Announcing the X20 Admin & Media Team
Next in our series of staff announcements is the admin & media team, under the direction of our new Director of Operations and Development, Graham Hopkins! Read their bios below.
Interested in joining the admin team as an intern for X20?
We’re looking to hire 4 interns to help manage our PIW & WIW ensembles. Applicants can send their résumé and cover letter to intern@rhythmx.org
Admin
Graham Hopkins
Director of Operations and Development
Native to what is widely considered the marching music capital of the world, Graham Hopkins lives and breathes the marching arts. He was first introduced to the world of pageantry as a freshman at Plainfield High School in Indiana, where he performed in marching band and indoor percussion for four years. Following his graduation from Plainfield, Graham spent a season with Matrix Indoor Percussion, competing at the Independent World level of WGI. He finished his educational career at Anderson University with a bachelor’s degree in music business with a concentration in entertainment in the Spring of 2019.
Graham spent three seasons in Drum Corps International (2015-17) with the Canton Bluecoats as a drum major alongside Samuel Crawford, during which time the corps won one bronze medal (2015) and one World Championship (2016).
Following his age-out year as a performer, Graham spent the 2018 DCI Summer Tour working as a digital marketing intern. He continued his passion for the marching arts in the summer of 2019 joining the Santa Clara Vanguard as a Tour Assistant. Graham plans to bring the skills he learned in his experiences during his years with the Bluecoats, Matrix, Santa Clara Vanguard, and beyond to the Rhythm X organization.
Becca Stein
Admin
Becca Stein has always had a love for all things marching arts. In high school, she participated in marching band and indoor percussion at Avon High School in Avon, Indiana. During her time there, she was a 4-time ISSMA State Champion and a 2-time WGI Scholastic World Finalist. She is currently a junior at Indiana University, majoring in nonprofit management and leadership through the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. In that time, she shifted her focus to the administrative side of the arts when she joined the Rhythm X administrative team in 2018. Becca hopes to use her skills she has accumulated from her time in the arts to continue the success at Rhythm X and looks forward to another amazing season with the Rhythm X team!
Abby Hermesch
Admin
Abby Hermesch’s passion for the marching arts began at Center Grove High School in 2010. As a member of the front ensemble, she performed in both the marching band and indoor percussion groups. Her high school experience brought her many amazing opportunities including bringing home a WGI Scholastic Bronze medal, playing at PASIC, and performing in a Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Starting in 2015, Abby spent four years as a member of Rhythm X, playing the vibraphone and glockenspiel. She also spent several summers teaching high school marching bands in the Indianapolis area including Greenfield-Central High School and Center Grove High School.
Abby graduated from Miami University (OH) in 2018 with bachelor's degrees in gerontology and management. She is continuing her studies at Miami, completing a master’s degree in gerontological studies and applied statistics. Abby is thrilled to be returning to Rhythm X on the admin team for the 2020 season.
Chloe Spencer
Admin
Chloe Spencer is currently a student at Morehead State University, where she is pursuing a degree in Music (Percussion) and Business. Chloe’s passion for the Marching Arts started Madison Central High School in her hometown of Richmond, Kentucky. She continued her bass drumming career with Tates Creek Indoor (2017, 2018), Veritas (2019), and Jersey Surf Drum & Bugle Corps (2019) where she was awarded the INSTEP: Women of DCI Award. Chloe truly has a love for the behind-the-scenes of the activity. She previously served on the admin team for the Crossmen Drum & Bugle Corps (2018). In 2019, she will also spend three weeks working with and learning from Aimachi Band in Nagoya, Japan.
Media
Griffin Schneider
Photography & Videography
Griffin Schneider is from West Chester, Ohio where he graduated from Lakota East High School. He began his music career in the 6th grade where he first learned the art of percussive instruments. In high school, Griffin was a member of the Concert Band, Symphonic Band, and the Symphonic Winds group as well as the marching band where he played the tenor drums.
Griffin has worked with Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps, and currently works for the Marching Arts Society as the media director helping students around the world learn from the best in the marching activity. Griffin has been with Rhythm X since 2017 and is excited for the upcoming season.
Josh Clements
Photography & Videography
Josh Clements is a photographer and social media coordinator who has spent extensive time in and around the marching arts and currently resides in Indianapolis, IN where he works as a freelance photographer. Josh has been shooting the marching arts for the past 4 years, most notably spending three summers on the road with The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps. In addition to this he has done work for the Seattle Cascades, Rise Percussion, Matrix Performing Arts, FloMarching, WGI, and LotRiot and his work can be seen featured all throughout the activity.
Chelsea Levine
Social Media
Chelsea Levine is an entrepreneur and cymbal technician based out of Nashville, TN. She’s dedicating her post-marching career to the advancement of marching cymbals through teaching, building her company Seavine, & co-founding The Cymbal Scholarship.
Chelsea has marched and taught in various groups around the world. She was fortunate enough to perform with Rhythm X, Crossmen, Jersey Surf, United Percussion & Gateway Indoor. Upon aging out, Chelsea has been a cymbal technician for Rhythm X since 2014, Colts and Spirit Drum and Bugle Corps, Centerville High School, Western Carolina University, & DrumSpirit. She has also promoted the art of cymbal playing in Europe and Asia with clinics in Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, China, and Thailand.
In 2010 Chelsea founded Seavine, a company that offers high quality cymbal and hornline performance products such as The Cymbal Gloves. She founded The Cymbal Scholarship- assisting WGI & DCI cymbal players with their membership fees. Since 2012, they have given away over $20,000 to marching cymbalists fully funded by Seavine profits.
Building her company, she discovered the power of social media. She’s become an online marketing specialist, and manages accounts for Seavine, The Guard Room, and now Rhythm X. She currently resides in Nashville, TN with her super cool quad tech husband Thomas and their energetic dog Rachel.
Thomas Claesen
Website
Thomas (pronounced similarly to Spanish Tomas) built his first website in sixth grade. He coded and designed all throughout high school, but then took a ten-year hiatus from web development to focus on obtaining his master’s degree in translation, teaching English at a Belgian university, and marching and teaching drum corps. He currently teaches the Rhythm X quadline, and was formerly a quad tech for Blue Knights (2017-2019) and The Cavaliers (2012-2013).
Born and raised in Belgium, Thomas speaks four languages: English, Dutch, German and French. He moved to Nashville, TN in the fall of 2017, where he now resides with his wife Chelsea and their energetic dog Rachel. He saw the move as the perfect time to get (back) into design, web development, and app development. When Thomas isn’t teaching drums and designing he loves to travel and eat chocolate.