With both being veterans of the Tournament of Bands, Tournament Indoor Association,  USBands, and Bands of America circuits, Don and Spence knew that they could bring their knowledge of all competitive musical groups and their respect for the process of music education together to create a fresh, musical and technical perspective on competitive music that will hit home with the judges & audience as well as the hearts & minds of directors and students.

Don Simpson

Don Simpson is a professional percussionist and educator as well as a prolific composer and arranger.  His skills in percussion are vast, ranging from jazz drumset to classical keyboard percussion and everything in between.  Don earned a BM in Jazz Studies from Rowan University in 2004.  He performs regularly with the Pitman Broadway Theater Company and many Tri-State Area high school theater productions.  Don has also

Calvin Spencer

performed at Philadelphia's Prince Music Theatre.  As a composer, his works for marching band and percussion ensemble consistently win awards at the regional and national levels.  Don has written award-winning compositions and arrangements for numerous high schools in the Delaware Valley, not to mention arrangements for Rowan University Percussion Ensemble and Rowan University Lab Band.  He has served as the Director of Percussion Studies for Triton Regional High School where he directed their indoor percussion ensemble as well as pit percussion for marching band.  Currently, Don is the Director of Bands at Gateway Regional High School in Woodbury Heights, NJ and directs 2 concert bands, marching band and one jazz band.  He resides in Swedesboro, NJ with his wife of 9 years and his 6 year-old son.

for President George W. Bush in 2002 as well as  performing for President Bill Clinton, Her Majesty The Queen of England, The Sultan of Oman, government officials of Norway and other dignitaries and Heads of State throughout the world.​  After serving as the Drum Major for the University of Akron's Marching Band as well as Principal Trumpet for the University's Symphonic & Jazz Bands, he traveled the United States as a Guest Speaker and Clinician before having worked with a number of local and nationally-known and accredited marching bands and indoor percussion ensembles.  Spence earned a BM in Music Education from Rowan University in 2006 and a MS in Education from Walden University in 2009.  Spence is a distinguished educator arranger and composer earning recognition of Teacher of the Year for Monongahela Middle School in 2010, as well as his musical works resulting in many Marching Band Championship and successes from performances ranging from Middle SChool Jazz Band to High School Wind Ensemble and Orchestra. Spence is also an active freelance musician in the Tri-State Area, and resides in Blackwood, NJ.

About Sfz Music Group

sfz  Music Group

The New DYNAMIC in Competition Music

Calvin Spencer serves as the Director of Bands at Washington Township High School in Sewell, NJ.  Spence is currently in his 14th Year of teaching music .  Prior to teaching at Washington Township, Spence taught Middle and Elementary School in the Deptford Township School District from 2006- 2018.

Sfz Music Group was originally formed in the fall of 2014.  Calvin "Spence" Spencer and Don Simpson have been writing and teaching in the South Jersey region since 2003.  Through different seasons, their groups ran parallel and sometimes even competed against each other.  After finally collaborating in 2013, they realized that there was the potential to continue to compose and arrange some of the most innovative and successful shows in any circuit today.  Sfz Music Group LLC was formed in 2017.

From 1999 - 2003  Spence enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.  He was assigned to “The Commandant’s Own”, The United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps.  Sgt. Spencer was a featured Soloist with "The Commandant's Own".  As a member of this prestigious unit, Sgt. Spencer has had the honor of performing