Visual Staff Biographies

Michael Cesario

Michael returns to the Brigs for his 10th season. He is the recognized leader in design for performing and pageantry arts. Michael is a former Director of Graduate Studies in Theatre Arts and Film Design/Technology at New York's Purchase College.

Known as a Costume Designer for Broadway, Television, and Las Vegas, he is in demand as an instructor and adjudicator of high school bands and drum and bugle corps. His work is published in several texts and he was honored with membership in the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame.

Rick Morey

Rick has been involved in the pageantry activity for several decades, both as an adjudicator and a visual designer.

Rick, who lives in New Hartford, New York with his wife Barbara, adjudicated for DCI for 19 years and judged their championships 16 times. He has adjudicated for WGI, DCA and BOA, as well as numerous marching band festivals around the country. A past President of the New York Federation of Contest Judges, Rick has also been a clinician in the United States, Canada and Great Britain.

He is currently the Visual Designer and Program Coordinator for the 5-time DCA Champion Brigadiers Drum and Bugle Corps, a position he has held since 1995. He served as the Program Coordinator for the Magic of Orlando Drum and Bugle Corps in 2002 and 2003 as they returned to DCI Finalist status and was the Program Coordinator for the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps in 2004. In 2005, he served as both Program Coordinator and Visual Designer for the Colts. He currently designs visual programs for championship marching bands in New York, New Jersey, New Mexico and Las Vegas, Nevada.

Rick is a retired high school counselor and now works in the pageantry activity on a full time basis as a designer and consultant.

Larry Schmidt

Larry Schmidt has been a director, designer and instructor for many bands, color guards and drum corps for nearly thirty years. The groups he has instructed and/or designed for have won 15 championships.

He has been a member of the New York Federation of contest judges since 1991. He has served as an adjudicator for the New York State Field Band Conference, USSBA, DCI, DCA (including judging the DCA championships), the Mid-York Winterguard conference, Mid-York Winterguard Championships, the NY Federation Winterguard championships.

Larry is also the director of the CNS Northstars Winterguard program which has guards in Open class, A class and Regional A class and works with the CNS marching band. During his tenure as director with the Northstars, the guard has won multiple championships and been a finalist at multiple WGI regional competitions and have been a semi finalist at the WGI championships.

Larry has served on the staff of the World Champion Brigadiers Drum & Bugle Corps since 1996 and has previously worked with the Rochester Crusader Drum & Bugle Corps. He performed with the Bayonne Bridgemen.

In his professional life, Larry is the Administrator for the County of Oswego Office for the Aging providing financial and social work assistance to the elderly and their families. He has served on the Board of Directors for the non-profit agency Oswego County Opportunities, the Oswego Housing Development Council, the Public Health Professional Advisory Council and has also been chairman for the Alzheimer's disease Memory Walk fundraiser. Larry has a Bachelor of Arts in music.

Dawn Marie Mackiewicz

Dawn Marie returns to The Brigadiers for her 8th season, 3rd as a visual technician. Her drum corps tour history includes The Sunrisers Senior Drum and Bugle Corps 1993-1996, The Blue Devils of Concord, California 1997-1999 (DCI), The Brigadiers from 2000-01 and 2004-present, and The Empire Statesmen 2002-03. She has also performed with the Penn State Blue Band, Pennsylvania State University 1996-97, while studying Music Education & Art. She has taught and consulted several high school bands in NJ, NY and PA area.

Outside the activity, Dawn Marie works as a Network Operations Repair Technician for Rochester, NY's up-and-coming telecommunications company, Paetec Holding Corp. She began her employment with this young company 2 years ago with prior experience from AT&T and Choice One Communications.

Dawn Marie's 18 years in the marching activity has been an exciting journey. She has accomplished awards and championships in both DCI and DCA circuits which include two DCI championships in 1997 & 1999, the Jim Ott Brass trophy three consecutive years with the Blue Devils in 1997, 98 and 1999, The Blue Devils Hall of Fame in 1999, and two DCA Championships with The Brigadiers in 2000 & 2001.

Dawn Marie is pleased to have been asked to join The Brigadiers staff once again as a Visual Technician for the 2008 season. Her hopes are to be an integral part of yet another successful year with The Brigadiers.