Brigadiers Announce Benz As New Corps Director

A nine year alumnus of the organization, Ryan started marching with the Brigs in 1998 as a soprano (trumpet) player before becoming an Assistant Drum Major in 2000, a post in which he held until 2002. After marching two years with The Cadets in 2004 and 2005, Ryan came back from DCI finals and finished the DCA season with the Brigs. While with The Cadets, he was a trumpet soloist, the 2004 Brass Rookie of the Year, and 2005 DCI Champion. In 2006, Ryan became the podium Drum Major for the Brigs where he remained until 2008 and was the 2006 Brigadier of the Year.

He has a degree in Trumpet Performance from Montclair State University where he studied under Don Batchelder of the NYC Opera as well as a Masters in Business from Syracuse University with a concentration in Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises. He said, “Knowing what the organization has done for me and so many others over the years, I am humbled and excited to lead the Brigs in regaining the stature they so rightly deserve. Reestablishing the corps as an educational institution that is focused on the arts will require an immense amount of support from our alumni, local community, and fans and I urge all interested in joining next season to fill out the membership form on our website as soon as possible.”

Plans for the 2012 competitive season are being explored and will be announced once finalized in the coming weeks. Ryan can be reached at ryanbenz [at] brigadiers [dot] com