At the center of every strong drum corps is a strong team of member leadership. Serving as a liaison between performers and staff, this team of veteran members also puts in the extra effort to lead by example and set a standard for the entire corps.
“In each area of the percussion section, we are fortunate to have leadership with an enormous amount of talent, dedication, and experience to move us in the right direction,” said SCV Percussion Arranger and Caption Manager, Paul Rennick. “They are all well-rounded and educated musicians, often able to play several instruments, which gives us a unique perspective and awareness. Their standard of excellence will help the group reach it’s full potential. I’m looking forward to a great year!”
It is our pleasure to introduce the 2017 Santa Clara Vanguard Percussion Leadership Team:
Austin Cernosek, 2017 SCV Drumline/Snare Section Leader
Austin was raised in Scottsdale, Arizona and he is currently pursuing a Percussion Performance degree at the University of North Texas in Denton. When not involved with drum corps, Austin enjoys eating food, playing disc golf, or stargazing whenever he gets the opportunity. He first came to march at SCV in 2015, and 2017 marks Austin’s second year as the Drumline Section Leader. He is very excited about the show this year and what the summer holds for the 2017 Santa Clara Vanguard!
Josh Hirner, 2017 SCV Tenor Section Leader
Josh Hirner was raised in Plano, TX and is currently attending the University of North Texas studying Music Education and percussion as a full-time student. Apart from his schooling, Josh enjoys photography, performing drumset in a worship band, teaching music to kids, as well as eating Fuzzy’s shredded chicken nachos (double chicken, double queso). This upcoming season will be Josh’s 4th season of drum corps, having spent 2014 with the Troopers, and the 2015-2016 seasons on the quad line with the Santa Clara Vanguard. Josh also traveled to Taiwan with the SCV in the Winter of 2015. This season, he is especially excited to see the talent unfold and flourish from a new group of musicians along with the exciting show concept for the 50th year anniversary of the corps.
Adam Bourenane, 2017 SCV Bass Drum Section Leader
Adam was born and raised in Carrollton TX, and recently moved to Austin, where he attends Austin Community College pursuing a career in Journalism. Adam marched two years with the Troopers Bassline (2013 and 2014), and has been a member of the SCV Bassline for three years (2015-2017). In his free time, Adam likes to do stand up comedy. The thing that excites him about this season, is how excited and passionate everyone seems to be, especially the newer members.
Joshua Baltazar, 2017 SCV Cymbal Section Leader
Born in San Jose, California, and raised in the Bay Area, Joshua currently studies Biology and Chemistry at Mission/West Valley College. He was a member of the Vanguard Cadets from 2013 to 2014 and is currently an active member of the A Corps since 2015. Additionally, he is currently a member of Riverside Community College Indoor Percussion, competing in the WGI 2017 competitive season. Outside of the marching activity, Joshua enjoys hiking on local trails and discovering new and delicious foods in the Bay Area.
Michael Strange, 2017 SCV Front Ensemble Section Leader
Michael Strange was born and raised in Chesapeake, VA, and is currently attending Radford University full time where he studies Music Performance. When Michael isn’t at school you can find him spending time practicing his love for music or working with local high schools marching bands. Michael also likes to give private lessons to local middle and high school students when he is home in Chesapeake. This is Michael’s 5th year in the drum corps activity and his 4th year with the Vanguard organization. After spending his first year in drum corps with Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps he auditioned for SCV in 2014 and was contracted to play Vibraphone. He returned for the 2015 and 2016 seasons on Xylophone, and this year he will age out as center Marimba.