ERIC SHRIVER

Battery Arranger and Ensemble Coordinator

Eric Shriver is a composer, arranger, and educator for percussion based out of Southern California. He is currently the Percussion Director and Battery Arranger for Etiwanda HS, Rancho Cucamonga HS, POW Percussion, and Pacific Crest Drum & Bugle Corps

Previously, Eric has been: Percussion Director at Gold Drum & Bugle Corps, Snare Tech for The Cavaliers, Percussion Caption Head and Battery Arranger for the Blue Stars, Snare Tech for the Bluecoats, and Battery/Ensemble Coordinator with Pulse Percussion.

Eric has a Bachelor of Arts in Music (Industry Studies) from California Polytechnic University (Pomona, CA). Eric has performed with the Bluecoats, Pulse Percussion, Black Knights, Pacific Crest, and RCC Marching Band.

Eric is a Co-Owner of Front2BackMusic.com, and also the creator and owner of the “The Build-Up Method,” which is a set of rudimental percussion practice methods using logical skill building exercises and audio tracks.

Eric is a member of the Zildjian, Remo, Yamaha, and Vic Firth educational teams and lives in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, with his Wife Amanda and Daughter Charlotte.

JOHN MAPES

Program Coordinator

John is on the design team with POW and Pulse Percussion. He is a full-time percussion designer and educator in Southern California since 2000. He received his Bachelor of Arts in percussion from California State University Long Beach in the spring of 2000.

He has been the Percussion Director at Chino Hills HS since 2005 and was director of percussion at Pacifica HS from 2000-2011. John joined the design team for the Blue Stars Drum & Bugle Corps as the battery arranger from 2013-2016. Previously, he worked with the Blue Devil B Corps as the percussion arranger from 2007-2012 and was the Battery Arranger/ Percussion Caption Head for the Esperanza Drum & Bugle Corps from San Diego, CA from 2002-2006. His marching experience includes Velvet Knights and Pacific Crest Drum & Bugle Corps organizations.

John is a Vic Firth Signature artist, a Yamaha artist, a Remo artist, a Zildjian artist and a WGI Percussion Steering Committee/Advisory Board member. He is also a co-founder of Box-Six.com, a website compiling original indoor percussion and marching band shows with fellow composer Ian Grom.

Trent Gronewold

Front Ensemble Arranger

Trent is a full-time percussion arranger and educator from Southern California, currently studying Music Composition for Film, TV, and Video Games at Berklee College of Music. He serves as Front Ensemble Caption Head at Pulse Percussion and Chino Hills High School. Trent is also the Front Ensemble Arranger/Sound Designer for POW Percussion, Thesis Indoor, and Civitas Independent.

Since 2016, Trent has assisted with front ensemble arranging for music publisher Box Six. In 2020, he began writing and publishing shows with John Mapes. From 2017–2024, he ran and designed for the percussion program at Gahr High School. His previous front ensemble arranging and sound design credits include Mandarins (2025), Pacific Crest (2023–2024), and Gold Drum and Bugle Corps (2021–2022).

His marching experience includes Santa Clara Vanguard (2018), Pulse Percussion (2016–2020), and Blue Stars Drum & Bugle Corps (2015–2016). He is a member of the Vic Firth and Zildjian Educational Teams.

Kevin Tieck

Visual Design

Kevin Tieck is a drill designer, educator, and choreographer originally from the Bay Area, now based in Southern California. He attended California State University, Long Beach, where he studied Euphonium Performance. It was while teaching marching band throughout his college years that Kevin discovered his true calling: designing drill, choreographing visual programs, and teaching movement to performers of all levels.

Kevin currently serves as Drill Designer for POW Percussion, Clovis North Educational Center, Upland High School Indoor Percussion, and Arcadia A, among other programs across the country. He is also on staff with The Blue Devils, Upland High School, and Arcadia High School, and choreographs for Arcadia World, Upland High School, and Arcadia A. At Upland High School, he serves as Caption Head.

His previous work includes teaching for Dark Sky Percussion from 2024–2026, where he served as Caption Head, as well as Ayala High School and Cerritos High School. On the performance side, Kevin marched with The Blue Devils from 2016–2020 and with RCC Indoor Percussion in 2020 — experience that continues to inform his approach to design and instruction.

Kevin is excited to return to POW as Drill Designer, having previously taught the program during the 2022 season.

Outside of the activity, Kevin is an avid golfer and currently holds a 2.4 handicap.

NOE GOMEZ

Visual Consultant

Noe is a lifelong resident of Los Angeles, California and prolific educator and designer within the marching arts. He has over seven years of performance experience, including Impulse, Santa Clara Vanguard Cadets, and half of a decade with the Santa Clara Vanguard, where he served as drum major from 2012 to 2015. 

Noe is immersed in the upper echelons of the marching arts, as he is a full time visual designer, judge, and clinician for both high school bands and independent programs. Noe served on the visual and drum major education team of the Santa Clara Vanguard, worked with the Phantom Regiment in 2023 and is currently the Drill designer for the Blue Knights Drum Corps. He is on the design team at Pulse, POW Percussion, Arcadia HS and several other quality programs around the country. Noe also serves as an advisor to the Color Guard Alliance of the Philippines and Impulso Marching Latino America.

Learn more at:  noegomezproductions.com and on Instagram: @noegomez.productions

Christian Blydt-Hansen

Battery & Staff Coordinator

Christian graduated from California State University Long Beach receiving a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science. He currently resides in Riverside, CA, working full time as a Platform Engineer.

Christian has performed with Pacific Crest Drum and Bugle Corps, Dark Sky Percussion, Pulse Percussion, and the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps. He currently performs with Sidle Entertainment. Christian has previously worked with Fountain Valley High School, Redondo Union High School, Santiago High School, and Gold Drum and Bugle Corps. Christian currently works with Pacific Crest and POW Percussion.

Adam Sanchez

Battery Coordinator

Adam is currently an active musician and educator based out of Southern California. He is currently the Percussion Director at Los Osos High School and the Battery Manager/Snare Tech at Etiwanda High School. Adam has also been on Staff at Pacific Crest since 2023 serving both as a Snare Tech and Battery Coordinator. 

Previously, He has been the Percussion Director at Sunny Hills High School, Percussion Staff at Cerritos High School, Snare Tech at Bakersfield College Indoor Drumline, Snare Tech at Golden Empire Drum and Bugle Corps, and Snare Tech at Gold Drum and Bugle Corps. 

Aside from the marching arts, Adam graduated from California State University, Fullerton in 2023 with his degree in Jazz/Commercial Music Studies where he specialized in Drum Set Performance. During his time at CSUF, Adam learned from Grammy award winning composer and piano player Bill Cunliffe. He also studied privately in the drum set studios of Rodolfo Zuniga and Paul Kreibich. Adam is also on the Jazz Education Faculty at Los Osos High School and Etiwanda High School and continues to perform with various musicians from all walks of life. 

Adam has performed with the Bakersfield College Indoor Drumline, Golden Empire Drum & Bugle Corps, the Boston Crusaders Drum & Bugle Corps, Pulse Percussion, and the Los Angeles Chargers Thunderbolts Drumline.

OTTo Peralta

Battery Coordinator

Otto has been an active educator in Southern California for over 12 years, recently including Pacific Crest, Mira Costa HS and West HS. Otto’s previous marching experience includes Pulse Percussion, charter member of Pulse Open, Garfield independent, The Academy D&B Corps, and Gold D&B Corps.

George Collins

Ensemble Consultant

George has taught at various programs including Blue Stars, Gold, Meraki, Dark Sky and OCI. He is also co-host of The Drum Corps Coffee Shop podcast and has been a prolific creator of lot videos over the past several years.

Outside of the marching activity, George works as a literary manager representing writers primarily in the animated television space.

Koji Nakatani

Snare Tech

Koji graduated from UC Irvine with a B.A. in Economics and is an active educator in Southern California. He currently teaches the Sunny Hills High School Percussion and has previously taught the Blue Devils B Snareline (2024-2026). As a performer, his experience includes Impulse DBC (2017), Instinct Percussion (2020), Dark Sky Percussion (2021-2022), The Blue Devils (2022-2023), and Pulse Percussion (2023-2024).

Rami Makarem

Snare Tech

This is Rami’s first year on staff with POW.  His marching experience includes Instinct 20, DSP 21, PC 21, POW 22-23, Blue Stars 23, and Pulse 24! He also taught a number of high schools in the SoCal area, spending the most time with Gahr HS.

He also received his B.S. in Engineering from UC Irvine, and works as an aerospace engineer out of Tustin, CA.

Danny Ortiz

Tenor Tech

Danny is a musician and educator from Fullerton, CA. His performance experience includes his high school at Troy HS ‘16-‘20, Elan Percussion ‘22, POW Percussion ‘23, and Broken City Percussion ‘24. This is also Danny’s 2nd year as a battery technician at his alma mater, Troy HS in Fullerton.

Danny also recently graduated from UCR with a B.S. in Bioengineering and currently works as an EMT on the CHOC Emergency Transport team, and strives to continue to pursue his passion in healthcare and medicine.

Evan Smith

Tenor Tech

This is Evan’s first year on staff with POW Percussion. Based in Southern California Evan has been active as an educator working with ensembles such as Meraki Percussion (2025), Blue Stars Drum & Bugle Corps (2025), and Arcadia HS (2024-2026). His performance expierence includes time with RCC (2023-2024), Blue Stars Drum & Bugle Corps (2021-2022), and Freedom Percussion (2020-2022). Both as an educator and performer his ensembles have made consistent finals appeances and accrued multiple medalist placements in WGI & SCPA.

Since 2020 Evan has worked as an instrument repair technician. He spends the majority of his time at the bench working on all kinds of wind & percussion instruments for both schools and professional musicians. He offers his repair services through his business MusicSmith in Monrovia CA, as well as working with Nick Rail Music in Valencia, CA. In his spare time he enjoys exploring local trails and parks with his pup Rue. 

Reid Shimabukuro

Bass Tech

Reid’s marching experience includes the drum corps Vanguard Cadets and Pacific Crest, as well as the indoor groups Meraki Percussion, Dark Sky Percussion, and RCC, aging out with the latter in 2024.

He graduated from CSUF with a degree in Game Art and Interactive Media, with the hopes of becoming an educator in the arts. He has previously taught at Élan Percussion in 2025 and is currently teaching at North Torrance High School and Sunny Hills High School.

Kobe Sanders

Bass Tech

This is Kobe’s first year on staff with POW. A passionate percussionist and music educator from Coachella, CA, he is now based in San Luis Obispo, CA. where he serves as the Director of Music at Templeton High School. Kobe graduated from the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music where he earned his B.A. in Music Education and completed his student teaching under the mentorship of acclaimed educator Angela Woo.

Kobe currently serves as a Bass Tech with The Blue Stars (2025-2026). In recent years, he was Battery Coordinator at Palisades Charter High School (2024), instructed at SoCal Bass Camp (2024-2025), and performed with world-class ensembles including POW Percussion (2023), the UCLA Bruin Marching Band (2021-2023), Pulse Percussion (2024), and The Blue Devils (2024).

Kobe is dedicated to fostering inclusive, student-centered environments and believes that meaningful music-making cultivates connection, community, empowerment, and self-expression for all musicians.

jack Wurth

Cymbal Tech

Jack has been teaching in the So-Cal area since 2019 with groups such as Torrance HS, West Torrance HS, Gold Indoor, and Gold DBC. He has been on staff with POW since 2024, and his marching experience includes Pacific Crest, Dark Sky, Mandarins, and RCC (2016-2022). Outside of teaching, Jack works as a retail manager for Vans and pursues art with a focus in printmaking.

Luis Raul Rodriguez Botiller

Cymbal Tech

Luis is originally from Phoenix, Arizona. He has performed in various groups such as Breakthrough Indoor Percussion, the Sun Devil Marching Band at Arizona State University, and at POW Percussion in ‘24 and ‘25. Luis is currently pursuing a degree in Music Education with a focus on French Horn performance from Arizona State University.

Luis has previously taught a couple of groups including the fall and winter programs at Gilbert High School and also at the Roberto Paz Clinic in Arizona.

Christian Do

Front Ensemble Staff, Coordinator

Christian was raised in Fountain Valley, CA where he took interest the marching arts, specializing in design, composition, and audio engineering.

Christian has worked with many HS programs over the years under various roles and previously worked as an audio engineer/front ensemble staff member at Pacific Crest ('19-'24), front ensemble arranger at Golden Empire ('23-'24), and front ensemble staff member at Mandarins ('25). As a performer, he has marched at POW Percussion ('15), at Pulse Percussion ('16,'17,'19), and at Pacific Crest ('18). He was also the recipient of the Southern California Percussion Alliance Composition Scholarship in 2016.

Currently, he serves as the percussion coordinator at Rancho Alamitos HS, audio manager at Gahr HS, front ensemble coordinator at Ross MS and as a show designer/music arranger for various groups in Southern California. He is also member of the Zildjian and Vic Firth educational team.

Josh Powell

Front Ensemble Staff

This is Josh’s first year on staff at POW. He is student at CSU Fullerton studying Percussion Performance. His Marching experience includes Vanguard Cadets in 2022, Mandarins in 2025, POW in 2024, and Pulse in 2025 and 2026.

As an educator Josh has worked with multiple high school and middle school programs as the Front Ensemble Coordinator in his home town of Merced, California, and is currently working at Nogales High School in Southern California as a Front Ensemble Technician. He has also worked with Golden Empire Drum and Bugle Corps for the 2026 DCI season as a Front Ensemble Technician.

Shirley Taylor

Front Ensemble Staff

Shirley Taylor is a piano pedagogue, percussion educator, and Montessori preschool teacher based in Southern California. She teaches the front ensemble at Rancho Cucamonga HS, Etiwanda HS, Los Osos HS, and POW Percussion, and has a private piano studio. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Piano Pedagogy from Cal State Fullerton, and her percussion performance background includes Pulse Percussion (2019–2022).

Shirley completed all Certificate of Merit levels, and received top honors awards in MTAC competitions, Bach Festivals, and state conventions. Shirley is also a member of the Vic Firth, Zildjian, and Pearl education team

Gerald Hill

Front Ensemble Staff

This is Gerald’s 1st year on staff with POW. He has performed with numerous ensembles across his marching career, including Pulse Percussion (2022-2025), the Blue Devils (2024), the Blue Stars (2023), Pacific Crest (2022), and Gold (2021). Gerald is currently the Assistant Front Ensemble Caption Head at Woodbridge High School. Outside of music, he is also finishing his B.S. in Computer Science at Cal State University Long Beach.

Jericho Swe

Front Ensemble Staff

Jericho is from Temecula, CA and is currently a computer science student at Orange Coast College. Their marching experience includes POW Percussion (‘22) and Pulse Percussion (‘23-‘25). They have been a mallet instructor at Great Oak HS since the winter of 2023 and has previously worked at Los Alamitos HS (2022 - 2025).

Jackson Culp

Front Ensemble Staff

This is Jackson’s first year on staff at POW. He is an Orange County-based musician & educator with specialties spanning across drum set and marching percussion. Jackson attended California State University, Long Beach, and received a Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance with a focus on Jazz Drums.

Throughout his marching career, Jackson performed with the Bluecoats Drum & Bugle Corps (2021-2025) and Broken City (2022, 2023), earning multiple DCI and WGI medals, including a DCI World Championship in 2024 and a Fred Sanford Award in 2022. During his time with the Bluecoats, he served as Percussion Section Leader.  Jackson currently performs with multiple entertainment companies including ROLA Drumline, Sidle Entertainment, and at the Disney Parks.

Jackson is currently the Program Coordinator & Battery Caption Head at El Toro High School and served as a snare tech for Vista Murrieta High School. He also is the CEO & Founder of The Shed Music.

Chris Schmitz

Visual Staff, Coordinator, Design

Chris Schmitz is a full-time drill writer, choreographer, and educator based in Southern California. His performance experience includes the Sacramento Mandarins and Blue Devils Entertainment. A native of Northern California, Chris has been based in Southern California the last four years, working at programs such as Rancho Cucamonga HS, El Dorado HS, Etiwanda HS, and Sunny HIlls HS, among others. He is currently the Visual Caption Head at POW Percussion and Visual Designer for Immortal Winds.

In the Summer he is on staff at Pacific Crest Drum and Bugle Corps, and was previously on staff at both Gold Drum and Bugle Corps and Gold Indoor Percussion, as well as Golden Empire Drum and Bugle Corps. Chris currently resides in Placentia, California, and studies Dance Education at Fullerton College.

Darrel Burns

Visual Staff, Assistant Visual Coordinator

Darrel Burns is a visual specialist, drill writer and designer based in the San Diego area. He has been training and encouraging young performers in the SoCal band world since 2013, drawing upon experience gained from both Open and World Class ensembles (Velvet Knights, Academy, Blue Devils) paired with continued study in the areas of leadership, fitness and dance.

Darrel has proudly served several high schools and other ensembles throughout San Diego County and the Inland Empire, including Open Class Finalist Meraki Percussion, Dark Sky Percussion, and 6-time Open Class medalists Gold Drum and Bugle Corps.

While away from the floor or field, Darrel can be found snapping photos, studying or simply enjoying life with his wife Skyler and their two cats.

Nathaniel Oliva

Visual Staff

This is Nathaniel’s first year on staff at POW. he graduated from Chino Hills High School in 2022 where he played saxophone and joined the drumline as part of the visual ensemble. His marching experience includes Gold DBC ‘23, The Blue Devils ‘24-‘25, POW percussion ‘23 and Pulse Percussion ‘24-‘26. He currently teaches at Chino Hills high school as a visual instructor and choreographer.

Bonnie Barrett

Visual Staff

Bonnie Barrett is a choreographer and technician based out of the Inland Empire. Since 2024, she has created dance works with Riverside City College and recently had works showcased at the American College Dance Association at CSULB, 2026. Her performance experience includes Pacific Crest 2017-2018, RCC Indoor Percussion 2019, The Academy 2019, Icon Winter Guard 2023-2024, and various independent dance works.

As an educator, Bonnie works as a color guard technician with Gold Drum and Bugle Corps, color guard caption head at Patriot High School, and musical theater choreographer for Patriot High School’s Dramatis Personae. She is currently working to obtain a BFA in Dance and is studying to be a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through NSCA.

As a free mover, it is one of Bonnie’s greatest goals to inspire freedom, joy, and identity among young people through dance and community.

Sam Call

Visual Staff

This is Sam’s first year on staff with POW Percussion. Sam Call is a visual instructor, choreographer, and musician based out of San Dimas, CA. He currently teaches visual at Damien HS, Sunny Hills HS, and Gold Drum & Bugle Corps. Previous teaching experience also includes Savanna HS, South HS, Élan Percussion, and Kaizen Percussion. Sam was a performer with Gold from 2016 to 2018, Blue Knights Drum & Bugle Corps in 2020 and 2021, and Pulse Percussion in 2022.

Outside of the activity, Sam is a certified recording technician and works as an audio engineer and stagehand at the Bonita Center for the Arts. He is currently going back to school at Pasadena City College pursuing music education with a focus in Jazz.