Meet Our Team

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Chris Janowiak

Director of Bands

Chris Janowiak

Chris Janowiak is in his fifteenth year of teaching and his sixth as Director of Bands at Ravenwood High School, part of the Williamson County School District in Brentwood, Tennessee. In just a short time at Ravenwood, the band program has already seen significant growth. After starting with only one functioning concert ensemble in 2018, the program now comprises over 200 students and features four independent concert ensembles. The program also consists of the competitive marching band, winter percussion group, along with JV and varsity winter guards. The marching band nearly tripled in size in Janowiak’s first three years, has consistently won regional competitions, is a frequent BOA Regional Finalist, and has performed alongside of country music superstar, Thomas Rhett, at the Country Music Association Awards live television broadcast in Nashville, TN. The Ravenwood Marching Band was the recipient of the Tennessee Governors Cup as the Grand Champion of the prestigious Contest of Champions in 2022. The program’s top instrumental group, the Wind Ensemble, was selected to perform alongside some of the best bands in the nation at the 2023 Music For All National Concert Festival to be held in Indianapolis, IN. Prior to his appointment at Ravenwood, Janowiak served in similar positions at Mattawan High School (MI), and Antioch High School (TN). Chris is a graduate of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education. Chris’ professional affiliations include the Middle Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association, the Tennessee Music Educators Association, the Tennessee Bandmasters Association, and the National Association for Music Education. Chris is an active performing keyboardist and vocalist with various pop and country artists in Nashville. He is also a conductor for the Tennessee Ambassadors of Music, a group of students that travel and perform all across Europe. Chris and his wife, Lindsay, live in Nashville with their daughter, Elloise, and their French bulldog, Yoda.

Robert Fay

Assistant Director of Bands

Robert Fay

Robert Fay is in his third year serving as the Assistant Director of Bands at Ravenwood High School. Prior to his time at Ravenwood, Robert served as the Director of Bands at Stratford STEM Magnet High School in Nashville, TN, where he grew both the marching and concert band programs during his tenure. Robert began his band career as a member of the Paul Laurence Dunbar band in Lexington, KY. He then went on to earn his Bachelor of Music from Vanderbilt University in 2016. During his time in the trumpet studio at Vanderbilt, he performed as a featured soloist with the Blair Big Band, Spirit of Gold Marching Band, and won the 2016 Wind Ensemble Concerto Competition. He served on the Nashville Jazz Orchestra Board of Directors and as president of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Music Fraternity. After graduation, he toured with the Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps. Following the 2016 summer tour, he returned to Vanderbilt University to complete his Master of Education degree. During this time, he served as the graduate assistant and drill writer for the Vanderbilt Marching Band. After graduating in 2018, Robert performed around the world with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Entertainment before returning to Nashville to teach. Robert is an active performer and currently plays in a variety of genres with classical and commercial groups around the Nashville area.

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Shane Gwaltney

Program Coordinator, Percussion Instructor

Shane Gwaltney

Shane was a charter member of Music City Mystique from 1995-99, as well as a member of Street Beats 1997-2003 which performed at The Percussive Arts Society International Convention and Modern Drummer Music Festival. Since his age out from Mystique, he has been an important part of Mystique’s personality. He has been instrumental in this group for 19 years thus far as a member, then as Battery Arranger, Visual Designer and Program Coordinator. His innovative and trend setting musical and visual designs have become a mainstay in the WGI, BOA, and the DCI arenas. Some of the other groups he has been involved with include Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps; Spirit Drum and Bugle Corps; Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps; Jacksonville State University Pasic Drum Line (Jacksonville, A)L; Middle Tennessee State University Pasic Drum Line (Murfreesboro, TN); Tyler Junior College, (Tyler, TX); Choctawhatchee High School (Fort Walton Beach, FL); just to name a few. He is also a proud artist and clinician for Innovative Percussion, Pearl Drums, Evans Drum Heads\Planet Waves, and Zildjian Cymbals.

