Established in 1985, the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame honors the outstanding achievements of marching music's passionate and committed administrators, creators, instructors, judges, and others who have made significant contributions through years of hard work, innovation, and direction.
Joining the DCI Hall of Fame ranks in 2025 will be Jack Bevins, Matt Harloff, Allan Kristensen and Jim Moore. They will be honored as part of the DCI World Championships this August in Indianapolis.
Jack Bevins
Director, Velvet Knights
Jack Bevins
"2 COOL VK."
Jack Bevins was not your typical corps director. Then again, the Velvet Knights wasn’t your typical drum and bugle corps. They had that Southern California “cool” and a flair for the comedic. Former members and staff are quick to say that without Bevins, the VK that fans came to love in the ‘80s wouldn’t have happened.
Bevins went to great lengths to keep the Velvet Knights going when times got tough or when help was hard to find.
“No job was below Jack,” former VK percussion staffer Matt Savage said. “He was under the bus getting his hands dirty, attending board meetings, opening his own home for housing staff members, cooking meals on tour, doing the shopping and driving vehicles. The list is a long one.”
Bevins started his tenure with the Velvet Knights as a parent volunteer in 1968, using his catering truck to help feed the corps. He then became part of the corps’ board of directors. After a challenging 1974 season, Bevins became corps director.
Under his leadership, Velvet Knights made the DCI Top 25 for the first time in 1977. However, lingering financial challenges did not go away.
“Despite facing financial constraints and perpetual challenges, Jack demonstrated remarkable resilience in steering the corps through adversity,” said VK alum Gary Lima.
After a reorganization and “right-sizing” of the Velvet Knight organization, the corps returned to the field in 1981 and the Velvet Knights that fans came to love began to take shape.
“By entrusting a young and motivated staff with the opportunity to shape their vision, Jack facilitated a sweeping stylistic evolution within the corps, propelling it from 33rd place in 1981 to tying for seventh place in 1987,” Lima said.
Red high-top sneakers and baseball hats, a shark eating an opera singer, an off-beat bullfight — just a few of the many “VK moments” cooked up by the legendary Bobby Hoffman and a creative staff assembled by Bevins and given free rein to make things fun.
Velvet Knights made the DCI World Championship Finals for the first time in 1984, starting a run of seven straight finalist finishes, followed by a return to the Top 12 in 1992. The corps never finished lower than 16th at the DCI World Championship through its final season in 1996.
After retiring from the Velvet Knights, Bevins moved to Colorado where he volunteered for many years with the Blue Knights. Drum corps was in his blood.
Jack Bevins was not a typical corps director. He wasn’t a “super smooth” businessman. He often looked like the short-order cook that he was at heart. He was a man who stepped off his food truck and stepped up when the Velvet Knights needed him.
“Like the famous VK show ending ‘license plate’ sign stated, ‘Velvet Knights, a rare medium well done,’” the late DCI Hall of Fame member Michael Boo once wrote. “Jack Bevins was also a rare commodity, and though he took nothing at a medium pace, he (pardon the poetic grammar) done well.”
Matt Harloff
Brass instructor, caption head
Matt Harloff
That Crown sound! It’s often taken for granted that Carolina Crown is going to be in the hunt for the Jim Ott High Brass Award at the DCI World Championship every year.
Consistent excellence like that doesn’t just happen. It’s learned. The master teacher has been Matt Harloff, who joined the Crown brass staff in 2003.
Harloff started in drum corps with the Colt Cadets (1985-86) and Phantom Regiment Cadets (1987-88). At age 17, he went to Star of Indiana where he learned under the tutelage of DCI Hall of Fame Member Donnie VanDoren.
“He had high expectations of himself and those around him, and led by example,” VanDoren said. “As a result, Matt became Star’s drum major in 1993 and continued on as the conductor of ‘Brass Theater’ which toured the U.S. with the Canadian Brass from 1994-1997.”
Harloff then joined The Cadets’ brass staff and pursued his masters degree in music education. In 2003, Carolina Crown came calling. Harloff found his drum corps destiny.
You have to have a certain drive to play in a Matt Harloff horn line, says DCI Hall of Fame member Jay Bocook.
“I have known and worked with Matt since 1998, and I am amazed at his passion and dedication to total musical excellence,” Bocook said. “He is relentless in his drive to this end, and his brass sections reflect his commitment to perfection. The sound of a Matt Harloff horn line doesn’t just aim for your face, it wraps its arms around your whole body and gives you a huge hug.”
In 13 of the last 14 years, Carolina Crown has placed first or second in brass performance at the DCI World Championships. After winning brass in 2011 and 2012, in the third year of their three-peat, Crown received a perfect score in brass performance in Indy in 2013 on their way to a DCI World Championship title. It’s estimated that more than 150 former Crown brass players are now teaching the next generation of band students and corps members.
