ATLANTA QUEST STAFF
DESIGN
Alan Sears is a co-founder of Atlanta Quest. He has been the music and program director since the beginning in 2002. Alan now serves as the Director of Percussion for the Sprayberry High School “Band of Gold”, and is the Drumline Instructor and Arranger for the Kennesaw State University "Marching Owls". Alan arrangers for many ensembles and also has his arrangements published with CounterMotion Inc.
Along with his work in the Band world, he also composes for corporate events and commercial projects.
Alan is married to Monna Sears and the proud father of two sons Hayden Alan Sears and Cole Alexander Sears.
ALAN SEARS
Program Director/Music Arranger
Zack Marshall is in his 12th year as Visual Designer for Atlanta Quest. He began as a snare technician with Atlanta Quest in 2012 before becoming the Visual Caption Head in 2013.
Other educational experience includes Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps, Milton High school, Southlake Carrol high school, Kennesaw State University, and many others. He was a performing member of Pariah Marching Theater from 2005-2010, Music City Mystique in 2011, and Blue Devils International in 2015.
Zack currently works in Environment Health and Safety at Koch Industries.
ZACK MARSHALL
Visual Design
Kevin is currently the Assistant Band Director/Percussion Director with PSW-finalists, Milton High School in Alpharetta, GA. Kevin is in his 11th year with Atlanta Quest and 10th year as the music arranger.
Kevin has a Master's degree in percussion performance from Texas Christian University and a Bachelor's degree in music education from Jacksonville State University. He marched three years of WGI with Music City Mystique (07-09) and four years of DCI with the Cavaliers, Spirit of JSU, and Memphis Sound. He has taught for many different high school and independent WGI/BOA groups in Georgia, Texas, and Alabama, as well as DCI with The Cadets. Kevin is a proud endorser of Innovative Percussion products.
KEVIN KENNEY
Front Ensemble Arranger
Brian McKenzie is joining the leadership team as Technical Director and Sound Designer. He is an avid supporter of the marching arts, and in particular the sound reinforcement technology and creative electronic enhancement techniques being developed for use in the activity.
Brian is a musician, engineer, designer, and educator based in Marietta, GA. This is also home to his private music and production studio, Para Machina. Through his company, he offers a variety of services, and mentors aspiring artists, instrumentalists, and producers of all ages and abilities. He is also the percussion director at Roswell High School in Roswell, GA and is the audio and rock band technician for the Georgia State University marching band. Brian began his career as a contract performer and technician. His work included playing drums for an international ad campaign directed by MKTG, and seasonal performances at music, arts, and cultural festivals across the United States. Between 2017 and 2018 Brian worked with the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps on their productions ‘Jagged Line’ and ‘Session 44’. He then joined the Boston Crusaders where he has worked since 2019 on their productions, “Goliath”, “Paradise Lost”, and “White Whale”. He continues his work with the Crusaders as the technical designer and producer.
Aylin is returning to Atlanta Quest for her second year as Choreographer/Movement Instructor. Currently residing in Indianapolis, IN, she is Color Guard Director for Brownsburg HS. In addition, Aylin is a choreographer and movement trainer for high schools and independent performance companies nationwide.
She also studied Massage Therapy at Northcoast Medical Training Academy, with a focus in Sports Massage, and is currently pursuing a BS in Graphic Design from Full Sail University.
Through the years Aylin has gained an extensive portfolio of experience in dance, solo vocal, instrumental music, and color guard - both in performance and instruction. Her DCI career started in 2011 with The Glassmen and was followed by 5 years with the Phantom Regiment – serving as colorguard captain for both the 2015 and 2016 seasons. After 5 years as a dancer and visual performer for Matrix Performing Arts, Aylin continues with the organization and is now in her fourth year as Movement Instructor. In the DCI world, she has spent time as Choreographer with Oregon Crusaders and is in her fifth year on staff with the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps.
BRIAN MCKENZIE
Technical Director/Sound Design
AYLIN VURAL
Movement/Choreographer
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP
TJ is in his 11th season as part of the Atlanta Quest staff, returning for the 2023 season as the Ensemble & Staff Coordinator. He graduated from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business where he served two years playing snare drum in the UGA drumline, as well as Georgia-based WGI groups, Pariah and Terminus, before marching with Music City Mystique and the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps.
