Washington Marching Band Festival (56th Annual Gene Hunt Invitational)

The Pride of Washington is proud to present the 56th Annual Gene Hunt Marching Invitational! This event is one of the longest running festivals in the state. Bands will be classified by school size. During the preliminary round bands will be mixed, with the performance order determined by a lottery for all bands entered before April 1, 2024. All other bands entered after April 1 will be placed in the competition based on order of entry. The 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, Winter Guard International, and well respected educators from around the state.

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Music
Colton Hines- Mustang, Oklahoma
Current Arranger and Designer for various Bands of America Grand National Semi-Finalist and Finalist Bands including Flower Mound High School, Mason High School, Mustang High School, Rosemount, and Brownsburg High School.

Brian Munoz- Indianapolis, Indiana
Former Director of Bands of East Noble High School, his groups were consistent Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) state finalists in marching band, jazz band, concert band and solo and ensemble contests. Highly requested Adjudicator for ISSMA events and was named teacher of the year by his school corporation as well as Northeast Indiana Teacher of The Year in 2015 and a semi-finalist for Indiana Teacher of the Year.

Troy Peterson- Springfield, Missouri
Former Director of Bands at Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Missouri and lead the group to several Bands of America Super Regional Finalist appearances. He directed the marching band, three concert bands and oversaw the winter ensembles including the WGI 2010 Silver Medalist Kickapoo Drumline. He currently the Band Director at Drury University.

Percussion- TBA

Visual
Travis Barzee- Blue Springs, Missouri
Former Director of Bands at Grain Valley High School in Grain Valley, Missouri. During his tenure Travis led the Marching Eagles to their first Bands of America Grand National Semi-Finalist Appearance as well as several Bands of America Super Regional Finalist Appearances. Travis was a member of the Santa Clara Vanguard visual staff from 2014-2021 and is currently on visual staff at the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps.

Mark Martin- St. Louis, Missouri
Current Designer, Consultant, and Adjudicator with over 30+ years of experience in the pageantry arts.

Tim Darbone- Dallas, Texas
Current Designer and Choreographer for various Bands of America Grand National Semi-Finalist and Finalist Bands including Flower Mound High School, Mason High School, Mustang High School, Rosemount, and Brownsburg High School. Tim has been serving on visual staff for the 21-Time World Champion Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps since 2011

Chad Greife-Wetenhall- Washington, MO
Current Designer, Consultant, Staff Member and Adjudicator with over 20+ years of experience in the pageantry arts for both high schools, drum and bugle corps, and independent winter guards.