In Episode 2 of CSJA Presents: Inside the Judge’s Circle, we sit down with CSJA Music Caption Head Dr. Nick Riley to explore how teaching, judging, designing, and performing all connect within the marching arts.

We begin with Nick’s own journey, from growing up in the Centerville High School band program to becoming a band director, percussion educator, arranger, adjudicator, and Assistant Professor of Music Education at Northern Kentucky University. Along the way, we hear how the people who shaped his early experiences in music continue to influence the way he approaches the activity today.

From there, we go behind the scenes of CSJA’s music caption and take a closer look at how judges are recruited, trained, assigned, and evaluated. We also explore what Nick listens for when a band takes the field, including uniformity, clarity, musicality, and the importance of recognizing the personal biases every judge brings into the box.

We then step back to look at Music General Effect and what Nick describes as “big picture music.” Our conversation moves through the relationship between marching band, DCI, and WGI, how those parts of the activity influence one another, and why staying connected to all corners of the marching arts matters for today’s adjudicator.

Nick also takes us inside Connexus, the indoor percussion ensemble he co-founded, and shares how working directly with performers continues to shape his approach as a judge, designer, and educator.

As the conversation unfolds, we arrive at a common thread running through nearly everything Nick does. Whether he is writing music, working with performers, training judges, or making commentary from the press box, it all comes back to teaching.

And of course, we still make time for the really important questions, including what Nick would judge if music were completely off the table and what a judging sheet for a cooking competition might actually look like.

Whether you're a judge, director, designer, educator, performer, or marching arts fan, join us Inside the Judge’s Circle.