Christina is the Color Guard Director at West Orange, where she has served as an instructor since Fall 2017. Originally from New York, she has over 20 years of experience in the performing arts and has taught groups across both New York and New Jersey, including Kingston High School, Roselle Park High School, Arlington High School, and Bridgewater-Raritan High School. She also served as the Color Guard Director at Somers High School.

Her performance experiences include marching with the Arlington High School Marching Band (2003–2005), Q.E.D. Winter Guard (2004, 2006, 2007), Sunrisers Drum Corps (2007), Emanon Winter Guard (2008), Hawthorne Caballeros Drum Corps (2008–2018), and Blessed Sacrament World Guard (2010–2014).

Christina currently resides in Belleville, NJ. In addition to her work in the performing arts, she is an Academic Support Teacher at Gregory School in West Orange.

Stephen, a Massachusetts native currently serving as a colorguard instructor and show designer at West Orange High School. Stephen has also taught and designed for other programs across Massachusetts and New Jersey.

His performance experiences range from his old High School Marching Band in Tewksbury, Massachusetts as a Trumpet player to his colorguard endeavors with St. Johns Open of Beverly Mass as well as Blessed Sacrament World color guard from Cambridge  Massachusetts (2008-2015) and  AMP World (2020). He has also performed with  Citations from Burlington Massachusetts (2004-2007), The Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps (2008 -2009) as well as the Hawthorne Caballeros for a combination of 8 years.  

Stephen currently lives in Lyndhurst, NJ and works for a commercial real estate company and has his Masters in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting.

Dan is a graduate from WOHS class of 2006! This will be his first year with the color guard. He has previously worked as an instructor with Fairlawn High School Marching Band and winter guard as a technical assistant and choreographer.

His performance experience includes West Orange High School Marching Band (2004, 2005) WOHS Winter Guard (2004-2006), Emanon Winter Guard (2007) Alter Ego Winter Guard (2009, 2010) Caballeros Drum and Bugle Corps (2007) Bushwhackers (2008), and Fusion Core (2017).

Dan currently works as a high school biology teacher in the Newark Public Schools district.

Brittany, WOHS Class of 2011, is a Color Guard Instructor at West Orange High School, specializing in rifle and sabre technique. She also leads as the Color Guard Director for the West Orange Middle School winter guard program, where her passion for the performing arts meets her dedication to developing young talent.

With over 20 years in the Color Guard and Marching Band world—including 10 years teaching, 10 years performing, and 2 years as a show designer and consultant—Brittany brings a dynamic blend of artistry, energy, heart, and humor to every rehearsal and performance, creating a space where students feel empowered, challenged, and connected.

Brittany currently lives in Parsippany, NJ and works as a Marketing Project Manager for a large accounting firm. She also continues to pursue creative projects through freelance graphic design and marketing consulting, supporting small business owners with thoughtful, impactful work.

Brianna, a West Orange alum (2015), has worked for West Orange Colorguard since Fall of 2016. Her performance experience includes the AMP winter guard and our very own West Orange Colorguard. She’s just recently graduated from LIM College with a degree in Visual Merchandising. She aspires to be a store designer and currently works at Macy’s as a Digital Merchandise Assistant.

Alli has worked in the West Orange Public School District since 2014, originally teaching general and vocal music at Gregory Elementary School for 8 years before earning a master’s degree in Educational Technology and stepping into the role of Elementary Technology Integration Specialist for 3 years. This year she has made her return to the classroom as the general and vocal music teacher at Redwood Elementary School. She has also spent several seasons working with the West Orange High School Marching Mountaineers. Previously, Alli also spent a season marching with the Hawthorne Caballeros Drum and Bugle Corps.

Conal, WOHS Class of 2015, is entering his third year doing sound design for the Winter Guard. He has also done live audio and sound design work for the Marching Mountaineers since the 2021 season. He is a graduate of Drexel University’s Music Industry program and has been doing freelance music and audio work for over 10 years. Conal also works for the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in their TV department.

Mrs. Lagatic has served as the associate band director at West Orange High School since 2005. Her duties at West Orange include directing the Symphonic Winds and Concert Band ensembles, co-directing the Marching Mountaineers, coordinating the honors chamber music program, conducting the Pit Orchestra, teaching music theory, woodwind lessons, and overseeing the color guard program.