He lives in Smyrna, GA and works professionally as an Executive Senior Partner with Korn Ferry. In his free time, he watches sports, plays golf, fantasy football and hangs out with his wife, Chelsea, and #1 dog - Donut.
TJ CHOQUETTE
Ensemble & Staff Coordinator
Micah will be stepping into the Battery Coordinator/Assis. Ensemble Coordinator Role in his 6th year on staff with AQ, after marching with the ensemble in 2015.
He is a graduate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, with a degree in Music and Entrepreneurship. While at UNCG, he performed with the Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, Steel Pan Ensemble, and many more. He began his competitive marching career in WGI while in high school where he was a member of Wake Forest Independent from 2010-2013. His last year competing in WGI was with Atlanta Quest in 2015. He marched DCA in 2012 with Carolina Gold, who went on to win a World Championship, and also in DCI with the Phantom Regiment in 2013-14. He has taught percussion ensembles all along the east coast including Revelation Percussion, and Alchemy Independent.
Outside of drums, Micah lives in Atlanta and works for Boston Consulting Group.
MICAH HANNER
Battery Coordinator/Assis. Ensemble Coordinator
Claire is returning for her 9th season with Atlanta Quest, and third as Front Ensemble Coordinator. Claire Smith Kenney is a percussion educator, clinician, and performer in the Greater-Atlanta area. She is currently the Percussion Director at Pope High School and teaches at Kennesaw State University as an adjunct percussion instructor.
She is originally from Cumming, Georgia, and attended Jacksonville State University in Alabama for her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education. Claire then continued her education at Texas Christian University where she earned her Master’s degree in percussion performance.
Since 2004, Claire has been involved with many performing ensembles, including Spirit Drum and Bugle Corps, Music City Mystique, and most recently the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps, Atlanta Wind Symphony, Atlanta Percussion Ensemble, and Atlanta Steel Collective. She is a member of the Percussive Arts Society, Georgia Music Educators Association, and an educational artist for Innovative Percussion.
Other than percussion, she enjoys running, being outdoors, and spending time with her husband Kevin and their three dogs.
CLAIRE KENNEY
Front Ensemble Coordinator
Corey Watkins is stepping into the Visual Coordinator role in his 3rd season on staff with Atlanta Quest, expanding on his duties as a bass tech.
He is a freelance educator, percussionist, and arranger from Asheville, North Carolina. In addition to Atlanta Quest, Corey is a bass drum instructor with The Cadets, and has taught the Spartans Drum & Bugle Corps as well. His marching career began in the Western Carolina University “Pride of the Mountains” marching band from 2015-2017, with independent marching experience including Atlanta Quest, The Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps, and Matrix World.
COREY WATKINS
VIsual Coordinator/Bass
ALLEN JUSTUS
Music Consultant
INSTRUCTIONAL STAFF
Mason is returning to Atlanta Quest for his third season as a snare tech. He has marched snare at AQ for four seasons, including being section leader in 2020 and 2021. His DCI experience includes Santa Clara Vanguard in 2019, winning the Fred Sanford Best Percussion Performance Award.
Mason currently lives in Hernando, Mississippi where he serves as a percussion instructor at Hernando High School and Hernando Middle School. He has also been on percussion staff for Music City Drum Corps and Memphis Blues Drum Corps.
MASON HILL
Snare
Colin is joining the Atlanta Quest snare staff for the 2024 season after performing with the ensemble for the 2020 and 2022 seasons and teaching the Q2 snareline for the 2023 season. Colin has taught the Madison Scouts snareline since 2021, as well as instructed and designed for several high school ensembles in the Metro Atlanta area including Denmark High School, North Gwinnett High School, and Norcross High School.
In addition to Atlanta Quest, Colin has performed with the ensembles Boston Crusaders, Infinity Percussion, Oregon Crusader, Tampa Bay Thunder, Marcato Independent, and Ancient City Ensemble, as well as worked as a musician for the Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Studios during his time at Valencia College in Orlando, FL. Originally from Inverness, FL, Colin currently lives in Atlanta where he works as an IT technician.
