Shane Gwaltney • Coordinator, Battery Arranger, Visual Design

Shane is a Program Coordinator, Visual Designer, and Battery Arranger in the Music and Visual Arts. He was a charter member of Music City Mystique Indoor Percussion Ensemble and has been instrumental in the group's success for 28 years. Shane has arranged and worked with ensembles in DCI, such as Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps, Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps, and Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps. His inspiration and motivation comes from the kids and programs that allow him to be involved.

Currently, Shane is the Program Coordinator/Battery Arranger/Visual Designer at Music City Mystique, the Program Coordinator at Music City Drum and Bugle Corps, teaches and designs at Ravenwood HS, along with working with several High School and Independent WGI ensembles across the country. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Southeastern Color Guard Circuit and is a proud artist and clinician for Innovative Percussion, Pearl Drums, Evans Drum Heads\Planet Waves, and Zildjian Cymbals.

CJ Barrow • Composer, Arranger, Sound Design

CJ Barrow is a composer, musician, and educator, and currently serves as a music designer for Synced Up Designs and Fannin Musical Productions. In high demand as a marching arts designer, he regularly works with anywhere from 40-50 clients each year, most notably the 8-time WGI world champion ensemble Music City Mystique. Outside of the marching arts, CJ is an active composer for film, TV, and video games, having worked on a number of visual media projects around the country. He earned his MM in Music Scoring for Visual Media at Indiana University, where he studied primarily with Larry Groupé and Steven Wayne Thomas, both active professionals in the Hollywood music industry.

Before pursuing this career full time, CJ served as a band director in middle Tennessee. He completed his BM in Music Education from the University of Tennessee at Martin, where he studied primarily with Julie Hill, John Oelrich, Bill Waterman, Johnathan Vest, and many other esteemed faculty.

His world class marching experience includes two seasons with Music City Mystique, earning a gold medal with Mystique’s 2017 production, The Hand of Man.

CJ currently resides in Bloomington, Indiana with his incredible wife Hannah and their dog Petey.

Peter Bates • Choreographer

Peter Bates is a visual designer, choreographer, and clinician for the pageantry arts based in American Fork, UT. 2023 marks four years that Peter has taught and choreographed for GSP, and he is excited to begin his journey as the visual caption head. Peter works with a number of percussion ensembles in the winter, including Élan (Covina, CA), North Star Independent (Idaho Falls, ID), and Matrix (Akron, OH).

Peter is currently on staff as the visual caption head of the American Fork High School Marching Band, and instructs and designs for a number of other bands across the country. He marched trumpet and mellophone with the Phantom Regiment Drum and Bugle Corps for five years (2013-2017) and marched cymbals with Matrix in 2018. He is currently on visual staff with the Boston Crusaders.

Ivan Fees • Costume and Set Design

Ivan is a graphic designer based out of Denver, CO, and has been involved with the WGI activity since 2003. As a performer he earned the 2004 PSCW bronze medal with Gateway High School of Aurora, CO, as well as a number of finalist placements as a cymbal player for the Blue Knights Percussion Ensemble. As an instructor, consultant, cymbal technician and designer he has worked with a variety of programs, such as George Mason University, Black Diamond Percussion, Imperial Dynasty Percussion, BKPE, and most notably Dakota Ridge High School from Littleton, CO. Dakota Ridge earned 6 RMPA Championships in 5 straight seasons, the 2018 WGI Concert Class Fan Favorite Award, 2017 WGI PSCO silver medal, and were the 2016 WGI PSCO World Champions. Ivan holds a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Master’s in Sports & Entertainment Management from the University of Colorado Denver.