Mr. Cole, Director
Mr. Craig Winter, Percussion
Nathan Smith, Front Ensemble & Tech
Cathleen VanBuren, Color Guard
Mr. Matthew Cole was born in Houston, TX. Mr. Cole completed his Bachelor of Music Education in Instrumental Music from Pacific Lutheran University. He earned a Master of Music and Conducting degree from the American Band College at Sam Houston University, Texas. Mr. Cole achieved his National Board Certification in Instrumental Music in 2010 and recertified in 2018. He has performed and guest conducted multiple ensembles throughout Washington including the North Cascade Concert Band, San Juan Music Educators’ Association HS Honor Band, the Fourth Corner Jazz Ensemble and the Washington Wind Symphony. Mr. Cole is active as an adjudicator for both junior and senior level solo/ensemble and concert ensemble competitions. He has served on staff with the American Band College and is currently on staff with the Western International Honor Bands. He was recently named a 2020 Grammy Teacher of the Year Quarterfinalist. He taught 9 years in Bellingham, WA. This is currently Mr. Cole’s 10th year with the Tahoma Bands!
The Tahoma Instrumental Music program has grown from 53 students in 3 ensembles to almost 200 over the last 10 years. Tahoma High School now offers 3 Concert Ensembles, 2 Jazz Bands, 2 Percussion Ensembles, 1 Orchestra, a competitive Field Show Ensemble, 2 Pep Bands, a Parade Ensemble and a Color Guard program. We have students involved in multiple youth symphony orchestras. Tahoma has students auditioning into honor ensembles at the state, regional and national levels (Concert, Marching, Symphony, Orchestra and Jazz). Over 80% of our participating students play more than one instrument in various ensembles.
The Band, Percussion, Orchestra and Color Guard members are all supported by our Tahoma Band Boosters. We have a very active and inclusive booster organization. The door is always open to parents, private teachers, relatives, graduates, and community members!
Craig Winter is a passionate music educator and percussion advocate who firmly believes that the leadership and life skills learned through arts education are unique and invaluable. Craig works to provide impactful experiences through music for all his students.
Growing up mostly in the Seattle area, Craig studied under noted percussion educators Donn Bennett, Scott Ketron, and David Reeves prior to heading to Arizona State University where he earned his degree in Instrumental Music Education. As an ASU student, Craig studied with Dr. J.B. Smith, Dr. Mark Sunkett, Dom Moio, and Bill Wanser. Also during that time, Craig developed a love for marching percussion and went on to compete as a finalist at the highest levels of Drum Corps and WGI. Thanks to the strong and diverse southwest/west coast percussion community, Craig was extremely fortunate to be directly influenced by educators including Rich Hinshaw, Tom Float, Pete Sapadin, Sean Vega, Antonio Hernandez, Ralph Hardimon, and Jeff Queen in the early years of his marching percussion experience.
Over the last 20 years Craig has been a professional performer, band director, adjudicator, and clinician. He was an Assistant Director of the Seahawks Blue Thunder Drumline and has taught in WGI and DCI with The Academy, Momentum Percussion Theater, Paragon Competitive Arts, Seattle Cascades, and the Columbians. He is currently a freelance percussionist, private teacher, Founder/Director of Emerald City Boom, instructor of the UW Husky Drumline, and an instructor/consultant for various high schools.
Nathan Smith is a Seattle based artist whose compositions blur the lines between contemporary, classical and traditional folk music. He strives to blend his love of classical percussion with singer songwriter traditions and incorporate new percussive elements to already established genres.
“I love the honesty and storytelling that comes with the singer/songwriter tradition, and it’s my desire to
incorporate that sincerity into my own playing and composing. Music, to me, is about alleviating the player
and listener from the struggles of daily life and creating a momentary world within a few minutes of music.”
Nathan Smith was born and raised in the Dallas, TX area surrounded by a dense jazz and gospel scene. Nathan grew up encompassed in drumline and drum corps. In the past ten years he has been involved in playing and teaching drum corps through out the United States.
Nathan graduated from the University of Missouri, where he studied classical percussion under Dr. Julia Gaines. In 2013, Nathan settled in Austin, TX, where he became part of the city’s thriving music scene. During his time in Austin, he developed a passion for singer/songwriter music, worked within many different music styles, and won Austin Unsigned Artist of the Year award, as well as the LA Music Critics blog’s number one single award and fan favorite awards.
In 2017, Nathan moved to Valencia, Spain to pursue his masters degree in Contemporary Performance from the prestigious Berklee College of Music, studying under Victor Mendoza. After graduating in 2018 he traveled around Europe playing at many renowned and historic jazz clubs and music venues. He currently lives in Seattle playing, teaching and loving the pacific northwest.
Born and raised in Washington, Cathleen is a Tahoma graduate who went through the band and color guard program and is now back to guide the next generation of Bears through their color guard journey.
Cathleen began taking dance classes at age 5 and quickly fell in love, leading her to train at several dance studios around the Puget Sound. Her primary dance styles are Ballet and Contemporary, but she has also trained in tap, Jazz, and Flamenco. As a member of the Tahoma Band program 5th - 12th grade, when she learned about color guard, she was immediately interested due to her dance background. During her time with the Tahoma Color Guard, Cathleen was a featured soloist and a Co-Captain and went on to participate in DCI with Eruption Drum and Bugle Corps. After this, she spent time coaching color guard at Tahoma and at Bellingham High School. In 2021, Cathleen joined Rhapsody Winterguard as a performer for the virtual season and submitted a solo to WGI, receiving a Superior rating and advancing to finals.
Cathleen graduated from Western Washington University with her BFA in Dance, a BA in Spanish, and a minor in mathematics and was named Outstanding Graduate in Dance. After this, she lived abroad in Cazorla, Spain for a year, working as an English Language and Culture Assistant in a primary school. In addition to being the Color Guard Instructor at Tahoma, Cathleen currently works as a Paraeducator, Dance Instructor, and is pursuing performance opportunities as a professional dancer.