Productions; an Orlando based Music Production Company responsible for the soundtrack creation of many WGI open class and world class guards. To include: Braddock Independent World, Braddock Independent Open, Northeast Independent, Flanagan HS, and The Ventures.

John Mills
Staff Member

Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, John Mills joins the staff of the Deep Run High School Marching Wildcat Band, where he provides musical direction. As a member of the Deep Run Class of 2007, John has been involved in shaping the band program since its second year of operation by means of many ensembles. He served the music program by attaining the roles of Rehearsal Director and Trumpet Section Leader, along with various other musical responsibilities in his junior and senior years. Upon graduating, he was honored with the John Philip Sousa Band Award and the Wildcat Scholar Award for Fine Arts. Away from school, he has instructed, performed, and arranged music for several musical organizations in Virginia.
          John currently attends James Madison University, where he pursues a degree in Foreign Languages and Secondary Education, and continues to compose and arrange music for bands, soloists, and other ensembles. In his free time, he enjoys jamming and rock piano.