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Staff Biographies
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Eric Samson is
Director of Instumental Music at El Dorado High School. He previously served
three years as Assistant Director and prior to that
as
percussion instructor and writer. His present
duties
include Marching Band, Symphonic and Concert Band, and Percussion
Ensemble. In 2003, Eric was a
participant of the Henry
Mancini Institute (HMI) and performed with the HMI Orchestra until
operations
ceased in 2006. While performing with
HMI, he had the opportunity to share the stage with artists such as
Quincy
Jones, Tony Bennett, Stevie Wonder, Michael Buble and Bill
Cunliffe. Eric continues to be in demand as a freelance
percussionist, percussion arranger, and performs regularly with his own
Latin
jazz band, Indigenous Soul. |
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Richard Watson is Jazz
Director at El Dorado High School, having previously served 35 years as Director
of Instrumental Music. Richard is an
honorary
life member in the Southern California School Band and Orchestra
Association. He is well known as a teacher,
performer, clinician, and adjudicator throughout the area, and in May
2010 was awarded the Irene Shoepfle Music Education
Award by the OCMAA, in recognition of his lifetime of service in music
for
the students in Orange Countydirector. He
toured with Roger Williams and has played for many celebrities
including Connie
Stevens, Carol Lawrence, Maureen McGovern, and Fred Carroll.
Richard has
played with the Pacific Symphony and currently plays with the
California Wind
Symphony. He has worked for the Disney company for over 30
years and
was selected as the drummer for Disney’s ten city tour of Symphonic
Fantasy. Richard was the director of
the American contingency of the 2000 Olympic band in Sydney,
Australia. A few years ago now he was asked to be the drummer
for
Elvis Presley, but he had just signed a contract to teach instead – as
it turned
out, a very wise decision.
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Corkie
Keys is
in her 11th year as the Colorguard
Director and head instructor at El Dorado High School.
Under her leadership, the EDHS Colorguard has grown from 14 to 44
members. The
EDHS Colorguard has won dozens of Sweepstakes awards both in field and
parade
competitions, and contributes to the numerous Visual, General Effect
and
Overall Sweepstakes awards won by the Golden Hawks Marching Band. The
EDHS
Colorguard was awarded the Auxiliaries Combined Parade and Field
Sweepstakes Award
in 2008 at the prestigious Arcadia Festival of Bands. Aside from her
duties at El Dorado, Corkie Keys is
a very active Auxiliaries caption parade and field adjudicator with the
Southern California School Band & Orchestra Association. She
also serves the
SCSBOA as the Auxiliaries Representative to the Parade Adjudication
Committee -
an appointed position she has held since 2005. Corkie is also an
adjudicator
for the Winter Guard Association of Southern California. In the fall of
2009 Corkie was awarded the "Distinguished Member Award" from the
SCSBOA.
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Phillip Inzerillo
is the Assistant Director of Instrumental Music at El Dorado High
School. Phillip is a Los Angeles County native who has dedicated his
life’s work to education and music. Prior to El Dorado he was active
throughout Southern California advocating music demonstrations and
clinics, planning classroom and field music lessons, promoting student
leadership, and providing private music instruction. As a free lance
performer, Phillip has a wide range of experiences playing in Symphonic
Orchestras and Wind Ensembles, Big Bands, Latin Jazz Groups, and
marching Drum and Bugle Corps with Pacific Crest and the Santa Clara
Vanguard. Phillip teaches instrumental and classroom music while
specializing on trombone and brass performance. He holds a Bachelor of
Arts Degree in Music Education and a California Teachers Credential
from California State University Fullerton.
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