COLIN CARELLA
Snare
Luke Willingham is rejoining Atlanta Quest for his 20th year in the Marching Arts. He previously served as snare tech with AQ in 2015.
Prior educational experiences include Music City Mystique, Burleson Centennial High School, Southlake Carroll High School, Kennesaw Mountain High School, Forsyth Central High School, and many others. He was a performing member of Spirit of JSU in 2006-2007, Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps in 2009 and 2011, and Music City Mystique from 2008-2012.
Luke currently lives in Charlotte, NC where he works as a Thermal Design Engineer.
LUKE WILLINGHAM
Snare
Ticorrian will join us for a fourth season with Atlanta Quest as a quad tech. He marched quads for DoubleStop Indoor Percussion 2013, The Alabama Million Dollar Band 2014-2017, Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps 2015 and 2017, and Virtual Drum Corps 2020.
Ticorrian graduated from the University of Alabama in 2019 with a B.S in Computer Science and currently works as a Developer Advocate at Zoom Video.
TICORRIAN HEARD
Quads
Blake is returning for his 5th season as quad tech with Atlanta Quest after serving as quad tech and battery coordinator with Q2 in 2018. He marched four seasons (2014-2017) on the quad line at AQ, serving as the QAQ section leader in 2017. He marched with ALLIANCE Drum & Bugle Corps in the summer of 2014 and toured Europe in the summer of 2015 as a member of the Blue Devils International Corps.
Blake was also a member of the Georgia State University Marching Band from 2013-2016. Blake graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in Computer Information Systems and is currently pursuing his Masters in Analytics at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He now lives in Smyrna, GA, working as a Sr. Analyst of Decision Analytics with Home Depot.
BLAKE BENTON
Quads
Anna is joining Atlanta Quest as a cymbal tech for the 2024 season. She is a cymbal instructor from Farmington Hills, Michigan. Beginning her teaching career in 2019, she has taught winter and fall cymbal lines at Dakota High School, Lake Orion Percussion, Plymouth-Canton Educational Park and Huron Valley Percussion.
In the summer, she currently instructs the Madison Scouts cymbal line, and previously at Legends DBC. In addition to cymbals, Anna has also instructed visual programs at North Farmington High School, Novi High School, P-CEP Marching Band, and Dakota High School. She began her cymbal career at Farmington United Percussion Ensemble, afterwards marching at Genesis Percussion then Redline Percussion. Her first season of drum corps was at Legends DBC, going on to the Madison Scouts after three years.
She now resides in Smyrna, Georgia, where she lovingly takes care of her cats and dogs Minerva, Arthur, Francis and Flugbo.
ANNA KOH
Cymbals
TJ is in his 6th season as a front ensemble instructor with Atlanta Quest. Currently residing in Marietta, GA, he’s worked with high schools and middle schools across the Metro Atlanta area for the past 7 years both in the classroom and on the football field. Currently, he serves as Percussion Instructor at Harrison High School.
In 2019, TJ taught at the Colts Drum & Bugle Corps and joined the Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps team in 2020 where he currently teaches during the summer. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance from Georgia State University and studied under Dr. Stuart Gerber, Victor Pons, and Charles Settle. During his time there, he performed with the GSU Wind Orchestra and Wind Ensemble as well as the Symphony Orchestra as principal percussionist.
In addition to his time in the GSU Panther Band, he has performed with Spirit of Atlanta, Blue Knights, and Atlanta Quest, where he was section leader for 2 seasons. He currently plays percussion and piano with The Atlanta Percussion Ensemble and enjoys playing steel pan with the Atlanta Steel Collective.
TJ SHAHEEN
Front Ensemble
J.T. is currently the music teacher at Free Home Elementary and Clayton Elementary in Canton, GA. J.T. graduated from The University of West Georgia with a degree in Early Childhood Education. He marched five years of WGI with Atlanta Quest and Odyssey Percussion Theatre and two years of DCI with Spirit of JSU and Court of Honor.