Now the director of bands at Avon High School in Indiana, Harloff has amassed a similarly successful record over a lengthy career. Avon was 2024’s Bands of America Grand National Champion.
Harloff will be the first to tell you that his time in drum corps formed the bedrock of his success; a notion seconded by mentor Donnie Van Doren.
“One of my greatest joys as a teacher is having a student become the master,” Van Doren said. “Matt’s commitment to his ensembles and more specifically to his students is second to none. As he did when he was a kid in Star, he continues to lead by example through role modeling. He comes to every rehearsal and every show warmup with a written plan demonstrating to the students his preparation and desire to get better.”
Allan E. Kristensen
DCI adjudicator
Allan Kristensen
“A judge’s judge” is how one DCI Hall of Fame member described Allan Kristensen.
“Every generation of drum corps instructors and participants has a judge or two who inspires them with their knowledge, their ability to rank and rate, to score fairly and accurately, and for whom the members of the ensemble love to perform,” said DCI Hall of Fame member Dennis Delucia. “Allan Kristensen is the person for the percussion community.”
Kristensen started his marching percussion journey with a drum and bell corps in 1967. He would go on to play in multiple famed Santa Clara Vanguard snare lines led by Fred Sanford from 1974 to 1976 — quite the way to spend one’s “formative years.” He then became a teacher and arranger, eventually taking on the Vanguard percussion section in 1986 and ’87.
Kristensen joined DCI’s adjudication community in 1989; in no time, he became one of DCI’s “go-to” judges when the marquee events rolled around. He judged his first DCI World Championship Finals in 1992 and would judge 11 Finals events in all before retiring, a record.
One of those Finals, though, was especially memorable — 2014. DCI’s director of competition Lee Carlson remembers it well.
“While judging the Carolina Crown one of the snare drummers dropped his drum,” Carlson said. “Allan picked the drum up and returned it to the young performer — Something that just came natural to him. The performer had a bad moment, and Allan decided that he could make it better, and he did. The video of the event went viral and was seen all over the world.”
In his nomination letter, former Vanguard snare drummer and Kristensen student Mike Needham summed up his friend and mentor.
“His excitement is contagious not only to the people and friends who know him, but also to the performers listening to his (recorded commentary),” Needham said. “Allan gets just as pumped as you are when a drum line is having a good night. He’s never happier than when he sees or hears an amazing performance no matter who’s playing or what the show is about.”
A sought-after clinician with professional music education and marching music organizations across North American and around the globe, Kristensen’s impact isn’t limited to DCI. Often seen judging the Bands of America Grand Nationals, he’s also served as a past president of the Western Band Association and of the Fresno-Madera County Music Educators Association.
“I can think of few among us who possess the creative spirit, energy and acumen to accomplish what Allan has done in his professional and drum corps life,” said retiring DCI judge administrator John Phillips.
Jim Moore
Color guard designer & choreographer
Jim Moore
As a high school trumpet player who joined the Spirit of Atlanta color guard in 1985 and who later became a principal dancer in the Georgia Ballet, Jim Moore has forged an extraordinary path into the DCI Hall of Fame.
Taking what he learned from future DCI Hall of Famer Scott Chandler and Tam Easterwood in that Spirit color guard and combining it with his dance experience, Moore brought a unique perspective to the drum corps design and instructional ranks. He helped start a choreography revolution.
“From 1991-1995, Jim was instrumental in the standard-setting color guards showcased by The Cadets … The excellence of these guards was legendary,” DCI Hall of Fame member Michael Gaines said in nominating Moore. “Drawing deeply from his professional dance repertoire, the way he crafted his choreography and equipment was astonishing to veterans of the activity. The grace and respect with which the movement and equipment were blended made Jim’s choreography distinct, mesmerizing and deeply inspiring to a generation of young choreographers.”
Moore would leave the field and head for the stage in the mid-1990s as Star of Indiana transitioned to “Brass Theater,” and its subsequent reinvention to “Blast!,” “Shockwave,” and “Cyberjam.” Moore’s choreography and staging work would help the production earn a prestigious Tony Award. His work on “Blast!” would also earn him an Emmy Award for outstanding choreography in 2001.
Returning to drum corps in 2005 with Carolina Crown, Moore brought a focus on choreography and body movement to the brass and percussion sections, leading to some innovative productions. He also helped the Madison Scouts return to the DCI World Championship Finals.
Then came 2013, the year that Moore joined the Bluecoats’ creative team. Something special was percolating in Canton, Ohio, and Moore was the perfect person to widen the visual vista for the corps, bringing his talents to such productions as “Tilt,” “Down Side Up,” “Session 44,” “The Bluecoats,” and “Change is Everything.”
“While the activity today looks and feels very different because of Jim’s work, I think it is important to recall how audacious such transformational ideas were,” Bluecoats CEO Mike Scott said. “Thanks to his valiant work, an entirely new generation of people have experienced drum corps as young fans, performers, audience members and staff.”