2024-2025 Desert Mountain High School Marching Wolves Staff
Sierra Rogers - Drill Designer
Sierra Rogers is a Phoenix-based marching arts educator, drill designer, and choreographer and holds a bachelor’s degree in Music from Arizona State University. As an educator, Sierra has served as the visual caption head and choreographer for Flux Indoor Percussion since its inaugural season in 2019.
In addition to her work in WGI, Sierra has served in a variety of staff positions for high school band programs in the Phoenix area and has served on the visual staff for the Madison Scouts since the fall of 2019. She was promoted to the role of Visual Caption Head in 2023 and continues to serve in this capacity with the Scouts. Sierra marched with The Academy from 2012 to 2019, spending five years playing tuba and three as the drum major.
Nichole Camacho - Percussion Caption Head
Nichole Camacho is a front ensemble instructor currently living in Mesa, AZ. She is an active educator and clinician serving as Percussion Caption Head for Desert Mountain High School as well as front ensemble instructor for Gilbert High School, Vision Percussion, and the ASU Sun Devil Marching Band. She has been teaching front ensembles all over the valley for the past 7 years.
Nichole attended Arizona State University where she completed her Bachelors in Percussion Performance. During that time, she was fortunate to study with Dr. J.B. Smith, Dr. Michael Competillo, Simone Mancuso, and Dom Moio. She was a member of various ensembles including Wind Ensemble, Wind Symphony, Contemporary Percussion Ensemble, Philharmonia, Pan Devils Steel Pan Band, and the Sun Devil Marching Band. She is currently getting her Masters of Education at Arizona State University.
As a marching member Nichole has performed in the front ensemble with Breakthrough Percussion and POW Percussion
Braden Cearly - Visual Caption Head
Braden Cearley is a tubist and educator from Saint Louis, MO. He currently attends Arizona State University where he studies Tuba with Dr. Deanna Swoboda. He has performed in Drum Corps International with the Colts and the Blue Devils, and with Vision Percussion for WGI. As an active member of the marching arts community, he has served in various roles as a tech at Highland High School and Flux Indoor. As the newly appointed Visual Caption Head, Braden is excited to build a strong visual program with the Desert Mountain Band.
Stephanie Hall-Hinz - Color Guard Caption Head
Stephanie Hall-Hinz is the Color Guard instructor and this is her fourth year with the band. She marched with Basha High School and the Arizona State Sun Devil Marching Band and Color Guard. She was also a member of Fenix Independent Winter Guard in 2014. She has also taught at Shadow Mountian, Basha, Arcadia and Saguaro. Outside of the marching band, she is also apart of a local cosplay group that performs at events including Star Wars Night with the Diamondbacks and Phoenix Fan Fushion. She is super excited for another great year with the DMHS Color Guard and Marching Band. GO WOLVES!
Chris Canby - Battery Tech
Chris Canby is percussion instructor and arranger currently living in Mesa, AZ. He is an active educator and clinician currently serving as battery Caption Head for Sandra Day O'Connor High School and Desert Mountain High School, as well as snare technician with Vision Percussion. He has previously served as instructional staff for the ASU Sun Devil Marching Band, Percussion Caption Head for Phenom Drum and Bugle Corps, and as Battery Coordinator for Breakthrough Indoor Percussion. He has previously been a part of the percussion/design staff with Dobson HS, Mesquite HS, Mountain View (Mesa) HS, and Higley HS.
Chris received his BA in Music from Arizona State University where he studied with Dr. J.B. Smith, Dr. Mark Sunkett, Simone Mancuso, and Dom Moio. He was a member of various large and small ensembles including Wind Ensemble, Lyric Opera Theater, Percussion Ensemble, and the Sun Devil Marching Band. As a marching member Chris has performed as a snare drummer with The Academy Drum and Bugle Corps, Mosaic Indoor Percussion, and Dark Sky Percussion.
Outside of his role as an educator, Chris has been an active performer with BOOM! Percussion Entertainment, Arizona Cardinals Big Red Thunder Drumline, and Samba de Cavalo. He is currently drumming with Bad Cactus Brass Band among other local valley artists. When not playing music you can find Chris on the disc golf course or scouring the landscape for a good taco truck.
Marcus Fonville - Visual Tech
Marcus Fonville graduated from Fountain Hills High School and completed several semesters at Arizona State University before taking a break during Covid. He is currently furthering his education at Scottsdale Community College and has plans to transfer back to ASU to pursue studies in political science and philosophy.
