DAN
ALLEN

Dan has actively participated in the marching arts for over ten years as a performer, educator, show designer, judge, and marching snare drum specialist. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering and a Music Minor from Texas Christian University.

He currently serves as the head percussion director for Nazarene Christian Academy, and is considered a leading authority on competitive marching snare drum and battery percussion in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

As a performer, Dan competed in Drum Corps International as a marching snare drummer for four years, first at Pioneer in 2005 & 2006 , and then with Phantom Regiment in 2007 & 2008. He aged out as the drumline section leader during the summer of Spartacus, a show that earned Phantom Regiment the Fred Sanford High Percussion Award and a DCI World Championship.

In the fall of 2008, he represented TCU at PASIC in the College Snare Drum Solo category, and was awarded 1st place with an original solo called “On the Shoulders of Giants” - a tribute to the greats that made the art of rudimental snare drum what it is today.

As an educator, Dan has taught battery percussion at the Blue Knights drum & bugle corps, the Blue Knights indoor percussion ensemble, the Santa Clara Vanguard, Vigilantes Indoor Percussion, and many of the top competitive high school marching bands in north Texas.

Most recently, Dan traveled and performed with innovative electronic dance music duo Odesza on their 2017-18 “A Moment Apart” tour on the Odesza Drum Line, including two Saturday night performances at Coachella Music Festival in California in April of 2018.

Dan is most interested in the connection between music and technology, and seeks to find ways to incorporate the latest music technology into the percussion education environment.