Staff
Instinct 2022 Staff
Marc Young
Creative Director/
Battery Arranger
Jazper Saldaña
Front Ensemble Arranger/Coordinator
James Gow
Drill Designer
Alexis Moreno
Visual Coordinator
Kaho Akiya
Art Director
Kaho Akiya
Art Director
Kaho Akiya
Kaho Akiya
Art Director
Art Director
Kaho Akiya
Kaho Akiya
Art Director
Art Director
Marc Young
Creative Director/
Battery Arranger
Jazper Saldaña
Front Ensemble Arranger/Coordinator
James Gow
Drill Designer
Alexis Moreno
Visual Coordinator
Kaho Akiya
Art Director
Kaho Akiya
Art Director
Kaho Akiya
Kaho Akiya
Art Director
Art Director
Kaho Akiya
Kaho Akiya
Art Director
Art Director
Marc Young
Creative Director/
Battery Arranger/ Coordinator
Jazper Saldaña
Front Ensemble Arranger/Coordinator
James Gow
Drill Designer
Alexis Moreno
Visual Coordinator
Kaho Akiya
Art Director
Jeff Ramos
Battery Manager
Sean Kohler
Corwin Hendricks
Snare Tech
Tenor Tech
Brian Muñoz
David Phan
Bass Tech
Cymbal Tech
Julia Robles
Visual Tech
Kyra Taylor
Front Ensemble Manager
Dalia Berman
Front Ensemble Tech
Michael Tran
Front Ensemble Tech
Kim Long Vo
Audio Engineer
Harrison Tran
Audio Engineer
About the Team
Marc Young
Creative Director/Battery Arranger/Coordinator
Marc Young was born and raised in Southern California. He is an educator and designer in the marching arts activity teaching a number of groups in the Orange County area and is currently the Percussion Director at Westminster HS and Edison HS. Marc was the Percussion Caption Head and Program Coordinator for Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps (2018 - 2020) and other independent groups he’s taught include Odyssey Indoor Percussion (2017). Marc is the founder of Instinct Percussion (2019 - Present) where he is also the Creative Director and Battery Arranger. Groups he has marched include Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps (2010 - 2012, 2014) and POW Percussion (2012).
Marc is an active performer for Aerial Experience Productions, a professional performance group that highlights various types of artistry such as aerial acrobatics, dance, and rudimental percussion. In addition to his experience in music, he is also involved in theater where he performs, collaborates, and devizes work in the Los Angeles area and is a founding member of Contigo Theatre Company. Marc attended California State University, Long Beach where he studied Music Performance, and Theater.
Marc is a proud endorser of Vic Firth and Zildjian.
Jazper Saldaña
Front Ensemble Arranger/Coordinator
Jazper Saldaña is currently the Front Ensemble/Private Lesson Instructor at Haltom High School in Fort Worth, TX. Prior to that, he worked with numerous groups in the Southern California and Texas areas including Westminster HS, Ayala HS, and Centennial HS. Jazper has also served as the Front Ensemble Caption Head for the Mandarins Drum and Bugle Corps and Vigilantes Indoor Percussion. Additionally, he is on staff with the Concord Blue Devils.
Originally from San Diego, California, he completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Percussion Performance from California State University, Long Beach. He went on to receive a Master’s Degree in Percussion from the University of North Texas. Indoor marching experience includes Alternative Percussion, Pulse Percussion, and Riverside Community College. DCI credits include the Sacramento Mandarins and the Concord Blue Devils.
Jazper is a proud endorser of Innovative Percussion. He currently resides in Fort Worth, TX with his wife and two dogs.
James Gow
Drill Designer
James Gow is a Southern California native who began his marching career at Vista Murrieta HS before joining Pacific Crest Drum and Bugle Corps (2005-2006) and later the Blue Devils (2007-2010).
As a drill designer, James has worked with Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps (2017-2018) and is the current visual designer for The Blue Knights (2018-present). He has served as drill designer for multiple high school programs around the country, including Vista Murrieta, Green Hope, Warren, Etiwanda, Foothill, and Great Oak HS. James also designs visual programs for scholastic and independent drumlines.
As an instructor, James has taught highly competitive groups in the Southern California area, including Vista Murrieta, Mission Viejo, Etiwanda, and Fountain Valley High Schools, and serves as the current visual caption head and choreographer for BOA semi-finalist Vista Murrieta hS. He has been a member of the visual staff for the Sacramento Mandarins (2011), The Cadets (2012), and the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps (2013-2018). This will be his second year as drill designer for Instinct Percussion.