He has worked with many different scholastic and independent organizations around the Atlanta area. Most recently, as an instructor at Milton High School. J.T. now lives in Canton, Georgia with his wife Bronwyn and his two sons Archer and Atticus.
JT SNELL
Front Ensemble
Nate Hughes is returning as Visual Technician for his 5th year with Atlanta Quest. currently serves as Assistant Director of Bands at South Forsyth Middle School in Cumming, Georgia, where he has been for 5 years. While serving in this role, he has been awarded the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence.
A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Nate received his Bachelor of Music degree from Austin Peay State University. Nate was a member of the trumpet section of 7-time World Champion, Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps. He was also a cast member of Rhythm X Winds.
Nate has served on the instructional staff of several high schools in Tennessee and Georgia, as well as drum corps including Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps, Spirit of Atlanta and MCDC. Nate programs marching band shows for several bands throughout the Southeast, in addition to composing original music, writing drill, and staging winter guards and indoor drumlines. He is also an active adjudicator and can be found judging both performance and effect captions.
NATE HUGHES
Visual
Sam Willingham is rejoining Atlanta Quest for her 14th year in the Marching Arts. She previous served as visual ensemble tech with AQ in 2015.
Previous educational experiences include Southlake Carroll High School, Alpharetta High School, Chattahoochee High School, Burleson Centennial High School, and others. She was a performing member of Crossmen in 2009, Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps in 2010 and 2011, Ars Nova 2009-2011 and Music City Mystique in 2013.
Sam currently lives in Charlotte, NC where she owns her personal training business, Hissy Fit.
SAM WILLINGHAM
Visual Ensemble
Matthew will be returning for his 2nd season on staff after aging out with the group as the QAQ section leader in 2019. Matthew has marched five years of WGI in percussion independent world class with Palmetto Percussion, with whom he made his first PIW Finals appearance in 2015, as well as Atlanta Quest, where he continued to march for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Additionally, he marched the 2018 DCI season as quad section leader with the Blue Stars Drum and Bugle Corps. After aging out, Matthew served as a quad tech with Q2 through the 2021 season. In addition, he has previously taught as a battery tech at North Forsyth HS in Cumming, GA and PSW-finalist Milton HS in Alpharetta, GA.
Matthew lives in Atlanta and is currently a Financial Planning Analyst with Southern Company.
MATT BLOMQUIST
Quads
Steve Nelson is a returning for his 5th year as cymbal instructor for the 2023 season. Previously, Steve served as a cymbal instructor at Equinox Percussion from 2017-2019 and Palmetto Percussion from 2014-2016.
Steve is a Science Education graduate from The University of Georgia and is currently an AP Biology, Honors Biology, and AP Research teacher at North Forsyth High School in Cumming, GA, where he currently resides. In addition, he has served as a percussion instructor and visual program coordinator for both the fall marching band and indoor drumline program at NFHS since Fall 2013.
His marching experience includes The University of Georgia Redcoat Band, the Winter Guard Independent groups: Palmetto Percussion, Terminus Atlanta Percussion, and Pariah Marching Percussion Theatre, and the Drum Corps Associates group: Alliance Drum and Bugle Corps. He also has instructed for The University of Georgia Bands, Flowery Branch High School, Oglethorpe County High School, Creekview High School, and Sequoyah High School. Steve is an endorsed artist of SABIAN cymbals, and holds a WGI Judging certification at Level 200.
STEVE NELSON
Cymbals
Dudley will be joining the AQ Front Ensemble staff for his first year. He graduated with a degree in Music Engineering at the University of Miami in 2023. Currently living in Nashville, TN, he works as an Freelance Audio Engineer and Technician for 242 Concepts.
He was a performing member in the Front Ensembles of Atlanta Quest and most recently the Bluecoats, where he was a winner of the Fred Sanford Best Percussion Performance Award. Past battery and front ensemble teaching experience includes West Forsyth HS, Cambridge HS, among others
DUDLEY MERRIAM
Front Ensemble
Roque is currently a freelance audio engineer based in Atlanta, GA and is in his 5th year with AQ as an engineer. He was a performing member of Atlanta Quest as a snare drummer in 2017 & 2018, and prior with Palmetto Percussion, Colts Drum & Bugle Corps and Carolina Gold. Roque works as a recording engineer and audio assistant at 11th Street Studios, a sound designer/engineer and battery instructor for numerous high school percussion programs in Atlanta in addition to working with the Boston Crusaders as part of their audio team.