During his time in high school, he dedicated four years to marching band and served as Drum Major in his senior year. Additionally, he spent five years marching with the Sun Devil Marching Band at ASU. In 2019, he also had the privilege of marching with the Genesis Drum and Bugle Corps, and from 2022 to 2023, with The Cavaliers.
Marcus is exicted to be collaborating with some of his closest friends in a program that feels just like “home”.
Sydney Lewis - Front Ensemble Tech
Sydney Lewis is a percussionist, violist, and educator from Gilbert, AZ. She has performed with the Northern Arizona University Percussion Ensemble, Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, Symphonic Band and Wind Symphony, and as a soloist on marimba and viola while attending NAU. In November of 2023, she had the opportunity through scholarship to attend PASIC 2023, where she performed as a soloist in the University Keyboard category. Sydney marched with Spirit of Atlanta, a world-class DCI ensemble in 2021. She has also marched with Breakthrough Indoor Percussion, an open-class WGI ensemble in 2023 and 2024. Sydney’s marching and concert experiences combined make her a well-rounded musician who is able to take information from one ensemble/instrument and apply it to another. Previously, she worked as a marching band instructor for Flagstaff High School. Aside from music, she works with horses in California and also runs her own equine photography business.
Makoto McCann - Guard Tech
Makoto McCann is a Color Guard and Movement Instructor & Choreographer. He is also a Paraprofessional at DMHS. In the Summer of 2020, he moved to Arizona from California. He was a member of Imbue Winterguard in 2019, where they competed in WGI Tokyo Finals and awarded 4th at WGI World Championships. This experience completely changed his understanding of dance and movement, both within and outside the realm of marching arts.
After moving to Scottsdale, he began pursuing Dance and Kinesiology degrees through MCCCD and ASU. In the winter of 2022, Makoto joined the color guard staff at Desert Mountain HS. He has also coached at Campo Verde, Centennial (Peoria), Saguaro, Tempe, and Williams Field HS. DMHS is proudly the first group Makoto had become staff of in Arizona, and he is very excited to keep pushing with the color guard program.
Samuel Revis - Brass Tech
Samuel A. Revis is currently working on his doctorate in Tuba Performance at Arizona State University with Dr. Deanna Swoboda and received his masters and bachelor’s at the University of Central Arkansas with Dr. Gail Robertson. He has also studied tuba with Dr. Gretchen Renshaw and composition with Dr. Paul Dickinson. Revis has performed with a multitude of large ensembles including the Arizona State Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra, the Salt River Brass Band, the University of Central Arkansas Wind Ensemble—as an ensemble member and as a featured soloist— the Conway Symphony Orchestra, and ProMusica Arizona. In addition to large ensemble performances, he is also an active chamber musician and has been a member of a variety of groups include the Arrows duo with Dr. Gail Robertson where the two premiered her Pointed, Spiked, and Barbed Arrows, the Denis Winter Memorial Tuba Euphonium Quintet, and the Arizona State University Brass Quintet. Samuel’s compositions and arrangements are available through Pinnacle Brass Publishing, his works are designed to provide new, programmatic solos and chamber works for low brass performers. Revis is currently living in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife and enjoys his hobbies of archery and grilling.
Taylor Thompson - Woodwind Tech
Taylor Thompson is a clarinetist and educator currently based in Tempe, Arizona. Her pedagogy and performance practice draws connections between both physical and mental awareness and how it relates to performance quality, productivity, and injury prevention. Taylor will graduate with her master’s degree in Clarinet Performance from Arizona State University in May of 2024, with her primary teachers being Robert Spring and Joshua Gardner.
Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Taylor received her bachelor's degree in Clarinet Performance from Michigan State University in 2022 under the instruction of Dr. Mingzhe Wang. As a performer she has recently played with the ASU Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Winds, and has dedicated a large portion of studies to collaboration in various chamber music settings. In the summer of 2023, she had the opportunity to perform at the Rocky Ridge Music festival in Estes Park, Colorado, and in 2019 studied internationally at the Belgian Clarinet Academy in Oostende, Belgium. Alongside performing, Taylor works as a clarinet private lesson instructor and is the woodwind technician at Desert Mountain High School. Outside of music, she enjoys all things outdoors: rock climbing, cycling, and birdwatching!
Andrew Yocum - Visual Tech
Andrew Yocom is a visual educator and choreographer based out of Glendale, Arizona. He started his marching career at Phenom in 2018, and has since been involved with ensembles such as Genesis, The Cavaliers, Flux Indoor Percussion, and The Blue Devils. In addition to performing, Andrew spends his fall and winter seasons teaching visual at multiple high school programs around the valley. He has previously worked with Campo Verde H.S., Skyline H.S., and North Peoria Indoor Percussion.