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Nick Mason

Percussion Instructor

Nick Mason

Nick Mason is a native of Nashville, Tennessee and has been involved extensively with Audio Production and the Pageantry Arts for over a decade. Nick’s pageantry background includes 6 seasons of WGI and 2 seasons of DCI. He spent three years at Chattanooga Independent Percussion Ensemble (Cleveland, TN) on snare drum from 2014-2016. His next three years were at 8 time WGI World Champions, Music City Mystique (Nashville, TN) from 2017-2019 on snare drum where he won the PIW Gold Medal in 2017 and the PIW Bronze Medal in 2019. Additionally, Nick has marched 2 years of Drum Corps at 7 time DCI World Champion, The Cavaliers (Rosemont, IL) from 2018-2019 on snare drum. Nick has also been a member of the MTSU Band of Blue Drumline (Murfreesboro, TN) from 2017-2018, where he served as the percussion section leader for the 2018 season. Since graduating college, Nick has worked on numerous projects including The Cavaliers 2020 PASIC Clinic, Virtual Arts’ Drum and Bugle Corps and Marching Band productions, California Orchestra Directors Association’s Virtual Performance, California All State Virtual Performances, and many post-production projects for individual artists. He has also worked with numerous clients where he’s provided pageantry, live sound, and broadcasting audio services, including Timber Creek HS (FL), Clarksville HS, (TN), Audio Theater (TN), Music City Drum Corps (TN), FloMarching (TX), The Nashville Public Library (TN) and The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps (IL). Along with developing and building MAS, Nick also works as the Audio Specialist at Synced Up Audio and Synced Up Designs. Nick holds a B.S. in Audio Production and Music Industry from Middle Tennessee State University and resides in Nashville, TN. He actively serves as the owner of Mason Audio Solutions, the Battery Instructor and Audio Specialist at Ravenwood High School, Lead Audio Engineer at The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps , winner of the Fred Sanford High Percussion Award in 2023, the Audio Department Manager at Synced Up Audio, the Audio Coordinator at Music City Drum Corps, and offers audio solutions and services to the greater Nashville area and other parts of the country. Nick is also a proud Innovative Percussion, Inc. artist.

Cambell Wooton

Percussion Instructor

Cambell Wooton

Cambell Wootton is excited for his first year on staff at Ravenwood High School. He is currently pursuing a B.S. in Audio Production and a minor in Music Industry at Middle Tennessee State University. He has always loved music and drumming and has been studying music since he performed in various PMEA District, Regional, and All-State ensembles in high school. Since then, Cambell has written for and taught the battery for multiple seasons at Littlestown High School, from which he graduated in 2021. Cambell’s marching experience includes 5 years of Littlestown High School marching band and indoor percussion ensemble, 7th Regiment in 2021, Temple University Diamond Marching Band in 2021, United Percussion 2 in 2022, Jersey Surf in 2022, the MTSU Band of Blue in 2022 and 8-time world champion ensemble Music City Mystique in 2023 and the upcoming 2024 season.

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Carson Shipley

Percussion Instructor

Carson Shipley

Carson Shipley is originally from Mount Juliet, Tennessee and is a senior Music Industry major at Middle Tennessee State University. Before transferring to MTSU for his senior year of undergraduate studies, Carson studied at the University of Tennessee at Martin. While there, he performed in their concert band, wind ensemble, percussion ensemble, and steel band. He is also a member of the Percussive Arts Society. Carson has marched both WGI and DCI as a member of the front ensemble. Throughout high school, he marched with the Mount Juliet High School Winter Drumline. After high school, Carson marched with Carolina Crown (2021-2022) and currently marches with Music City Mystique (2020-Present). Carson is excited to be on the Ravenwood team!

Kenneth Swartout

PERCUSSION Instructor

Kenneth Swartout

Kenneth was adopted from Seoul, South Korea at 6 months old and was raised in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. After falling in love with music through high school marching band, Kenneth moved to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue his B.A. in Percussion Performance at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University. During his time at Vanderbilt, Kenneth began his professional teaching career, becoming a percussion technician at the Vanderbilt Spirit of Gold Marching Band as a sophomore and the band’s Percussion Director as a junior. Additionally, Kenneth taught at Green Hill High School, Stratford High School, Ravenwood High School, and Highlands Ranch High School. Currently, Kenneth remains the Vanderbilt Percussion Director, a percussion technician at Ravenwood HS, and a show designer, arranger, and instructor at Highlands Ranch HS. Kenneth's marching arts career began in high school, where he participated in 4 seasons of both indoor and outdoor. I was also a performing member of the Blue Knights Percussion Ensemble in 2016 and 2017, competing in two WGI ensembles in 2017 when his high school and the Blue Knights traveled to Dayton for WGI world championships. In DCI, Kenneth was a performing member of the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps from 2017 through 2019. Kenneth then switched to a staffing position at the Boston Crusaders, working as one of their lead videographers. Beyond the music education and performance scene, Kenneth is heavily involved in media production, working for Synced Up Designs as their Social Media / Online Marketing Manager. Kenneth is also a cofounder of Continuous Motion Productions, LLC, a multifaceted video and audio production company that specializes in capturing musical performance. Kenneth values the intersection between music and media, enjoying the opportunity to give performers high quality content.

Andrew Miller

Percussion Instructor

Andrew Miller

Andrew Miller is a performer and educator who draws on a wide scope of musical and educational influences. Andrew has recently completed his bachelor’s degree in music education from Middle Tennessee State University. Andrew first discovered his passion for music and teaching during his time with the various programs associated with The Franklin Band from Franklin Tennessee. The most influential of the programs was the nationally recognized percussion ensemble and marching band. Marching percussion has been a key area of interest throughout his musical career. After his time with the highly successful Franklin marching band, Andrew went on to compete with multiple independent marching ensembles participating in WGI/DCI including Music City Drum and Bugle Corps in (2015), The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps from (2016-2019), and Rhythm X Indoor drumline (2018). During this time Andrew had the opportunity to learn from world-class educators such as David Aydelott, Michael Holland, Rob Pastor, Dr. Andrew Lynge, Dr. Eric Willie, Michael McIntosh, Brett Kuhn, Alan Miller, Erik Johnson, Dr. Ryan Kilgore, and Lane Summerlin. In recent years, Andrew has shifted the majority of his focus from performance in the marching percussion idiom to improving and broadening his skills as a concert/solo percussionist, educator, and arranger. Since he has been at MTSU, he has had the opportunity to study with Julie Davila, Lalo Davila, Russell Wharton, and Dr. Brian Mueller. Since 2018 he has taught the percussion section at Ravenwood HS under Shane Gwaltney.