In 2019, Roque graduated from the Atlanta Institute of Music with an Associates Degree in Audio Post-Production. Outside of working as an audio engineer, Roque plays bass in an alternative rock band known as Indigo Method and enjoys spending time with his dog Roxy.
ROQUE WINCHESTER
Audio
Caleb Pitt is joining the AQ staff first his first season as a visual tech. He spent 7 seasons with the Atlanta Quest organization with both Q2 and AQ playing cymbals and bass drum. His other marching experience includes Carolina Crown, Phantom Regiment, and Atlanta CV.
Caleb is a free lance instructor and has worked with North Paulding High School, Chattahoochee High School, Marist High School, Cherokee County High School, and currently serves as a bass tech for East Paulding High School.
CALEB PITT
Visual
Grace will be rejoining Atlanta Quest for her first year on staff after aging out of the Visual Ensemble in 2023.
Grace is currently attending Jacksonville State University, majoring in Communication with a focus in PR. During her time at JSU, she has been a member of the Marching Southerners and Marching Ballerinas, where she has served as a section leader over the past two seasons.
Her independent marching experience began in 2019 with Divenire Winterguard and ended in 2023 with Atlanta Quest. She has instructed multiple high school danceline and colorguard groups throughout Northern Alabama.
GRACE ELSAESSER
Visual Ensemble
Christopher Bryant is returning to the Atlanta Quest Bass Staff for the 2023 season. His marching experience includes Atlanta Quest, The Boston Crusaders, Carolina Crown, Spirit of Atlanta, Civitas independent, Carolina Gold, and The Western Carolina Pride of the Mountains Marching Band.
Chris is currently serving as the battery director at Kennesaw Mountain High School and a Bass Technician at Atlanta CV Drum and Bugle Corps. He has also served the role as Bass technician for The Milton High School, Wheeler High School and Civitas Independent. Along with being a Bass Technician he also assumed the role of Visual Caption Head, Show Designer, and Music Arranger for Wren High School ..
CHRIS BRYANT
Bass
Branden Annakie will be returning to the Quest organization for his 4th year, and second year working with AQ & Q2 concurrently.
He is a native of McDonough, GA, graduating from Ola HS in 2014. He spent time at Jacksonville State University before working towards a degree in veterinary medicine and a minor in music at the University of Georgia. Branden has performed with several group such as the Marching Southerners in 2016, JSU’s Chamber Winds, Wind Ensemble, and Jazz Ensemble, as well as the University of Georgia Symphonic Band.
Branden started his independent marching career with Chattanooga Independent in 2016 and continued at Equinox Percussion in 2017 and 2018. Branden is currently a percussion instructor at Seckinger HS.
BRANDEN ANNAKIE
Cymbals
Sebastien Moneyron is joining Atlanta Quest as a front ensemble tech for the 2024 season.
He is an alumni of Milton High School and of the Jacob's School of Music at Indiana University. While at Indiana University, Sebastien was a member of the Wind Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Brazilian ensemble, and many more ensembles. He was a part of the Spirit Front Ensemble in 2019, playing xylophone, and of the Bluecoats front ensemble in 2021, playing marimba. In addition to his musical activities at Indiana, Sebastien had also been selected as a member of the The Atlanta Youth Wind Symphony, and as the center marimba for the U.S. Army All-American Marching Band.
Currently, he teaches front ensemble for Milton High School, Spirit of Atlanta, private lessons, and percussion classes for various middle schools in the area.
SEBASTIEN MONEYRON
Front Ensemble
Kayli Munson is joining the Quest organization as an audio intern this 2023 season. She is currently pursuing a BA in Music from Kent State University in Ohio. Previously, she has performed with Matrix World Ensemble and has worked with Spirit of Atlanta as an audio engineering intern, TMEA's Music Technology Leadership Academy, and Encore AV group.
