Will Ellison has been the Director of Bands at Dutchman Creek Middle School in Rock Hill, South Carolina since 2022. He is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Winthrop University---where he received his Bachelor of Music Education. While at Winthrop, Mr. Ellison was awarded the Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award and was named Outstanding Music Graduate by the music faculty. Mr. Ellison is also a South Carolina Teaching Fellow. He is extremely excited to be teaching at DCMS and to continue the legacy of high-quality music education for which the school is known. Outside of DCMS, you can see Mr. Ellison assisting the Northwestern High School Marching Band: "The Purple Regiment," playing trumpet in the orchestra at First Baptist Church Rock Hill, or performing with the Carolinas Wind Orchestra. You should also ask him about his quest to read a biography of every US President! He maintains professional affiliations with the National Association for Music Education, the South Carolina Music Educators' Association, and the South Carolina Band Directors' Association, Pi Kappa Lambda, and is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity.

As a professional musician, Josh Walker has worked in the Carolina region for 20 years, including as percussionist with the Charlotte, Charleston, and Union Symphonies. He has performed with Andrea Bocelli, the Moody Blues, Manhattan Transfer, The Four Tops, Natalie Cole, and many other artists. Josh frequently performs on timpani, drum set, jazz vibes, marimba, and ethnic and orchestral percussion.

As a private instructor, Josh has sent students to All-Region and All-State honor bands in South and North Carolina, Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, and colleges such as University of Cincinnati, Winthrop University, Furman University, the University of South Carolina, UNC Greensboro, and North Carolina School of the Arts.

As a composer and arranger Josh has recently recorded, produced, and released an album of his jazz-influenced arrangements of classic hymns. It is entitled Reimagined: Classic Hymns for a Modern Audience. He also writes music exclusively and non-exclusively for several music libraries.

Josh studied at Winthrop University where he earned a Bachelor of Music Performance in 1998 and a Master of Music Performance in 2001.

He and his wife, Michelle, live in Fort Mill, SC with their daughter.