Alexis Moreno
Visual Coordinator
Alexis is currently the visual caption head at Edison and Westminster High Schools. She has captioned for several groups in the Southern California area, including Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps (2019-2020). This will be her second season coordinating for Instinct Percussion. Her design experience includes Edison High School’s indoor drumline, Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps, and Instinct Percussion. Her marching experience includes Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps (2011, 2013) and the Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps (2014, 2017).
Outside of the marching arts, Alexis also works with Musical Theatre West in Long Beach. She currently resides in Garden Grove with her cat, and holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from California State University, Los Angeles.
Kaho Akiya
Art Director
Kaho Akiya is a Southern California based freelance illustrator/designer and color guard instructor. She holds a BFA in Illustration from California State University, Long Beach.
Kaho started her career as a performer while attending Palm Desert Charter Middle School (2007-2010) and Palm Desert High School (2010-2015). After graduating high school, she performed as a member of Diamante winterguard’s Independent Open team (2016). Upon retiring as a performer, Kaho returned to the performing arts as a color guard instructor. She now works as the colorguard director at Edison High School (2020-present), and the co-director of the colorguard at Westminster High School (2017-present).
In addition to coaching, Kaho has also worked as a sketch artist for color guard and indoor percussion costume and floor designs since 2018. She has created successful custom designs for many groups including Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps and Westminster, Green Hope, Mission Viejo, and Downingtown High Schools.
Jeff Ramos
Battery Manager
Jeff Ramos is a musician and instructor with a Bachelor of Music degree from CSU Long Beach with an emphasis in Percussion Performance.
He served as the Battery Manager for Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps in 2018 and 2019, and is currently coordinating the Battery for Instinct Percussion who made their debut in 2020. He has also been teaching multiple high school drumlines for the past several years, filling whatever roles were necessary, including music composer, drill writer, visual designer, choreographer, marching instructor, and more.
Aside from teaching drumline, Jeff performs with the NFL Charger's Thunderbolt Drumline, and performs with Sidle Entertainment for various events and artists, including 2 Chainz on Jimmy Kimmel Live, American Ninja Warrior, the LA Kings, and more.
Sean Kohler
Snare Tech
Sean has taught groups from the San Diego area including Valhalla High School and El Capitan High School.
Sean has marched with several DCI and WGI groups such as Impulse, Gold, Mandarins, Blue Stars, Orange County Independent Open, and POW Percussion.
In his spare time he enjoys reading, writing fiction, and playing the guitar. This is Sean's third season with Instinct.
Corwin Hendricks
Quad Tech
Corwin Hendricks is a performing percussionist and educator with an Associates of the Arts-Music Degree from College of the Desert. After graduating from La Quinta High School in 2002, Corwin followed his passion for the art of Rudimental Drumming and toured the country performing in various Percussion Ensembles. Alumnus of the RCC Marching Tigers at Riverside Community College for Fall 2002-2004 and RCC Indoor Percussion Ensemble in 2003. Impulse Drum & Bugle Corps (2002), Pacific Crest Drum & Bugle Corps (2003), Crossmen Drum & Bugle Corps (2004), and The Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps winning the 2005 Drum Corps International World Championship Title & Drum Caption award.
Corwin began his Percussion Educator, Arranger, and Composer experience at his Alumnus La Quinta High School and its feeder La Quinta Middle School (2002-2006), and Chaffey High School (2003-2006). In 2005, he was the head music teacher for three years at a program that provided education at 8 elementary and 3 middle schools in the Coachella Valley and Imperial Valley. He continued his involvement with DCI on percussion staff at his Alumnus Impulse Drum & Bugle Corps winning the 2006 DCI Div 3 World Championship & Drum Caption Award. Here he called home every summer thereafter working alongside his best friend & colleague Niko Jasniewicz from 2007-2014, and then at Gold Drum & Bugle Corps in 2016. In 2018, Corwin joined the inaugural season at Vessel Drum & Bugle Corps as Percussion Caption Head. Other School Programs Corwin was an Educator and Arranger/ Composer for include Palm Desert Middle and High School (2006-2009), Cathedral City High School (2008-2012). Corwin also has worked with Norco High School, Indio High School and Rancho Cucamonga High School.
Throughout Corwin’s marching music career, he has performed under world renown instructional staff including Sean Vega, Scott Johnson, Dave Henkel, Rudy Garcia, Lee Beddis, Tom Aungst & Niel Lerivee. He has performed in televised parades including the Times Square Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, Hollywood Christmas Parade, Pasadena Rose Parade and the 4th of July Parade in Huntington Beach. He has performed at theme parks Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventures, Disney World in Orlando, Florida, Knotts Berry Farm, and Six Flags Magic Mountain. Corwin has performed halftime shows at sporting events including Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers including game 4 in the 2004 NBA Finals. As a performer he has been featured with the Riverside City College Marching Tigers in American Pie Band Camp, episodes of the Gilmore Girls and Boston Public, and in the music video for N*Sync member JC Chasez single “Blowin Me Up,” and on the Soundtrack for the movie Drumline.