Kayli is a saxophonist based in Akron, OH and has previously been accepted to perform at the North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial Conference, US Navy Band Saxophone Symposium, and the National Intercollegiate Band.
KAYLI MUNSON
Audio
Noah Kaplan is joining Atlanta Quest as a visual tech for the 2023 season. He is a percussion/battery instructor and designer at various high schools in South Florida, where he has worked with award-winning marching bands and indoor percussion programs such as Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Coral Glades High School, and FIU; helping design and create shows that has been featured at BOA, FMBC and WGI.
As a performer, he marched with Heatwave of Florida Drum and Bugle Corps, STRYKE Percussion, and The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps, serving as section leader with both STRYKE and Cadets. Since then, Noah has performed professionally with the Miami Marlins Drumline, Blue Devils Entertainment, and Legoland Florida Resort.
Noah is currently the battery coordinator at Marjory Stoneman Douglas and Coral Glades high schools, and looks forward to joining the AQ team.
NOAH KAPLAN
Visual
Kellen has been with the Atlanta Quest organization for 11 years and in his 2nd year as overall lead cymbal technician of both Q2 and AQ . He is from Montgomery, AL where he attended high school at Alabama Christian Academy class of 2006.
Upon graduation, he attended Jacksonville State University where he joined the Marching Southerners playing cymbals from 2007-2009. In addition to AQ/Q2, Kellen has taught cymbals at Spirit of Atlanta from 2016 - 2019.
KELLEN MATTHEWS
Cymbals
Kevin Caruso is returning for his 3rd year as a cymbal instructor for the 2024 season.
Prior to AQ, he marched 3 years at Equinox Percussion, 2017-2019, and continuing as an instructor for the 2020 season. Originally from Philadelphia, Kevin attended Georgia Tech as a Mechanical Engineering major. At Tech, he played cymbals for the Yellow Jacket Marching Band as well as oboe and English horn for the Symphonic Band and Symphonic Orchestra. Kevin is currently a mechanical design engineer for a custom equipment manufacturer in Douglasville, GA. Outside of work and band, Kevin enjoys cooking, golfing, and playing pickleball.
KEVIN CARUSO
Cymbals
Willie Burke returns for his 2nd season as a front ensemble tech. He is a percussionist residing in the Metro Atlanta area.
He is currently serving as the percussion director at Decatur High School and Beacon Hill Middle School, and the battery coordinator for the Duluth High School marching band. He also teaches drum set lessons and rock band classes at Bach to Rock in Alpharetta, GA. Willie received a Bachelor's degree in Commercial Music and Audio Production from Western Carolina University in 2020. In the marching world, he has performed with the front ensembles of Atlanta Quest and Carolina Crown.
WILLIE BURKE
Front Ensemble
This will be Tim’s 10th season on staff at Atlanta Quest and 13th overall with the organization, returning for the 2024 season as the Visual Tech and adding Equipment Manager responsibilities.
He attended Kennesaw State University where he majored in Marketing. His marching experience includes the Blue Devils “C” ’00, Atlanta Quest ’05-’07, Alliance '09, Gateway Indoor ’10, Glassmen ’10, Music City Mystique ’11, and the Atlanta Falcons Drumline ’09-’16.
He lives in Mableton, GA and works professionally as the Supply Chain Manger for Carvel. He’s a big Bay Area sports fan who enjoys spending time his wife, Kyla, and two cats, Mia and Milo.
TIM NORRIS
Visual
Kirstin Shatzer is joining Atlanta Quest visual ensemble staff for the first time in 2024. She is from Mechanicsburg, PA where she is Lead Graphic Artist for Field & Floor FX, and is color guard director at Mechanicsburg High School.
She has been involved with a wide variety of marching band, indoor color guard, and percussion programs across the East Coats and Midwest from elementary to world class. Her drum corps experience including marching The Glassmen, and teaching Pioneer, The Cadets, Spirit of Atlanta, and Music City. She is an active adjudicator in the Mid-Atlantic region. In her free time she loves to travel, hike, run and hang out with her cat, Diego.
