Percussion Staff
Will Church ( Drum Line Tech ) is an award-winning composer and performer who has been involved in marching band and drum line 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 pand, led by 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. Independently, William has written three indoor percussion ensemble shows titled War Robot, Warhead, and Stealth.
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 thrilled to be 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 of Northwest Guilford High School!
Ian T. Jones ( Front Ensemble Tech) is a composer and percussionist from Mebane, NC. He is currently studying at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro under the direction of Drs. Eric Willie, Mark Engebretson, and Alejandro Rutty.
Ian is a published composer with Tapspace Inc., and frequently has his music programmed. An avid percussionist, Ian has performed at the annual Percussive Arts Society International Convention in 2021, has played in the UNCG Wind Ensemble, and consistently premieres new student works. Additionally, he attended the 2019 North Carolina Governor’s School West where he studied under esteemed conductor Orlando Cela and percussionist Peter Zlotnick.
Outside of music, Ian is a co-host of the culture and society podcast, The Lotus-Eaters.
Douglas Stevens (Audio Technician) is an A/V technician and percussionist from Kernersville, NC. He graduated from Guilford Technical Community College in May of 2023 with a degree in Recording Engineering and Concert Sound and Lighting.
Douglas is currently an A/V technician at Fountain of Life Lutheran Church and Joymongers Brewing Co. He also does stagehand work with the I.A.T.S.E. stagehand union. He has previously worked with other churches and a few music video shoots.
Douglas started his percussionist career in the 4th grade. He has been a member of several concert ensembles along with playing drum set for several bands in a variety of different genres. His marching career started at Great Oak High School in Temecula, CA where he marched 4 fall seasons, 4 indoor seasons, and 4 parade seasons. He has also matched with the Watchmen Drum and Bugle Corps in 2018, CATALYST Percussion in 2020, the Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets in 2022 (DCI 2022 Open Class Gold Medalist), and Civitas Independent in 2022 and 2023 (WGI 2022 Open Class Silver Medalist).
Sam Uhrlass (Cymbal Technician) is a saxophonist and percussionist currently enrolled at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he is a rising Sophomore, majoring in Music Education with a concentration in Jazz Studies under the direction of Dr. Steven Stusek, Chad Eby and Steve Haines.
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Sam is an avid saxophonist performing at the National Navy Saxophone Symposium, The John Coltrane International Jazz Festival, and is anticipating upcoming performances in Oklahoma for North American Saxophone Alliance and Spain for the International Saxophone Conference.
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Sam has previously marched bass drum and cymbals for Northwest Guilford Winter Percussion Ensemble, along with performing with Greensboro College as part of their percussion section.
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Additionally, Sam has performed in UNCG's Symphonic and Wind Ensemble as well as their top Jazz Ensemble.