“Box Six” is a collection of original indoor percussion and marching band shows from 2005 to the present. The site was officially launched in August of 2008. The main difference between this site and the many other sites available is that every single piece of music found on Box 6 is composed and arranged by the same two people. We (John Mapes and Ian Grom) met at Cal State University Long Beach in the music department in the Fall of 1998 and started actively working together from 2004 to the present. With the past fifteen years of experience between us, a current output of around 10 shows a year, and a history of success at every level of the activity, we are confident in our signature sound and approach to the world of pageantry and are excited about offering these productions to the general public.
Our fresh approach to Marching Band composition comes from a unique blend of elements: The painstaking development of pacing and effects taken from our experience in indoor percussion, the wide variety of musical influences we both bring to the table from our years as professional musicians/arrangers/composers, the seamless blend between winds and percussion that is present from the very conception of the production, the time-tested wisdom of what works and what doesn't in real life, and the drive to constantly push the creative envelope with every production we put our name on.
The recordings you hear throughout the site were all created with the most cutting edge technology available and we believe them to be unrivaled in today's market. Innumerable hours are spent to achieve as accurate and thorough of a playback as possible to give you the best source for how to fine tune your Box 6 show in the live situation. Powered by 3 custom audio PC's, a separate Pro Tools rig for live tracking, and a massive 500+ GB sample library, the Box 6 production studio is one of the most advanced workstations around solely dedicated to the marching arts. However, there are no sounds or effects heard on the recordings that cannot be replicated in a live environment. We pride ourselves on being able to accurately reproduce the production quality of our recordings in a live performance situation.
We have experienced every single note of every show on this site up close and personal. We have experienced the flicker of an idea turn into a rough sketch which turned into World Championship success. This body of work is not just a business for us, it is a large part of who we are. We hope you and your students can enjoy it as much as we have.
You can email Box Six at: contact@box-six.comCheck out John and Ian's Interview with Vic Firth!
About John Mapes:
John Mapes is a full-time percussion educator and visual designer involved in teaching over 20 high school and independent percussion programs in Southern California since 1997. He received his Bachelor of Arts in percussion from California State University, Long Beach, in the spring of 2000. His marching experience includes Velvet Knights and Pacific Crest Drum Corps organizations. He currently has ten years of drum corps teaching/design experience and an unprecedented 18 WGI medals since 2005.
He started with the Pulse Percussion independent world ensemble behind the scenes in the winter of 2008 as an arranger, and within 3 short years helped take the ensemble to it’s first PIW Gold Medal in 2010 as the program coordinator, battery arranger and visual designer. He started in the summer of 2007 with the Blue Devil B Corps as the front ensemble and battery percussion arranger. After two years the corps became the Open class champions and high percussion winners at the DCI championships in 2009, 2010 and 2011. He was the Battery Arranger/ Percussion Caption Head for the Esperanza Drum and Bugle Corps from San Diego, CA from 2002-2006, taking the corps to nationals for the first time, winning the Div II title and moving up to Div I in 2004. He was also the battery arranger and program coordinator for the Esperanza WGI Independent World class 2004 finalist percussion ensemble, its first and only year.
From the fall of 2000 to the winter of 2011, John built and taught the Pacifica High School percussion program with 9 consecutive PSO WGI finals appearances and seven consecutive PSO WGI medals from 2005-2011. In the fall of 2005 he started teaching Chino Hills HS, WGI World Class finalist’s from 2008-2011 with a WGI PSW Bronze medal in 2009 and a WGI PSW Silver Medal in 2010. He started working at Los Alamitos HS in the fall of 2005 becoming the WGI A Class Bronze medalist in 2007, WGI A class gold medalist in 2009 and a WGI World class finalist in 2010/2011. He worked at Fountain Valley HS from the fall of 2006 until the winter of 2009, winning multiple percussion titles in the indoor and outdoor programs, including a two time WGI finalist in WGI Open class and an Open class medal in 2008.
Along with fellow designer and instructor Ian Grom, John co-founded box-six.com in August of 2008, which is the exclusive seller of their original indoor percussion and marching band shows.
John is also an official Yamaha Artist, a member of the Vic Firth Educational team, a WGI Percussion Steering Commitee and Advisory Board member. He is also a principle percussion arranger for JKS music and a proud endorser of Remo and Zildjian products.
You can email John Mapes at: mapes@box-six.comAbout Ian Grom:
Ian Grom is a performer, composer and educator based out of Southern California. He received his Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance from California State University, Long Beach, where he specialized in drum set, marimba and composition. He has an unprecedented 18 WGI medals since 2005.
Some of his recent performance highlights include numerous prime-time live appearances on the hit CBS show Survivor, opening for Aerosmith with Canadian artist Christa Borden, and playing on the soundtrack to the box office smash The Grudge.
First starting as a consultant in 2008, Ian became the full time front ensemble arranger and instructor for Chino Hills High School in the fall of 2009. The ensemble became a four time World class finalist taking the PSW Bronze in 2009 and the PSW Silver medal in 2010. Ian taught at Pacifica HS from 2005-2011 starting their seven consecutive PSO WGI medals. In the fall of 2005 he started building the Los Alamitos percussion program becoming the 2007 WGI PSA Bronze medalist, 2009 WGI PSA Gold medalist and 2010 World class finalist. He worked at Fountain Valley HS from the fall of 2006 until the winter of 2009, winning multiple percussion titles in the indoor and outdoor programs, including a two time WGI finalist in the Open class and an Open class medal in 2008.
He started with the Pulse Percussion independent world ensemble behind the scenes in the winter of 2008 as an arranger, and within 3 short years helped take the ensemble to it’s first PIW Gold Medal in 2010 as the front ensemble composer/ arranger and instructor. Starting in the summer of 2009, Ian was brought on as the electronic consultant/arranger with the world famous Cadets Drum and Bugle corps winning the DCI World Class title in 2011.
After being encouraged to venture into writing for winds, he now designs and composes the fall productions for multiple high schools in the Southern California area. Ian's use of original music, cutting edge technology, and innovative show concepts have made him one of the most sought-after composers on the national marching scene.
Along with fellow designer and instructor John Mapes, he co-founded box-six.com in August of 2008, which is the exclusive seller of their original indoor percussion and marching band shows.
Ian is an official Yamaha artist, a member of the Vic Firth Educational team and a WGI Percussion Advisory Board member. He is also a proud endorser of Remo and Zildjian products.
You can email Ian Grom at: grom@box-six.comCory Gasaway: Director of Business Development
Cory Gasaway handles all of the marketing and business development related activities for Box Six.
Cory has been involved in marching percussion for over a decade having marched as a member of Holy Bass in the Cadets of Bergen County, 1993 DCI Division II Champions Carolina Crown as well as an instructor for Esperanza Drum and Bugle Corps and Esperanza WGI Independent World Finalist group in 2004.
In August of 2008, Along with John and Ian, Cory launched the business and web presence of Box-Six.com.
Cory holds a Bachelors in Business Administration with Honors from James Madison University and an Masters in Business Administration from the University of Southern California.
You can email Cory Gasaway at: gasaway@box-six.comRochelle Mapes: Operations Manager
Rochelle serves as the operations manager for Box Six and acts as the lifeline for the company handling all of the day to day operations. With a background in dance, Rochelle currently dances with RhetOracle Dance Company, is on faculty Orange County School of the Arts and works with United Spirit Assocation teaching dance camps and judging regional/national competitions. She is also on staff with Pulse Percussion acting as a movement specialist.
Rochelle has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from Cal State Long Beach.
You can email Rochelle Mapes at: rochelle@box-six.com