KIRSTIN SHATZER
Visual Ensemble
MEDIA
Forrest is returning for his 2nd season with Atlanta Quest’s media team as videographer and media coordinator. He is currently a cinematographer and Colorist based out of Atlanta, GA, and works with NCAA, the NFL, and other leagues in sports media content production. Forrest specializes in both social media and long-form documentary production.
He also spent time with both ensembles in the Atlanta Quest organization between 2017-2019 as a performer, as well as the Florida State University Big 8 drumline.
FORREST ROY
Media Coordinator/Videographer
Zoe is returning to Atlanta Quest for her 2nd year on the media team. She is a photographer and Social Media Manager out of Cullowhee, NC where she currently works with the Pride of the Mountains marching band at Western Carolina University. Zoe specializes in both photography and content creation. She has past WGI social media experience and percussion experience with Civitas Independent and is excited to continue her career with Atlanta Quest!
ZOE SMITH
Photographer
Matthew is joining AQ’s media staff for the first time during the 2024 season. He is currently working as a photographer and videographer out of Atlanta, GA.
He previously worked with Music City Drum and Bugle Corps as a member of their media team during the 2023 DCI season, concentrating on social media presence and content production. He also performed with Atlanta CV and Spirit of Atlanta before aging out with the Sacramento Mandarins, and is looking forward to being involved with Quest this year!
MATTHEW VOGE
Photographer/Videographer
Sean is in his 2nd year on media staff with AQ. Based out of Raleigh, North Carolina, he is an experienced photographer whose passion is visual storytelling. Sean works mostly in marching arts, aviation, and landscape photography. Sean is currently studying Music Education at Western Carolina University.
SEAN OHMANN
Photographer
SUPPORT STAFF
This will be Tim’s 10th season on staff at Atlanta Quest and 13th overall with the organization, and stepping into the Equipment Manager role for the 2024 season.
He attended Kennesaw State University where he majored in Marketing. His marching experience includes the Blue Devils “C” ’00, Atlanta Quest ’05-’07, Alliance '09, Gateway Indoor ’10, Glassmen ’10, Music City Mystique ’11, and the Atlanta Falcons Drumline ’09-’16.
He lives in Mableton, GA and works professionally as the Supply Chain Manger for Carvel. He’s a big Bay Area sports fan who enjoys spending time his wife, Kyla, and two cats, Mia and Milo.
TIM NORRIS
Equipment Manager/Vibe Guy
Danielle has been with the Atlanta Quest organization since 2014, first as a member and then as a cymbal tech before transitioning to the administrative side.
She is a native of Carrollton, Georgia, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Music with a Minor in Spanish from Shorter University in Rome, Georgia. When not with Atlanta Quest, Danielle works with several high school marching band and indoor drumline programs across the state including Sprayberry High School, Harrison High School, and Whitewater High School.
DANIELLE LANIER
Travel Manager/Admin
Felipe will be returning to Atlanta Quest for his 2nd season as their Props Maintenance Lead. His experience at Quest includes 3 seasons of performing on rack from 2020-2022 and serving on the support staff in 2023.
He has also been heavily involved with the KSUDL, having performed for 4 seasons and currently performing on bass 3 after 3 seasons of quads. Felipe is from Woodstock, GA and loves all things related to cars and Colombia. His love and passion for the Quest organization brings him back to serve its members and staff once again.
FELIPE QUIROGA
Props Maintenance Lead
Nick Tucker is an alumnus of Jacksonville State University where he received his Bachelors of Arts in Instrumental Music Education. While at JSU, he participated in the Marching Southerners drumline for five years and performed with the JSU Percussion Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, and Symphonic Band. He also marched at Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps in the 2016 and 2017 seasons, serving as section leader for the percussion section both years. Nick was also on staff at Spirit as a snare technician in 2018. Previously, he was the Associate Director of Bands at North Forsyth High School from 2019-2023. While there, the marching band, concert bands and indoor drumline received a multitude of high achieving awards. Most recently, the indoor drumline performed in Scholastic A Finals at WGI World Championships in 2023.
Nick is a board member of the Georgia Indoor Percussion Association. Nick is affiliated with the National Association for Music educators, Georgia Music Educators Association, the Percussive Arts Society.
Nick Tucker
Admin/Technology