William Church is an award-winning composer and performer who has been involved in marching band and drumline for more than a decade. A North Carolina native, William attended Wheatmore High School and was involved in the formation of the school’s first marching band and indoor percussion program. After graduation, William attended High Point University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication, with a focus on Interactive Media Design. He also minored in Music Composition, working under composers Nathan Daughtry and Robert Faub. As a part of the university's pep band, led by Dr. Danny Frye, William was appointed as the university's first Drum Major. During this time, he also performed with the a capella group the Offbeats, where he served for two years as music arranger. He also performed in the university Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and Percussion Ensemble. William earned a Master of Arts Degree in Composition for Movies, Television, and Video Games from The University of North Carolina’s School of the Arts in 2021. He worked with composer Christopher Heckman (Shifting Gears, The Other Side), and video game composer Rod Abernethy (Dead Space, RAGE, The Hobbit Video Game). He also composed original music for multiple short films including Adrift, which won the “Best of Festival” Award at the Reel-by-Reel Film Festival. After graduation from UNCSA, William has worked closely with several directors and filmmakers, working on films such as Bad Taste (which won “Best Original Score” at the RVA Horror 48 Hour Film Festival) and Fleeced (Which won “Best Original Score” at both the Cannes Shorts Film Festival and the San Jose Independent Film Festival.)

 

Outside of film scoring, William has commissioned several different works including two Marching Band shows for Wheatmore High School, titled Carpe Diem and Wonderland. Throughout the previous year’s William has worked with Northwest Guilford Winter Percussion Ensemble, he has written and taught two original works, Black Bird and Smile, both of which saw successful runs during the 2024 and 2025 season. William looks forward to working with Northwest Guilford Winter Percussion Ensemble for future shows and further collaborations.

 

William currently works at Southwest Guilford High School as a CTE Teacher, offering classes in Digital Design and Animation as well as Video Game Art Design. He has previously served as the drumline tech for Wheatmore High School during their 2021 and 2022 Marching Band Seasons. William is continue working with the Northwest Guilford Viking Band and is excited to share his love and passion for marching band and indoor percussion with the students at Northwest Guilford High School!