Tri-City Percussion

Chris began his musical journey with the Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets in 1997-1998, he continued on to perform with the Santa Clara Vanguard from 1999-2001.

Chris began his teaching career with SCVC in 2002 and eventually moved on to join the SCV percussion staff from 2005-2009. Chris was also a percussion instructor at Bluecoats (2010-2013) as well as Percussion Caption Manager for the Blue Knights (2014-2017)

Since 2005, he can also be seen performing with the San Francisco 49ers, Golden State Warriors, and with Blue Devils Entertainment. Over the years Chris has been a educator, composer, choreographer, and clinician for dozens of schools.

Fred Emory Smith began studying piano at the age of four and by the time he was eight, he had won the Yamaha’s national piano composition competition.

Fred’s DCI experience included Academy (2001), SCVC (2002), and SCV (2003-2005). He began arranging for SCVC in 2013 and has won four Open Class Championships.

Currently, Fred composes and arranges for various high school marching bands, indoor drumlines, and independent WGI percussion groups. Fred was trained at Berklee College of Music. Fred is an award winning composer, some of Fred’s work include: Transformers 3, Star Wars: Forces of Destiny, Marvel’s Agents of Shield, Outlanders, Supergirl, the 87th Academy Awards, and Star Wars: Galaxy of Adventures.

Charles Cachero began his marching percussion journey in high school and went on to march San Francisco Renegades in 2011 and 2012, playing both tenors and snare drum.

From 2013-2016, Charles was with Team Percussion USA, marching under the instruction of Ralph Hardimon, Mike Jackson, Chris Cyr, Daniel Recoder, Brandon Hussey, and Casey Brohard. Charles has had the privilege to instruct at Lynbrook, Los Altos, Monta Vista, Saint Francis Oak Grove, Irvington, Fremont, Foothill, and Dublin high schools.

He is currently working towards a Bachelors of Science in Nursing at San Francisco State University.

Connor Carroll is a Bay Area Native from Pleasanton, CA who brings almost a decade’s worth of experience to his work as an educator. During his time as a marching performer, Connor traveled with the Blue Devils, where his experiences taught him to play as a professional percussionist. Connor is also a former music education student from San Jose State University where he studied concert percussion under the renowned Galen Lemmon, serving as member to the university's concert and jazz ensembles.

Presently, he serves a multitude of high schools & independent groups where his services includes technical coaching, sound design, schedule coordinating, & inventory assessment.

Matt Ring is a battery technician, arranger and caption manager for numerous programs in Canada and Northern California for over 15 years. Past programs include SCV, SCVC, Vanguard Winter Percussion, Team Percussion, Live Oak, Santa Teresa, Evergreen, Central Memorial, Fusion Drum Corps, Allegiance Elite, and the Edmonton Strutters.

Currently Matt serves as caption head and battery arranger for Oak Grove, battery tech for Westmont, Blue Devils B, and Tri-City Percussion. He is a cast member for Blue Devils Entertainment, works in audio production for Deadbeatz Inc, and plays drum kit for various studios, local artists, and cover groups. Matt's music education includes the Royal Conservatory of Music, Kelowna Jazz, and Westmont Percussive Performance Association in Calgary AB

Ever since high school, Mikhail has felt a fascination for marching percussion. The constant challenge of it, and the amount of patience and discipline it requires has humbled and molded him into the person he is today. Mikhail has march in groups such as Blue Devils B Drum & Bugle Corps, Vanguard Indoor Percussion, and Broken City Percussion.

Currently, Mikhail is teaching with the James Logan Fall Drumline and Tri City Percussion!