STAFF

Jami’ Fennel
Percussion Caption Head – Contact

Jami Fennell is originally from Walterboro, South Carolina. He attended Western Carolina University where he studied percussion with Dr. Mario Gaetano. While attending WCU he performed in the percussion, jazz, wind and gamelan ensembles. He was also a member of the Pride of the Mountains Marching band where he served as the section leader and was Most Outstanding Performer for the 2001 season. Jami was also a member of the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps from 1999-2001, and in 2001 he was named Most Outstanding Performer. Jami also attended Jacksonville State University where he studied with Clint Gillespie and Tracy Tyler. While attending JSU he was a member of the Marching Southerners and the JSU PASIC line, and was the 2003 Most Outstanding Performer. Jami holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from JSU.  He has also taught several highly respected drum lines throughout the South including: Spirit of JSU, Jacksonville State University, Kennesaw Mountain High School and Lassiter High School. From 2008-2010 he worked in Birmingham, Alabama as a member of the DoubleStop Percussion team. Currently Jami lives in Atlanta where he is the Percussion Coordinator for the Georgia State Marching Band and of course the Collins Hill Bands.

Matt Groves 
Battery Instructor – Contact

Matt Groves is a percussion educator, arranger, and clinician in the North Georgia area. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Georgia and is currently the percussion caption head and arranger for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Marching Band. In addition, he teaches percussion at Creekland Middle School, Collins Hill High School, Q2 Independent Indoor Drumline, and is a staff arranger for Artimus Concepts, a marching band show design firm based out of Charlotte, NC.   Matt also regularly gives clinics on both marching and concert percussion, serves as a percussion consultant for several middle and high schools, and maintains a private lesson studio made up of students at the middle school, high school, and collegiate levels. As an advocate for percussion education, he has several resources available for educators and students in both the concert and marching idioms, including comprehensive technique guides, rudimental reference books, and percussion education curriculum.   When he’s not teaching and writing, he performs as a member of the Atlanta Falcons Drumline and the Atlanta Pipe Band. Matt is a member of the Percussive Arts Society, National Association for Music Education, and the Georgia Music Educators Association, and is an educational artist for Innovative Percussion.

Nigel Conton 
Staff

Nigel Conton resides in Atlanta working full-time as an Electrical Engineer. Beginning his marching career at George Walton Academy he continued at his alma mater, the Georgia Institute of Technology.  Outside of academic marching band, he marched in various world class ensembles including Spirit Drum and Bugle Corps and Odyssey Percussion Theatre. He has most recently performed with the popular music group Odesza through his work with the Atlanta Falcons Drumline.

An experienced performer, Nigel has given back to the activity through teaching or directing several percussion groups in the Atlanta area including George Walton Academy, Rockdale County High school/Rockdale Indoor Percussion, Central Gwinnett High school, McEachern High school, North Gwinnett High school, Georgia Tech, Q2 Percussion, and Palmetto Percussion. Nigel currently serves as a percussion instructor for Roswell High School and Georgia State University