Michael Rosson

Wind and Visual Instructor

Michael Rosson

A native of Nashville, TN, Michael Rosson is in his 12th year of teaching public education. Currently, he is the Director for both the Wind Band and Orchestral Conservatories for The Nashville School of the Arts, an arts focused magnet school in the Metropolitan-Nashville area. He is excited to be joining the Red Team at Ravenwood aiding in both music and visual education. He has a decorated marching arts resume' with groups performing in WGI "A" and Open Class Regional Finals, BOA Grand Nationals Prelims and Semi-Finals, and BOA Regional Finals. Rosson was also honored with a Certificate of Merit for Marching Excellence from the National Band Association. Wind Bands under his direction have received Superior Ratings in Concert Performance Assessment and Sightreading, named Tennessee Bandmasters Sweepstakes ensembles, and awarded the American School Band Directors Association Band of Distinction Award. In his spare time, Michael enjoys playing tennis, racquetball, golf, and experiencing new restaurants.

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Amaya Cooper

WIND AND VISUAL INSTRUCTOR

Amaya Cooper

Amaya Cooper is a Fred J Page Alumni, but originally is from San Antonio, Texas. She started in the musical arts in 5th grade on saxophone, and learned multiple instruments after that including percussion and brass. She’s marched 5 seasons of WGI with the Fred J Page Winter drumline and Audio Theater organizations. She also marched three seasons of Drum Corps International with Music City Drum and Bugle Corps. Amaya loves the marching activity and has found more joy in teaching than she could’ve imagined. She works for a staging company for concerts, tours, and live events when she’s not at Ravenwood. She loves having every aspect of music in her life.

Lindsay Furbee

Color Guard Instructor

Lindsay Furbee

Lindsay Furbee, a Ravenwood alum, is excited to join us for her fifth season teaching with the Red Team. Lindsay was part of the marching band and winter guard throughout her four years at Ravenwood and was named color guard captain her sophomore through senior years. When she wasn’t spinning with the guard, she played flute in the Wind Ensemble during all four years at RHS. Lindsay is now in her senior year at Belmont University studying Interior Design.

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Daniel Long

Color Guard Instructor

Daniel Long

Daniel Long was born in North Carolina. His love for music began as a young child playing piano. Daniel went on to play percussion in grade school, Memphis Youth Symphony Orchestra 2005-2007, Governor’s School for the Arts in 2006, and the University of Memphis Drumline in 2006 & 2008. He started his color guard career marching with Memphis Sound Drum Corps in the summer of 2008 and was granted the guard captain position in 2009. Daniel was a marching member of the competitive winterguard, Eklipse, from 2009 to 2012, and then served on the Eklipse staff as a choreographer from 2012 to 2014. Daniel loves coaching and giving back to the activity that has shaped him into the person he is today. In addition to his responsibilities at Ravenwood, he runs his real estate team, JDL Properties, an affiliate of Keller Williams Realty. Daniel is grateful that he gets to spend all of his time doing the things that he loves.

Taylor Winkler

Brass and Visual Instructor

Taylor Winkler

A Ravenwood alum, Taylor Winkler is excited to be joining RHS for his 3rd season with the Marching Band. In previous years, he has marched with the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps. In addition to Ravenwood, he has taught at Hillwood High School, Hixson High School, and has done various individual work with local middle and high school brass sections. As an instrumentalist, Winkler has been a finalist at the Derryberry Concerto Competition, and has given various recitals and master classes throughout the state. Winkler is currently studying Music Education at Tennessee Technological University where he studies Euphonium and Trombone.

Mitchell Kiriazes

Brass and Visual Instructor

Mitchell Kiriazes

With a decorated marching career that began at Ravenwood High School in 2013, Mitchell Kiriazes is grateful to be back where it all began. Prior to graduating RHS, he was a lead trumpet for the United States All-American Marching Band and marched with Music City Drum and Bugle Corps during the 2016 season. Immediately following his graduation in 2017, he spent his summer on mellophone with the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps and then moved to Memphis, Tennessee to attend U of M. After a few years of marching in The Mighty Sound of the South, there was one last marching achievement for him to complete. Fulfilling a lifelong dream, Mitchell marched mellophone with the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps for their 2019 production. Having taught multiple band camps in the Memphis area and being on staff for an undefeated 2019 season in the Visual Caption with Houston High School, Kiriazes was eager to return to the marching field after the unpredictable 2020 season.

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