East Coast Jazz

East Coast Jazz is sponsored by Youth In The Arts, Inc. and is based in Malden, Massachusetts. The corps is a member of Drum Corps International and competes in DCI Division II. The East Coast Jazz is one of the most respected and successful corps in DCI today. They are a nine-time Division II/III finalist and in 1998 won the Division II Championship. In August 2004 the corps placed 2nd by only twenty-five thousandths of a point in Division II at the DCI World Championships in Denver, Colorado. The corps was awarded the top scores in brass, visual and general effect. In August 2005 East Coast Jazz came from behind to win the Division II World Championship, taking both high brass and percussion.

## History

East Coast Jazz was organized in 1989. The corps is the continuation of the heritage of the Malden Ambassadors and Malden Diplomats, both very successful drum corps.
The East Coast Jazz is sponsored by Youth In The Arts, Inc. of Malden, Mass. This organization has fielded drum corps in the city of Malden since 1972. They have been under the same directorship since 1972.

### 2007

* In October 2006, the corps director,Tom Chopelas, announced through the corps website that the corps would be inactive for the 2007 competitive season.[1]

### Administrative Staff

* Director: Thomas Chopelas
* Assistant Director: Frederick Ford
* Operations Director: David Mullen
* Corps/Tour Manager: Adam St. Jean
* Staff: Paul Gaffney, Sue St Jean, Merilyn Schneider

### Creative and Instructional Staff

* Staff & Program Coordinator: Frederick Ford
* Brass Arranger: J.D. Shaw
* Caption Head: Pete Twiraga
* Brass Staff: Dan Davey, Rob Wheeler, Steve Conant
* Front Ensemble: Jason Medeiros, Matthew McGuire
* Battery Arranger & Caption Head: Charles Poole Jr.
* Percussion Staff: Brandon McNutt, Jack Foulis, Chris Slipp, Geoff Summers, Josh Syzmanski
* Visual Caption Head & Designer: Ed Devlin
* Visual Staff: Jason Bentley, Keith Bush, Eric Poster, Jamie St. Jean, Evan Tropp
* Guard Designer: Andrew Hanenburg, Brandon Block
* Guard Caption Head: Chris Raichle
* Guard Staff: Ari Alonso, Elena DaFonte, Laura Hamilton, Tracey McNutt

**2005**

### Administrative Staff

* Director: Thomas Chopelas
* Assistant Director: Frederick Ford
* Operations Director: David Mullen
* Corps/Tour Manager: Adam St. Jean
* Staff: Paul Gaffney, Sue St Jean, Merilyn Schneider, David Wozniak

### Creative and Instructional Staff

* Staff & Program Coordinator: Frederick Ford
* Brass Arranger & Caption Head: Jeff Bolduc
* Brass Staff: Josh Chapman, Adam Rapa, Rich Wohl
* Front Ensemble: Jason Medeiros
* Battery Arranger & Caption Head: Charles Poole Jr.
* Percussion Staff: Jack Foulis, Brandon McNutt, Chris Slipp, Ryan Steber, Geoff Summers
* Visual Caption Head & Designer: Ed Devlin
* Visual Staff: Jason Bentley, Keith Bush, Justin McDonald, Bill Solari, Evan Tropp
* Guard Designers: Andrew Hanenburg, Brandon Block
* Guard Caption Head: Chris Raichle
* Guard Staff: Ari Alonso, Laura Hamilton, Tracey McNutt, Nicole Prideaux

**2004**

### Administrative Staff

* Director: Thomas Chopelas
* Assistant Director: Frederick Ford
* Operations Director: David Wozniak
* Corps/Tour Manager: Adam St. Jean
* Staff: Paul Gaffney, David Mullen, Sue St Jean, Merilyn Schneider

### Creative and Instructional Staff

* Staff & Program Coordinator: Frederick Ford
* Brass Arranger & Caption Head: Jeff Bolduc
* Brass Staff: Josh Chapman, Adam Rapa, Rich Wohl
* Front Ensemble Arranger: Sean Simmer
* Front Ensemble: Jason Medeiros
* Battery Arranger & Caption Head: Charles Poole Jr.
* Percussion Staff: Jack Foulis, Brandon McNutt, Ryan Steber
* Visual Caption Head & Designer: Ed Devlin
* Visual Staff: Jason Bentley, Mark Lagatic, Bill Solari
* Guard Designers: Andrew Hanenburg, Brandon Block
* Guard Caption Head: Maureen Kelly
* Guard Staff: Laura Hamilton, Tracey McNutt, Nicole Prideaux, Chris Raichle

## Trivia

* In 2006, East Coast Jazz received a higher score than The Academy at the Great Lakes Open held Michigan City, IN. The two corps did not perform on the same night and DCI does not recognize this as a defeat of Academy according to an article of DCI's that mentioned that Academy was undefeated. However the judges gave the higher score to East Coast Jazz on day 2, the same night Academy performed at Lacrosse and received a score 3 points higher than ECJ.