Staff Bios
William Neater, Director:
William has been involved in the marching arts for twenty years. From being a snare drummer in the Bushwackers Senior Drum and Bugle corps, a visual technician for the Jersey Surf Junior Drum and Bugle Corps, to serving as a judge for the United States Scholastic Band Association, William has been involved in the marching arts in a variety of ways. Most recently working with a number of high school marching bands on Long Island and throughout the New York region as drill writer, visual caption head, program designer and consultant, and assistant marching band director, as well as color guard instructor, designer, and caption head, William has amassed experience in all aspects of the marching arts activity. William has been a Social Studies teacher and alternative school principal at a public high school in New York for ten years, and has earned his Masters in Educational Administration and Technology from Long Island University, in Brookville, NY. Currently, William is completing his doctoral studies in Educational Administration through Dowling College in Oakdale, NY. Mr. Neater is excited to be a part of the tradition building within the NDC Marching Band, and is proud to be a part of the emerging culture of music that is existent at a fine institution like Notre Dame College.
John McFarland, Assistant Director of Bands, Percussion Caption Head:
John Max McFarland received his degrees in Composition (B.M.) and Percussion Performance (B.M., M.M.) from Western Michigan University. He studied percussion under Judy Moonert and composition under Curtis Curtis-Smith, Dr. Richard Adams, and Dr. Robert Ricci. John was also a marching member of the Kiwanis Kavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps as well as the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps. His compositions and arrangements have received international recognition with performances all over the United States as well as Taiwan. His percussion music is published through Tapspace Publications where he is also on staff as a music engraver. John is an active music educator and clinician in the Midwest were he instructs Legends Drum & Bugle Corps, Westlake High School in Westlake Ohio, and Brunswick High School in Brunswick, Ohio. John is also the President of New Music Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and performance of new music by emerging composers.
Brandy Viol-Huntington, Director of Colorguard
Brandy Viol-Huntington has been a part of the campus scene at Notre Dame College for just two years, but she’s been involved in seasonal extracurricular color guard and marching band activities for seventeen years. Currently she serves both as the Caption-head of the Notre Dame College Color Guard, and as an Admissions Counselor in the Office of Admissions at NDC.
Brandy came to Notre Dame College a well-seasoned student. After graduating from Norton High School in 2000, she attended the University of Akron, where she majored in Political Science and American Government. She was awarded her Bachelor’s Degree in 2008. Today she studies Security Policy Studies at Notre Dame, and her long-range goal includes pursuing a Masters of Arts in the field.
Outside of the classroom, Brandy has long enjoyed participating in seasonal color guard, marching band, and drum and bugle corps. In fact, she has years of experience in various capacities with Norton High School Marching Band, the Collage Winterguard in Akron, The Southwind Drum and Bugle Corp and The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corp, the Firestone High School Marching Band, and the Willoughby South High School Marching Band. Today she is entering her third year with the Notre Dame College Color Guard. She loves the energy, the enthusiasm, and the love of this art that she has come to realize at Notre Dame College.
Bernie Williams, Director of Brass Studies:
Bernie Williams, a native of Edinburg, TX. studied tuba performance at Bowling Green State University with international acclaimed soloist and teacher Velvet Brown and also received his Post-Baccalaureate in Music Education at Cleveland State University. Bernie has enjoyed a long career as an music educator, soloist and has performed with the Lima Symphony orchestra, Lubbock Symphony, Toledo Symphony Orchestra, Wheeling Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra, Glass City Brass Quintet, Madison Scouts and is the principal Tubist of the Cleveland Winds. He is also one of the founding members of Edgewater Brass of Greater Cleveland. Bernie has also been a featured soloist with Cleveland State University Wind Ensemble and the Firestone High School Symphonic Band.
Bernie Williams is the Assistant Director of Bands at Firestone High School where the marching band has received numerous superior rating and has qualified for state marching contest for 8 straight years. Firestone has been a finalist band in the Mid-States Marching Band Circuit Championships for the last 2 years. Bernie also serves as the Brass Coordinator for Akron Public Schools Visual and Performing Arts Program. His students consistently sit in the top chairs in numerous youth ensembles in Northeast Ohio. Under the direction of Bernie Williams upon graduation from the program his students have gotten into some of the top music schools in the state and country including Cleveland Institute of Music, Eastman Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory, Capital Conservatory, Baldwin Wallace, Bowling Green State University and University of North Texas.
Mark Wallace, Director of Woodwind Studies:
Mark Wallace is a native of the Dayton, Ohio metropolitan area where he graduated with honors from Wayne High School in 2007. While at Wayne, Mark was a member of several instrumental and choral ensembles, including the Bowling Green State University Honor Band. Following graduation, he toured Europe with the Ohio Ambassadors of Music Band and Choir. Mr. Wallace continued his studies at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, where he was a member of Phi Theta Kappa, an Honors Scholar, and music scholarship recipient. While attending Sinclair, he performed at the 2010 OMEA Conference with the Wind Symphony and several guest artists, composers, and conductors. Mr. Wallace completed his Associate of Arts in Music with High Honors in 2010.
