Jesse Backes : Ensemble Specialist/Consultant

 Jesse Backes currently resides in Indianapolis, Indiana and is an active designer, consultant, and judge for marching percussion groups around the US. He has been a member of the percussion community for more than 20 years and is so excited to continue that journey with Veritas! 

Jesse has been actively involved in the drum corps community since 2010. He was a member of Colts (2010) and then The Cavaliers (2011-13). During his tenure with The Cavaliers, the corps earned the Fred Sanford High Percussion Award in 2011 and performed at PASIC in 2013. Further as a performer, he was a member of Green Thunder percussion (2007-09) and Gateway Indoor Percussion (2011) and received a degree in Music Education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

After aging out in 2013, Jesse joined the percussion staff at Phantom Regiment from 2014-16 where he served as a battery visual instructor, snare technician, and battery coordinator. In 2017, he returned to The Cavaliers to work with the snareline and in 2019 became battery coordinator. He continued in that role through the summer of 2022 which included aiding in the production and presentation of the group’s 2020 virtual PASIC clinic.

Outside drum corps, Jesse worked with Cavaliers Indoor Percussion from 2012-2018 as a snare technician, battery coordinator, and music ensemble director, and has worked with many wonderful programs around the country as an educator and a designer. These include Fishers HS, St. Ambrose University, Southport HS, Mahomet-Seymour HS, Veritas, Crystal Lake Thunder, Marian Catholic HS, Northern Illinois University, Batavia HS, Lake Central HS, and numerous others. He is proudly endorsed by Innovative Percussion. 

Jesse enjoys spending quality time with his lovely wife Alison, his two spunky dogs, Charlie and Goomba, and his other loves; traveling, cooking, and disc golf. 

Tony Cook : Ensemble Specialist

Tony Cook is a percussion instructor and arranger based out of Avon Indiana. Tony has been teaching at Avon High School since 2018, where he serves as percussion director, battery coordinator, private lesson instructor, and battery arranger. He also works as percussion director for the Avon Middle Schools.

While studying music education and music composition at Ball State University, Tony taught at several schools around Indiana including Franklin Community, Franklin Central, Greenfield Central, Fishers, and Avon. He has also worked with Legacy, Veritas, and the Blue Knights as a battery instructor.

Tony is also a performer with the High Octane drumline at the Indiana Pacers games and at the Indy 500, and with the Indianapolis Colts drumline. Tony currently lives in Avon with his wife Emma and their cats.