FZN River City Showcase

The Fort Zumwalt North Panther Pride Band is proud to present the 10th Annual FZN River City Showcase! This event promises to be one of the true highlights of the marching season and is ideal for bands that will be competing at the Bands of America Super Regional in St. Louis. Bands will be classified by MSHSAA football classifications. During the prelim round bands will be mixed, with the performance order determined by a lottery for all bands entered by April 1, 2022. All other bands entered after April 1 will be placed in the competition based on order of entry. The top 12 highest scoring bands will advance to finals competition. Bands will compete for caption awards (Outstanding Music, Visual, General Effect) and placement awards. Featuring an All-Star adjudication team from the rosters of Bands of America, Drum Corps International, and Winter Guard International, this festival will also hold a judges critique between prelims and finals for interested band directors. All judges will be from outside the state of Missouri.

The Fort Zumwalt North High School football stadium features field turf and a large set of home bleachers that sits very close to the field since there is no track. It is an ideal setting for an outstanding day of marching band performances.

Click Here for Festival Website

Past Champions:
2021 - Timberland
2020 - Cancelled (COVID)
2019 - O'Fallon Township
2018 - Oakville
2017 - Rockwood Summit
2016 - Blue Springs South
2015 - Fort Zumwalt South
2014 - Rockwood Summit
2013 - O'Fallon Township
2012 - Rockwood Summit

2022 ENTRY FORM:
Click Here for Entry Form

PRELIM SCHEDULE
11:00 Francis Howell
11:15 Fox
11:30 Oakville
11:45 Francis Howell North
12:00 Fort Zumwalt East
12:15 Fort Zumwalt South
12:30 Lindbergh
12:45 BREAK
1:00 Helias
1:15 Washington
1:30 Sullivan
1:45 O'Fallon Township
2:00 Fort Zumwalt West
2:15 Windsor
2:30 Timberland
2:45 Fort Zumwalt North (Ex)
3:05 Prelim Awards

FINALS SCHEDULE
6:15 Finals Band #1
6:30 Finals Band #2
6:45 Finals Band #3
7:00 Finals Band #4
7:15 Finals Band #5
7:30 Finals Band #6
7:45 Finals Band #7
8:00 Finals Band #8
8:15 Finals Band #9
8:30 Finals Band #10
8:45 Finals Band #11
9:00 Finals Band #12
9:15 Finals Band #13
9:30 Southeast Missouri State (Ex)
9:50 Finals Awards

• FZN-River-City-Showcase-Schedule.pdf
• 2022-Showcase-Prelims.pdf
• 2022-Showcase-Finals.pdf

Adjudicator Panel:

Music:
Beth Fabrizio - Rochester, NY
Beth A. Fabrizio holds a Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music in Clarinet Performance and a Masters of Music in Conducting, Education and Performance from Ithaca College. Ms. Fabrizio maintains a private clarinet studio with numerous students pursuing careers in music education, therapy, recording and performance. She herself has performed as the principal clarinetist and personnel manager with The Greater Rochester Music Educators Wind Ensemble, and former Eb clarinet with The Perinton Concert Band. Beth is a freelance performer with operas, orchestras and musicals. Ms. Fabrizio is an active artist/ clinician for The Dadarrio Corporation.
Ms. Fabrizio has conducted various all-county and festival ensembles and given master classes and clinics to numerous high school and college ensembles and state associations across the United States and Japan. She has consulted marching bands in New York, Indiana, and Virginia. Ms. Fabrizio has been the brass caption head with The Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps, brass coordinator with The Pride of Soka from Tokyo, Japan, brass staff with the Boston Crusaders,brass faculty member with The Glassmen from Toledo, Ohio and The Spirit of Atlanta. Ms. Fabrizio has adjudicated and continues to work for DCI, BOA, USSBA, Northwest Band Circuit, Indiana Marching Band Circuit and other independent contractors around the country. She is the past caption head for music for The New York State Federation of Contest Judges. She is active in NYSSMA, MENC, NYSBDA, SAI and her own county association as past All-County Band Coordinator for 9 years. Ms. Fabrizio was Director of Bands at Wheatland-Chili Junior/Senior High School in Scottsville, New York, and retired as the director of bands at Village Elementary in the Hilton Central School District, Hilton, New York.

Kenny Capshaw - El Paso, TX
Kenneth Capshaw is currently the Director of Jazz Bands at the University of Texas at El Paso. He has been involved in music education in the El Paso community for over forty years, and was a band director in the El Paso Independent School District for twenty-five years. He began his teaching career at Henderson Middle School in 1972, and taught band at Morehead Middle School and El Paso High School before he went into business in 1981. His teaching career resumed in 1996, when he began his fifteen year tenure at Coronado High School. The concert, jazz, and marching bands at all of his schools have been consistent sweepstakes winners. The Coronado Marching Band has participated in the State Marching Contest three times, won a regional BOA Champion in Las Vegas in 2000, and has won the New Mexico State Tournament of Champions ten times. The Coronado High School Jazz Band has been winners at the Hanks Jazz Festival, the Texas Tech Jazz Festival, and the New Mexico State Jazz Festival. The concert bands at Coronado have been sweepstakes winners at UIL and EPISD festivals for sixteen consecutive years. The Coronado High School Band received the Texas Bandmasters Exemplary High School Band Award in July of 2012.
Mr. Capshaw holds the associate principal trumpet position with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, is a founding member of the forty year old El Paso Brass, and has performed with the Las Cruces, Juarez, and Roswell Symphony Orchestras. He has toured in Italy and England as a trumpet soloist with the Choir of the Southwest, and in Turkey and Germany as a member of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Capshaw has been a guest soloist, clinician, and adjudicator throughout the country for many years. He taught trumpet and jazz ensembles at New Mexico State University from 2012 to 2014. Mr. Capshaw is a member of the Texas Music Educator Association, the Texas Band Masters Association, and Phi Beta Mu. He received the Band World Legion of Honor Award in October of 2010 and the Texas Band Master Meritorious Achievement Award in July of 2011. He was inducted into the Phi Beta Mu Texas Bandmasters Hall of Fame in July of 2013.

