Marching Ensemble Directors,
 

My name is David A. Parsons, and I am a Drill Designer and Marching Instructor from the Midwest.  I am writing to let you know that I am available to help your Winter Indoor ensemble &  Marching Band program for the 2007 marching season.

I am not looking to send my work half way across the US. I'm looking for ensembles that I can work with directly, either in Summer rehearsal, Camp or Weekly Fall rehearsal situations. This goes for Winter/Indoor ensembles as well. I take my work, whether it's in design or instructing, very personally. I work hard to develop close ties to the ensembles for which I design and teach, trying to learn their strengths and weaknesses while developing ways to help them overcome these adversities.

Being a musician first, my designs are always representative of the music. While designing, I pay great attention to the musical structure. Phrasing, flow, original intent, personal interpretation, what the music makes you feel; are things that should be the foundation of any show design. This is where my musical background and experience plays a large role.

My instructional skills are sound yet flexible. Here is where adjusting and adapting matters the most. When working with an ensemble, I not only consider myself as an instructor, I consider myself a troubleshooter. Continually analyzing the ensemble; seeing it’s strengths and deficiencies then making adjustments and developing teaching techniques to make the best come out. Any good instructor should always do this, though still have the knowledge to implement traditional teaching styles.

If you're looking for a fresh approach to drill design and a cohesive approach between all sub-captions in your ensemble, please consider me for a position on your staff. By browsing through this website you'll see I have many years of experience that can be an asset to most any marching ensemble. Experience that spans over 20 years and encompasses a wide variety of ensembles from indoor drum line to winter guard to the combined Fall competitive marching ensembles. Have instructed for bands of less than 20 members up to bands over 150. I also treat every ensemble I worked with as a learning experience. I’m continually growing as an instructor and designer, adjusting my writing to best fit the ensembles for which I work.

I am very committed when it comes to music and marching activities. It’s also important to know that my philosophies on marching band aren’t necessarily set in stone. I believe I have a good concept of the activity and I’m continually growing with it. So, my ideas and concepts concerning marching band may change but my solid foundations and beliefs in it won’t.

My goal here is to give you the opportunity to see some of this commitment. I’m offering my services to you in Drill Design and/or as a Marching / Visual Caption Head but in a deeper sense I’m offering a renewable commitment to you and your marching ensemble. Thank you for any consideration.
 

Sincerely,
 

David A. Parsons
Drill Design and Marching Instruction