The Cavaliers Announce 2010 Visual Staff

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 - 10:35 PM

The Cavaliers are pleased to announce their visual instructional staff for the 2010 season. The team is lead by Co-Caption Heads Jud Merritt and Matt Heard.

Jud Merritt joined the visual staff in 2000, and is entering his fourth year as Visual Caption Head. Jud marched with The Cavaliers from 1997-1999, playing soprano and mellophone (I&E Champion in 1997). Jud was also a member of Blast!, performing with the original London cast. Jud is from Houston, TX and attended the University of Houston, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2003, earning a degree in Music Education. He is currently attending medical school at the University of Texas-Health Science Center in Houston, Texas.

After 11 years on the Cavaliers visual staff, Matt Heard has been named Co-Caption Head for 2010. Matt first joined the corps in 1995 as a member of the Mellophone section, marching each year until graduating 1998. In 1998, Matt served as high brass Horn Sergeant and shared the traditional Rainbow Soloist honors. Matt then joined the visual staff in 1999, and has been with the Corps ever since. Outside of drum corps, Matt is a full-time visual designer for many high school and college marching bands, indoor percussion lines, and winterguards. Matt is a native of Macomb, Illinois, and resides in Chicago. Jud Merritt states, "Matt Heard is an extraordinarily talented instructor and has been a vital component of the visual team for the past 11 years. He will do a tremendous job this season as co-caption head." Matt adds, "It is an honor to serve the corps and my privilege to be working alongside Jud in this capacity. I am very excited about the team we have assembled and look forward to once again bringing our very high standards of visual performance to the field in 2010."

Visual designer Michael Gaines says of the 2010 visual team, "The experience and talent of this team is just incredible! They have proven time and time again that they are the best in the business, and I look forward to watching the 2010 corps excel under their instruction."

Here is The Cavaliers visual team for 2010.