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Color Guard Staff
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Jeffrey Capponi
Jeffrey Capponi began his pageantry career in 2004 at Century High School in Portland, Oregon and through the years performed with Oregon Crusaders, Cascades, The Madison Scouts, The Blue Devils, North by Northwest Winter Guard and Oregon Crusaders Indoor percussion.
Jeff has worked with numerous high school Color guards, marching bands and drum corps which include Oregon Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps, Cascades Drum and Bugle corps, BOA and WGI Finalist O’Fallon Township HS, WGI Finalist Dartmouth HS, WGI Finalist Friendswood HS, WGI Finalist Oregon Crusaders Independent (Director and Designer), Maui High School, Lux Independent Winter guard, WGI IW Finalist Juxtaposition Independent Winter Guard and is going into his 3rd year as Color Guard caption head and designer for the Mandarins Drum and Bugle corps. Jeff currently resides in Eagle, Idaho as a full time designer and choreographer for programs throughout the United States.
Outside of the activity you can usually catch Jeff traveling, playing with his gorgeous pup Georgia, at or watching a soccer game or supporting his local wineries and breweries. Jeff is ecstatic to be back with the Mandarins as Color Guard Designer and Caption Head for the 2024 season.
Jeffrey Capponi
Color Guard Caption Head/ Choreographer
Anna Smith
Anna Smith began her pageantry career in 2008 at Dixie Heights High School in Edgewood, Kentucky and through the years performed with O2, The Phantom Regiment, and Onyx. She has worked with numerous high school color guards and marching bands including Dixie Heights High School, Campbell County High School, Northmont High School, Onyx A, Onyx, Juxtaposition, and The Mandarins. Anna is from Park Hills, Kentucky and currently resides in Dayton, Ohio studying Music Therapy and Flute Performance. Anna is excited to be back with the Mandarins for her fourth season in 2024.
Anna Smith
Color Guard Staff
Allison Petro
Allison is originally from Plainfield, IL and is a 2020 graduate from The Ohio State University
with a B.S. in Public Health.
Allison’s color guard performance career spans a total of 15 seasons between marching band,
drum corps, and winter guard. Her performing career began at Plainfield North High School in
the marching band, and continued into the indoor season with Plainfield Winter Guard from
2012-2015. Allison went on to perform with Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps from 2015-
2018, serving as color guard captain in 2017 and 2018. She performed with Juxtaposition in
2016, as well as Onyx in 2017, 2018, and 2022.
Allison has taught and choreographed at multiple organizations during and following her
performing years. She has worked with multiple scholastic and independent programs around the
country, including programs in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and Texas. Currently living in Cedar Park,
TX, Allison is the Color Guard Director at Leander High School.
This will be Allison’s fourth summer with the Sacramento Mandarins, and she could not be more
excited to be back on staff with this incredible organization!
Allison Petro
Color Guard Staff
Conner Adams
Conner Adams
Color Guard Staff
Gwyneth Quitorio
Gwyneth Quitorio is a proud Mandarins Dragon Guard Alumni (2017, 2018, 2021), and has been on staff with the Mandarins since 2022. Gwyneth’s past coaching experience includes Kastner Intermediate, (2016-2017), Clovis West HS (2016-2017), Buchanan HS (2017-2022), and Sacramento State Winter (2023-current). In addition to marching for the Mandarins, her past color guard performative experience includes Clovis West HS (2013-2017) and Frente Winter Guard (2018, 2019). During the off season, Gwyneth is a substitute teacher and is in her final year of her School Counseling program at CSU East Bay, expecting to receive her Master’s of Science degree this upcoming Spring 2024.
Gwyneth Quitorio
Color Guard Staff
Michael Espinoza
Michael’s pageantry career began in 2013 with the South East High School Marching Band and Winterguard. After graduating in 2017, Michael went on to perform with Vessel Drum and Bugle Corps in 2018. Michael began performing with the Mandarins in 2019, 2020 remotely, and aged out with the organization in 2021. Besides Drum Corps, Michael also performed with Diamanté Independent World for the 2020 WGI season.
He has educated performers at the Mandarins in 2022 and 2023, and is very grateful for the opportunity to continue his passion of teaching at the Mandarins for this upcoming 2024 season. Michael Espinoza currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.
Michael Espinoza
Color Guard Staff
Meredith Faivre
Meredith Faivre
Color Guard Staff
Tatiana Higgins
Tatiana Higgins is on staff for the Sacramento Mandarins, as a color guard technician. Ms. Higgins has several years of experience in the marching arts. She was first introduced to the world of marching color guard as a student of Ridge Point High School.
Ms. Higgins spent 5 years as a member of many World Class WGI and DCI ensembles. In her DCI experience, she was a member of the DCI Finalist Sacramento Mandarins Drum and Bugle Corps for their 2022 season as an age-out. In her WGI experience, Ms. Higgins was a member of Undaunted Independent in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
In her educational career, Ms. Higgins has taken on several roles in both the marching and winter setting. She was a consultant, drill designer and choreographer for many winter ensembles. Ms. Higgins was the Color Guard Director at Cypress Lakes High School for 2 years. While at Cypress Lakes, she was privileged to have grown a successful bronze medalist winter guard program.
Ms. Higgins is currently the color guard director at Iowa Colony High School and on staff at Undaunted Independent. She going on year two of opening up a brand new high school, and the program was awarded 1st place in Scholastic Novice Class.
This is her second year on staff as a technician for the Sacramento Mandarins, and she is very excited to bring the program to new heights and work with such an amazing and talented staff.
Tatiana Higgins
Color Guard Staff
Brian Coon
Brian Coon is a Northern California native, with an amazing passion for color guard and the performing arts community. Brian knew he had found a passion for performing at an early age and joined the Sacramento Mandarins in 2011. Brian has studied movement focusing on training in: Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, and Modern dance. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in Business/Biology at Arizona State University while performing with FeniX Independent World and the Sun Devil Marching Band on a Color Guard Scholarship for four years. Brian Coon is a 4-time DCI World Champion after marching with the Concord Blue Devils 2012-2017, and has received 2 DCI World Class Silver medals alongside 4 George Zingali Best Color Guard awards. Brian is a 4-time WGI World Class finalist while marching with FeniX Independent between 2014-2017. Over the last decade, Brian has had opportunities to work with groups such as: Granite Bay HS, In Motion Performance Ensemble, West Broward HS, Gilbert HS, Silver Trail MS, Relentless World, Cooley MS, Williams Field HS, Somerset Academy, Corona Del Sol HS, Pacific Crest, The Black Watch, and Warren Central HS. Currently, Brian works as the Director for Granite Bay High School, and as a Choreographer for In Motion Performance Ensemble and Warren Central HS.