KJ Stafford - Chesapeake, VA
K.J. Stafford has been involved with Drum Corps International for almost two decades, currently serving on the percussion staff of the Santa Clara Vanguard where he has worked since 2011. During that time, Vanguard has earned four Fred Sanford Awards for Best Percussion: 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018 as well as the DCI World Championship in 2018. Prior to working at Vanguard, K.J. also taught on the percussion staff of the Phantom Regiment (2010 DCI High Percussion Champions) and the Troopers (2007-2009). Currently residing in Chesapeake, Virginia, K.J. is the band director and music department chair at Hickory Middle School. His responsibilities include directing the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade bands, jazz band, woodwind choir and percussion ensembles. Under his direction, the bands at Hickory Middle School have consistently received superior ratings at state concert band festivals. In 2009, the Hickory Middle School eighth grade band performed at the Virginia Music Educators State Conference in Hot Springs, Virginia. K.J. also assists with the Hickory High School marching band and WGI Champion Hickory High School Concert Ensemble. K.J. earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the University of North Texas in Denton, TX. While at North Texas, he studied under Paul Rennick, Christopher Deane, Mark Ford and Dr. Robert Schietroma. He has also earned a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. When not teaching at home or with the drum corps, K.J. is in demand as an arranger, adjudicator, clinician, designer and instructor with groups throughout the United States. His professional affiliations include the Percussive Arts Society, MENC and VMEA. K.J. endorses Innovative Percussion and Remo Drumheads.

Visual:
Nick Benson - Seattle, WA
From Seattle, WA, Nick has been teaching, designing and consulting for award-winning marching programs all across the United States for the past 20 years, specializing in movement training, drill/staging, choreography and program coordination/consultation. Nick is currently the Program Coordinator/Visual Designer for the Kamiak H.S. Marching Band and Winter Percussion from Mukilteo, WA, a position he has held since 2008. Upon relocating to the Portland metro-area in 2004, Nick held the visual caption head position for the Division III Champions and Open Class Finalist Oregon Crusaders Drum & Bugle Corps (2004-2006, 2008-2009), and the Cascades Drum & Bugle Corps (2007). Mr. Benson was the Visual Caption Head for the Troopers Drum & Bugle Corps from 2008-2012, helping them reach DCI Finalist status for the first time in 23 years in 2009. He also held the position of Visual Designer for the 2011 Troopers Drum & Bugle Corps. Nick was also the Artistic Director and Visual Designer of the Seattle Cascades Drum Corps from 2013-2019. In 2009, Nick had the opportunity to travel to Thailand in the role as the Visual Caption Head for the Siamyth Drum & Bugle Corps in Bangkok, Thailand. As a performer, Mr. Benson got his start with the Cascade High School Marching Band and later marched with the Seattle Cascades Drum & Bugle Corps (1998, 2001). While attending the University of Washington and Western Washington University, Nick studied Music and English and performed with numerous music ensembles as a trombone, euphonium and tuba player. In 2003 he had the opportunity to perform with the Concord Blue Devils, capturing their 11th DCI World Championship. Alongside Adam Oswald and Dylan Thompson, Nick Benson has co-authored a marching and movement program built for marching bands and drum corps alike. Its objective was to create a cohesive and holistic approach to movement and marching, both from an individual and ensemble standpoint.

Wes Pendergrass - Bentonville, AR
Wes Pendergrass is a visual designer, educator, consultant, and adjudicator that resides in Bentonville, Arkansas. He has a diverse background in the marching arts spanning almost two decades. Originally from Mountain Home, Arkansas, Pendergrass received his early marching arts education at the hands of Arkansas Bandmasters Association Hall of Fame Member Robert Nelson. He marched with the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps (Rockford, Illinois) from 2001 to 2005 and is the 2003 recipient of the Golden Foot award for “most outstanding visual member”. Collegially, Pendergrass studied Physical Education and Music Performance (Tuba) at Arkansas Tech University (S.E.) and The University of Nebraska-Kearney (L.F.A.), and began his writing career in 2005. An active designer, his clients have made State Finals in Oklahoma, Texas, Kentucky, Colorado, Nebraska, Texas and South Carolina. Clients have also medaled in Western Band Association Championships (California), been finalists at Bands of America Super Regionals, and in 2015 Pendergrass had four Bands of America Grand National Championship Semi-Finalists. Wes' winter groups have WGI Finals appearances in Scholastic Open, Scholastic A, Percussion Independent A, Percussion Independent Open, Percussion Scholastic Open, and Percussion Scholastic A.

Robert Solomon - Van Nuys, CA
Robert Solomon has been involved in the marching arts since 1979. He played trumpet and was drum major at El Camino Real HS in Woodland Hills, CA. Robert continued to perform as a member of the color guard for the Velvet Knights Drum & Bugle Corps and at California State University, Northridge. He then turned to instructing and has designed for several top programs in Southern California, and continues today. He has been judging since 1996 and is an adjudicator for Winter Guard International, Drum Corps International, Bands of America, and various state and local associations.