Staff Bio's

Rocky Hill Royal Blues

Staff Bio's

Royal Blues Staff:

Irene Collins:

Irene is the "Front Ensemble" instructor/arranger for the Rocky Hill Royal Blues marching band. She is a member of the CT Hurricanes Drum & Bugle corps and has completed her fifth year with the corps. Irene is also a fifer with the CT Blues Ancient Fife and drum corps and has been involved in the fife and drum activity for over 30 years. She is a judge and secretary/treasurer for the CT Fifers and Drummers Association.

In addition to being the instructor/arranger for Rocky Hill, Irene also instructs and arranges for the front ensemble of the Francis T. Maloney High School band. Her two children, Justin and Kori are members of the Maloney band.

Irene is looking forward to having a very successful 2008 season with the Royal Blues.

Rick Vale

This season is Rick’s sixth year teaching with the Rocky Hill Royal Blues Marching Band, being on the percussion teaching team for five. Rick is the Assistant Band Director for the Royal Blues this year and is very excited for the band as they rehearse and prepare this year’s James Bond production. The most gratifying part of the job is the awareness of the student’s work ethic and pride during the many hours of practice. This is transformed into great personal performances for the band members each Saturday evening during the season. Working with the excellent students and the staff that has been assembled at RHHS has been particularly rewarding.

Rick has prior marching percussion experience gained in drum and bugle corps and stays current by attending Percussive Arts Society sponsored clinics. He has worked during the winter season with high school and middle school percussion students in a “tech class” setting, modeled after the program in place at the University of Massachusetts. This program provided the beginning student as well as the advanced player with fundamentals that they can bring to their overall percussion experience. Rick has served on the Rocky Hill HS Band Backers Association for four years and is a past president. He has been a staff member of the USSBA III Open Waterford High School Lancer Band in 2006.

When not busy with the Royal Blues Band, he is a Show Coordinator for the US Scholastic Band Association (USSBA). There are actually two distinctive performance seasons whereby marching band season will generally encompass late summer and autumn, and the drum corps season consists of monthly winter camps and the DCI tour during the summer. During this “second season” Rick spends sizeable time with the Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps, members of Drum Corps International (DCI).

In daily life outside of Band and Drum Corps, Rick works in the medical field, managing the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine department at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford.