Staff

Meet the Team!

Our 2027 Leadership Team and Staff will include many familiar faces from 2026, and MORE!

ADMINISTRATION

DARIN WILLIAMS - CORPS DIRECTOR
Darin Williams is a seasoned marching arts instructor and currently works with Stillwater HS & Perkins-Tryon HS Bands as Visual Consultant & Color Guard Coordinator. Darin has worked with a number of regional and national ensembles, including Black Gold Winter Guard, Rhapsody Winter Guard, Madison Scouts, Seattle Cascades, and Boston Crusaders, in addition to several Oklahoma high schools. These experiences have garnered them a number of distinctions, including multiple caption awards, a number of WGI Regional Finalists and Winter Guard & Percussion of Oklahoma class championships, as well as being named the 2010 Winter Guard & Percussion of Oklahoma Director of the Year. Darin received their Bachelor's of Science in Elementary Education from The University of Oklahoma and a Master's of Arts in Educational Leadership from Southern Nazarene University. They served as a classroom teacher for a number of years and were recognized by Edmond Public Schools as a site Teacher of the Year and District Teacher of the Year finalist in 2013. Apart from their time in pageantry they are currently serving as the Director of Education & Community Engagement for The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts at Oklahoma State University. Darin spends his days & nights with his partner Tai and their fur babies. Z, let’s get ready to FLY!

AARON MORTON - ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Aaron J. Morton is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Zephyrus Arts Institute and Zephyrus Drum & Bugle Corps. He is also the Director of Music at Soundbooth Theater and Assistant Director of LitRPG Con. As an award-winning composer, he has written scores for film, stage, and audio productions such as the Dungeon Crawler Carl Audio Immersion Tunnel.

BRASS

OSCAR BAN - ENSEMBLE COORDINATOR, BRASS COORDINATOR
Oscar Ban is a composer, arranger, and music educator based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Now in his fifth year as Brass Caption Manager and Arranger for Zephyrus Drum and Bugle Corps, Oscar has built a diverse career spanning performance, design, and education.
A former Associate Director of Bands and Director of Jazz Bands at Guyer High School in Denton, Texas, Oscar has also worked with a wide range of programs across Indiana, Texas, and Oklahoma. His instructional experience includes serving on the brass staff of Music City, Blue Knights, and The Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps.
As a performer, Oscar marched with Carolina Crown (2015–2017) and spent four years performing with the Indiana University Marching Hundred. He currently performs with the Tulsa Brass Band and maintains an active private trumpet studio throughout the Tulsa area.
Oscar writes extensively for marching band, indoor winds, concert, and chamber ensembles, publishing through RWS Music Company and his own imprint, ORB Music.
A native of Carmel, Indiana, Oscar is a proud graduate of Carmel High School and holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree with an Instrumental Band and Trumpet focus from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.

FRANCISCO LOPEZ - BRASS CAPTION HEAD
Francisco Lopez is an Assistant Director of Bands for McAlester Public Schools. He serves as the 6th Grade Band Coordinator, Director of the jazz ensemble, and Director of the brass choir. Francisco is a graduate of the Greenwood School of Music at Oklahoma State University with a degree in Instrumental Music Education. This season Francisco will tour and serve as the Brass Caption Head.

PERCUSSION

GARETT DWYER - PERCUSSION COORDINATOR, FRONT ENSEMBLE CAPTION HEAD
Garett Dwyer is a percussionist, arranger, composer, and educator based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He currently serves as Percussion Director at Union Public Schools and is on staff with Zephyrus Drum and Bugle Corps and Resistance Indoor Percussion. A graduate of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Garett also studied at The Juilliard School and marched two seasons with the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps. His arrangements — including works for Popeyes and celebrated percussionist Arthur Lipner — have been performed around the world and by groups such as the Bluecoats Front Ensemble and Organized Rhythm. Garett has performed and worked alongside notable artists including Bootsy Collins and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, and is a resident DJ at St. Vitus in Tulsa.

MIKE HILL - ASSISTANT ENSEMBLE COORDINATOR, BATTERY CAPTION HEAD
Mike Hill is a percussion performer, educator, and arranger from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Here at Zephyrus, Mike has been the battery captionhead since 2022, and is now also stepping into the assistant ensemble coordinator position for the 2027 season. Mike is currently the assistant percussion director at Owasso High School in Owasso, Oklahoma. Mike is also a snare tech for Resistance Indoor Percussion since 2023. Mike’s marching experience consists of being a snare drummer for the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps for the 2020 and 2021 season. As a member of the Cavaliers in 2020, Mike was a performing member for the ensemble during the 2020 Percussive Arts Society International Convention where he performed excerpts from the Cavaliers organization ranging from 1967-2020. Mike attended the University of Central Oklahoma where he received his bachelor’s degree in instrumental music education in 2023. During his time at UCO, Mike was involved in the university’s music programs including the top wind symphony, orchestra, percussion ensemble, marching band, jazz band, and pit orchestra for musical theatre. Along with these performance opportunities through the university, Mike was also a performer for the Oklahoma City Thunder Drumline for the 2018-2019 NBA season.

VISUAL

GAVIN STRICKLAND - VISUAL CAPTION HEAD
Gavin Strickland is the Assistant Director of Athletic Bands at Oklahoma Baptist University where he directs the Volleyball Band, Basketball Band, and the wind and visual program for the Bison Brigade Marching Band. He is entering his third year as visual caption head and fourth year with Zephyrus Drum and Bugle Corps where his team led the visual program to its highest score in corps history. Gavin marched with several corps during his four years of performing and learned from a diverse array of the best educators in the activity. Gavin believes that showing up every day ready to work and never relying on autopilot is the key to visual success.

COLOR GUARD

DARIN WILLIAMS - COLOR GUARD COORDINATOR
Darin Williams is a seasoned marching arts instructor and currently works with Stillwater HS & Perkins-Tryon HS Bands as Visual Consultant & Color Guard Coordinator. Darin has worked with a number of regional and national ensembles, including Black Gold Winter Guard, Rhapsody Winter Guard, Madison Scouts, Seattle Cascades, and Boston Crusaders, in addition to several Oklahoma high schools. These experiences have garnered them a number of distinctions, including multiple caption awards, a number of WGI Regional Finalists and Winter Guard & Percussion of Oklahoma class championships, as well as being named the 2010 Winter Guard & Percussion of Oklahoma Director of the Year. Darin received their Bachelor's of Science in Elementary Education from The University of Oklahoma and a Master's of Arts in Educational Leadership from Southern Nazarene University. They served as a classroom teacher for a number of years and were recognized by Edmond Public Schools as a site Teacher of the Year and District Teacher of the Year finalist in 2013. Apart from their time in pageantry they are currently serving as the Director of Education & Community Engagement for The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts at Oklahoma State University.

TONI PALACIOS - COLOR GUARD CAPTION HEAD
Toni Palacios is a performer, choreographer and educator from the Tulsa area. Toni went to Tahlequah High School where he started his color guard career. He currently works with Union High School, Broken Arrow High School, Will Rogers High School, Zephyrus Winter Guard and Zephyrus Drum Corps as well as being an active world class performer. Toni has performed with the Zephyrus Winter Guard, Mirage, Mustang Independent and two seasons with the Boston Crusaders, winning the George Zingali award in 2024.

Instructional staff:

BRASS
Info coming soon!

PERCUSSION
Info coming soon!

VISUAL
Info coming soon!

GUARD
Info coming soon!

Advisory / CLINICIANS / CONSULTANTS

DAN POTTER - LEADERSHIP
Drum Major of the Geneseo Knights Drum and Bugle Corps from 1979-1981, Dan was also on the staff of the Glassmen and has taught or consulted high school marching bands in Indiana, Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma. Dan is also the recipient of the National Association of Broadcasters 2015 Marconi Award for Medium Market Personality of the Year. Dan served on the news team for KRMG Radio in Tulsa for years, and now is a full time consultant via his company Dan Potter Media. In his personal time, Dan announces for various marching arts events throughout the US.

ALAN MUEGGENBORG - MARCHING ARTS ADVISOR
Alan Mueggenborg has been involved 40+ years in the Marching Arts as a performer, instructor, visual designer, director, manager, visual coordinator, clinician and adjudicator for some of the most successful programs in the US. Under his design and leadership, these groups have won numerous state, regional and national awards, including 3 BOA Auxiliary and 4 WGI Championship titles. Alan has previously served on the boards of WGI, DCI, Texas Color Guard Circuit and Winter Guard & Percussion of Oklahoma. Alan founded FLASH Visual Media in 2014, providing top-quality printed products for marching arts groups throughout the US. He is currently the Western US Sales Manager for BandToday.com which is a full-service band and color guard supply company.

health AND well-being

JOSEPH AGUERO - DNP, APRN-CNP
Joseph is a dedicated healthcare professional with a strong foundation in adult cardiovascular care and a passion for advancing health and safety in both clinical and performing arts settings. Known to many corps members as "nurse Joe" He is a registered nurse of several years since graduating from Tulsa Community College in 2017, and recently earned his APRN credential in adult-gerontology acute care from The University of Tulsa in 2024. Since 2019, he has intermittently served as the camp nurse for Zephyrus Arts Institute’s Drum & Bugle Corps, advising and shaping the Corps health and safety policies.

Joseph also contributes nationally as a new member of DCI's Marching Arts Safety and Health (MASH) group—an initiative of healthcare professionals dedicated to promoting wellness, injury prevention, and safety standards across the marching arts.Though with no background in music, as he often says " the only instrument I know I can play is the Kazoo". He has grown to greatly admire the music over the years and all the physical effort that goes into putting on a marching arts show saying "These corps members aren't just musicians, they are true athletes and should be treated as such." Joseph combines clinical expertise with a unique role in the performing arts community bringing a compassionate, evidence-based approach to every role he takes on for Zephyrus and continues to bridge healthcare and the arts through advocacy, education, and service.

DR. RACHEL WILLIAMS
Dr. Rachel Williams brings over two decades of experience as a Certified Athletic Trainer, blending scientific expertise with an unwavering passion for helping people perform at their best. Her journey began in high school as an athletic training aide, where she discovered the powerful connection between movement, recovery, and human potential. That spark grew into a lifelong calling to elevate health and performance across diverse communities.

A proud graduate of The University of Tulsa (B.S. in Athletic Training, 2006), Rachel went on to earn her Ph.D. in Health and Human Performance, researching the impact of vitamin D on muscle strength and power. Her career has since taken her from the launch pads of Kennedy Space Center, to the sidelines at Xavier University and Oklahoma State University, to the heart of rural Oklahoma — always guided by her belief that everyone deserves access to quality performance healthcare.

Rachel is especially passionate about advancing performance health in underrepresented groups, championing inclusion and innovation in every environment she works in.

In addition to her role with Zephyrus Arts, she serves as Co-Director of the Concussion Center at The University of Tulsa and leads Arête Leadership & Consulting, where she empowers teams and organizations to build trust, authenticity, and psychological safety.

2027 Drum Corps​Leadership & instructional staff