Currently, Corwin Hendricks is known as a performing artist in various bands as a part of the Coachella Valley Music Scene including Captain Ghost, Hundred Forms, Upper Class Poverty & The Lost Keys. Over the years Corwin has received nominations at the CV Weekly Music Awards in the Best Drummer category in 2017, 2018 & 2020.
Brian Muñoz
Bass Tech
A native to Santa Fe Springs, Brian got involved in the percussive arts at the age of 13. His drum corps career started with Gold 2013 where he took home a 1st place I&E medal and stayed for his age out in 2015. He went on to march WGI with Dark Sky Percussion 2014, followed by a year with Orange County Independent Percussion in 2015.
He currently attends Fullerton College with a focus on nuclear medicine and works as a Central Services Tech at PIH Whittier. This will be Brian's third season with Instinct.
Brian Muñoz
Bass Tech
A native to Santa Fe Springs, Brian got involved in the percussive arts at the age of 13. His drum corps career started with Gold 2013 where he took home a 1st place I&E medal and stayed for his age out in 2015. He went on to march WGI with Dark Sky Percussion 2014, followed by a year with Orange County Independent Percussion in 2015.
He currently attends Fullerton College with a focus on nuclear medicine and works as a Central Services Tech at PIH Whittier. This will be Brian's third season with Instinct.
David Phan
Cymbal Tech
This will be David's first year with Instinct.
Julia Robles
Visual Tech
This will be Julia's first year with Instinct.
Kyra Taylor
Front Ensemble Manager
Kyra Taylor grew up in Escondido, CA and was a member of the Mission Hills High School Cardinal Alliance Marching Band.
Her DCI experience includes The Academy (2012), Pacific Crest (2013, 2014), and Carolina Crown (2015).
She participated in WGI groups including Orange County Independent and Broken City from 2012-2018, as well. Kyra has taught at various high schools, including Wilson Classical High School (2014-2015), Millikan High School (2014-2016), Edison High School (2018 - Present), and Laguna Beach High School (2020-2021). She was also the Front Ensemble Manager at Impulse Drum and Bugle Corps (2018-2019).
Kyra graduated from CSULB with a BA in psychology and a minor in music. She is passionate about dedicating time to teaching music and believes that this activity provides members with opportunity for positive personal development.
Dalia Berman
Front Ensemble Tech
Dalia Berman is a percussionist and music educator with over a decade of performance and teaching experience. She specializes in sharing her knowledge of concert, marching, and world percussion at schools and programs around the country. She received her Master’s degree in World Percussion from California Institute of the Arts and her Bachelor’s degree in Percussion Performance from California State University, Northridge.
Dalia is currently a musician in the 300th Army Band based out of Southern California and works at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts as a musician and accompanist for the Studio D Arts School for All Abilities. This will be Dalia's first season with Instinct Percussion.
Michael Tran
Front Ensemble Tech
Michael resides in Garden Grove, California. His experiences include seasons with Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps and RCC Indoor Percussion as a performer in the front ensemble. At the moment, Michael is currently teaching front ensembles in Orange County. His other teaching experiences include helping out Blue Stars Drum & Bugle Corps this past year.
Michael has a BA degree in Music from Cal Poly Pomona. This season will be Michael's first year on staff with Instinct.
Kim Long Vo
Sound Engineer
Kim Long is a teacher at Westminster High School where they teach music and video game design, and also coach the competitive gaming teams. They spent most of their career at Westminster High School, but have also consulted with several local programs and ensembles with live audio.
They earned a Bachelors of Music in Percussion Performance from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at California State University, Long Beach in 2012. They also earned a Masters of the Arts in Teaching and Teaching Credential from University of California, Irvine in 2015. Kim Long has previously worked in music photography and convention staffing, but they’ve since retired from both in order to pursue teaching full time.
Harrison Tran
Sound Engineer
Harrison Tran is an audio engineer and musician based in Orange County, CA.
His performance experiences include Pacific Crest, Mandarins, Dark Sky Percussion, and RCC Indoor Percussion. In the past, he has worked with groups such as Marching Vlogs Drumline, and Dark Sky Percussion.
Harrison has mixed and mastered albums for several independent artists including A.J.M. with his album Robot Soul and Pickle Pals with their album, Discount Christmas Album, both which recently debuted in late 2020.
Harrison graduated from California State University, Dominguez Hills where he earned his B.A. in Digital Media Arts with an emphasis in Audio Recording. Harrison is also a member of the Audio Engineering Society (AES). He is very excited to be joining the team at Instinct!