Currently, Mr. Wallace is a senior at The Ohio State University, where he has completed the Bachelor’s of Music Education degree, and is finishing Bachelor’s of Music degrees in Saxophone Performance and Music Theory. Mr. Wallace is a member of OCMEA, the North American Saxophone Alliance, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. He performs in the Symphonic Band, and has studied with Mr. James Hill, Mr. Adam McCord, and Mr. Bruce Jordan. In 2012, Mr. Wallace performed in Dr. Jonathan Helton’s master class at the North American Saxophone Alliance Conference at Arizona State University. He has also performed on master classes presented by Dr. Otis Murphy, Dr. Jeffrey Loeffert, and Joseph Lulloff.
Jonathan Radwan, Percussion Instructor:
Jonathan Radwan has been a percussionist for over 21 years. He attended Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio where he participated in ensembles such as the Marching Band, Pep Band, Jazz Band, Wind Ensemble, and Pit Orchestra. After graduation, Jonathan attended the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio as a Computer Information Systems major. Even though he was not a music major, he continued to pursue his love of music by participating in the Pride of Dayton Marching Band, Flyer Pep Band, Dayton Jazz Ensemble, Jazz Combo, Indoor Drumline, and Symphonic Wind Ensemble. As a student, he also marched two summers of DCI Drum & Bugle Corps with Capital Regiment out of Columbus, Ohio. He currently works for Hyland Software, Inc. in Westlake, Ohio as a Database Engineer. Being a percussionist has something that has always been a big part of his life and helping other students become better percussionists is something he is looking forward to with Notre Dame College Marching Band.
Vanessa Borelly-Vega, Assistant Colorguard Director:
Vanessa has been involved in the marching arts as a performer and educator for over fifteen years. She began her color guard experience in Belleville, NJ as a member of the color guard in the marching band and then went on to perform with the Raiders Drum and Bugle Corps, Stardust Winter Guard, Alter Ego Winter Guard, the Jersey Surf Drum and Bugle Corps, Black Watch Winter Guard, and the Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps. She has been on staff with the Alter Ego Winter Guard, the Raiders Drum and Bugle Corps and Winter Guard, the Bushwackers Drum and Bugle Corps, and various other marching bands throughout the New Jersey area. Vanessa also served as the guard director and designer for Sayreville High School in Sayreville, NJ and currently serves as the guard director/designer for Norton High School in Norton, OH. This is Vanessa’s second year with the Notre Dame College color guard and she looks forward to being a part of another exciting season with this talented team.
Scott Markham, Colorguard Designer and Instructor:
Scott Markham is a graduate of Marlington High School in Alliance, Ohio. Scott's performing experience includes Collage Winterguard (Akron, OH), R2 Performance Group (Brook Park, OH), The Glassmen Drum and Bugle Corps and Winterguard (Toledo, OH), Crown Guard (Dayton, OH), and Corona Winterguard (Los Angeles, CA). Scott has instructed and designed for many reputable DCI/BOA/WGI colorguards across the country such as Collage Winterguard, The Colts, The Madison Scouts, The Glassmen, Diamond Bar HS, Corona and Corona 'Light' Winterguards, Valley View HS, Indio HS, James Bowie HS (Austin), Round Rock HS, Hebron HS, Identity Winterguard, Black Gold Winterguard, and Miamisburg HS. Scott has also instructed Juxtaposition World Guard from Westerville, and is very happy to be returning to the staff of the Notre Dame College Band and Colorguard.
Justine Lownsbury, Front Ensemble Instructor:
Justine Lownsbury has been involved in percussion for over 15 years, having the opportunity to spend the last 4 years teaching at Broadview Heights High school as the front ensemble instructor. She attended Brunswick High School, in Brunswick Ohio, where she was a member of the every music ensemble offered. After high school, Justine attended Youngstown State University where she obtained her Bachelors degree for English Education with a minor in Music Education. Although her major focus was not specifically music, she was actively involved in numerous percussion ensembles, as well as the university band and the concert band, all while teaching percussion in Brecksville. Justine has been a part of the World Class Indoor Drumline Matrix, performing 3 seasons with them during her college years, having the opportunity to travel to Europe to perform. She has recently graduated from Ashford University with her Masters Degree in Healthcare Administration and accepted a position at the Veterans Clinic in Youngstown, Ohio. Although her career is in health care, she has always found great enjoyment in the sharing of her experiences through the teaching of percussion.
Michael Lanning, Percussion Technician:
Michael Leone, Instructor:
Michael Leone serves as a brass and woodwind instructor for the Notre Dame College band program, where he helps the full ensemble as well as brass and woodwind ensemble rehearsals. He is a native of North Royalton, and holds Bachelor’s degrees in Music Education and Performance from The Ohio State University. While at Ohio State, Michael performed with a variety of groups, including the Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, Marching Band, Men’s Glee Club, Trombone Ensemble, and various chamber ensembles.
In addition to his responsibilities at NDC, Michael serves as a music teacher at University School, a private all-boys school in Shaker Heights. At US, he teaches band, orchestra, and general music for boys in grades 5-8. He is also an active performer and plays with a variety of ensembles in the Cleveland area.
Michael holds professional memberships in the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA), and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a fraternity dedicated to the advancement of music in America.
Kelly Radwan, Colorguard Instructor
Kelly Radwan is the twirler instructor for NDC. She has been twirling for over 20 years. She twirled for Royal Cadets in the United States Twirling Association individually, in pairs, and on teams where she has achieved many state, regional, and national titles. She twirled at Westlake High School and at the University of Dayton. Kelly is a 6th grade teacher in North Olmsted, Ohio.
