Sara Bowden (they/them/theirs) is excited to begin their fourth season with the 7th Regiment in a new role (visual caption manager). Bowden is a Los Angeles-based music theorist and marching arts scholar-practitioner. They bring four years of drum corps coaching experience in the visual (7th Regiment – 2019, 2021, and 2023 seasons) and brass (Crossmen – 2022 season) captions into the caption manager role. While living in Chicago, Bowden studied intermediate contemporary and modern dance and continues to do so in Los Angeles. Bowden’s award-winning dissertation research on the marching arts examines approaches to ensemble timing, tracks the acquisition of schematic vocabulary related to visual design, and models sources of synchronization interference. 

As a graduate worker at Northwestern, Bowden completed the Inclusive Teaching Practicum and served as a Reflective & Effective Teaching Guide at the Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching. They approach educational work in the drum corps activity as an invaluable professional development opportunity for marching arts educators, and they look forward to mentoring a staff of educators who share their respect for youth education, our activity’s unique artistry, and the 7th Regiment’s commitment to excellence. 

They will complete their PhD in music theory and cognition at Northwestern University in June 2024. They have an MM in music theory and cognition (Northwestern, 2019) and a BM in music theory (University of North Texas, 2018). 

Bowden is grateful for the opportunity to work with such a motivated and talented group of developing performers in a learning environment where students of all experience levels can thrive. Please email visual@7thregiment.org to get in touch, or read more on their website. 

Austin has been a member of the 7R visual team since 2019. A former member of several New England based marching arts organizations, including The Seventh Regiment, Austin takes great pride in how dedicated his fellow staff is to creating a positive learning environment for the members of the corps. He takes even greater pride in the determination and spirit of the students he is fortunate enough to teach at The Seventh Regiment. While not teaching at 7R, Austin teaches Elementary Music in Massachusetts.