Carolina Crown is excited to welcome three new members to its percussion staff: Alan Miller as Ensemble Specialist, Brandon Olander as Snare Technician, and Sean Clark as Battery Coordinator.
“We’re incredibly excited to welcome Sean, Brandon, and Alan to the Crown percussion team. Each brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and a unique perspective from across the percussion community. We feel extremely fortunate to have them joining us, and we’re excited to have them as part of Crown for 2027.” - Joe Hobbs, Battery Arranger & Caption Supervisor
“Very excited to work with these professionals and elevate the experience for both our members and audience.” - Clif Walker, Front Ensemble Arranger
Alan Miller is an educator and composer/arranger with more than thirty years of experience. Most recently he served as Percussion Director at Braswell High School in Aubrey, TX, where his percussion ensembles received multiple awards, including the Black Swamp Percussion Showcase and PAS’ International Percussion Ensemble Contest, and performed at PASIC in November 2025. Past teaching positions include assistant band director at Lee High School in Midland, TX, and percussion director at Coppell High School in Coppell, TX.
Alongside his teaching in Texas, Alan has arranged extensively for DCI and WGI. He spent nine years as lead front ensemble instructor for the Cavaliers Drum & Bugle Corps (2002–2010), followed by nine years as front ensemble arranger (2011–2019). From 2012–2017, Alan served as sole music arranger for Cavaliers Indoor Percussion (PIW). He later served as front ensemble arranger and caption head for the Crossmen Drum & Bugle Corps from 2022–2023.
Alan has arranged percussion music for multiple Texas State Marching Band Contest medalists, including Coppell High School, Dripping Springs High School, and Flower Mound High School. He has also arranged for marching bands and indoor percussion ensembles across the country and presented clinics throughout much of the United States and in Japan.
Alan is currently the Director of Education and Community Outreach for Synced Up Designs in Nashville, TN. He attended and received his bachelor’s degree from West Texas A&M University, where he studied percussion with Dr. Susan Tariq and conducting with Dr. Gary Garner. Alan is an Innovative Percussion educational artist and is published through Tapspace and Drop6/Rowloff.
Brandon Olander is a drummer and educator from Tucson, Arizona. Brandon began drumming at age 10, and became well known by a viral video of him from when he was only 12 years old. In his time marching and teaching, he has won five DCI World Championships, two DCI Snare Drum Solo championships, and one High Percussion trophy. Brandon has taught students around the world, from the United States, Guatemala, Canada, Germany, Japan, and Hong Kong. When he isn’t teaching, Brandon plays regularly on drumset for many artists in Arizona, and if he isn’t teaching or playing, he is probably somewhere where there are lots of plants.
Sean Clark is a distinguished performer, educator, and designer based in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. He serves as the Director of Percussion and Assistant Director of Instrumental Music at Saratoga High School, where he manages all aspects of the percussion program and collaborates closely with many of the school’s musical ensembles. Since 2018, Sean has served as the Battery Arranger and Program Coordinator for the Marching Band and Winter Percussion ensembles. Under his leadership, the percussion program has achieved national recognition and notable competitive success. In 2024, the Saratoga High School Winter Percussion ensemble competed for the first time in the Percussion Scholastic World (PSW) division, taking 9th place at the WGI World Championships in Dayton, Ohio. Most recently, in 2026, the ensemble returned to the WGI and earned an 8th-place finish. The Saratoga Percussion Studio was selected to perform at the 2024 Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago.
Sean has been involved with Drum Corps International (DCI) ensembles for nearly a decade and currently serves as the Battery Coordinator for the Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps. His prior DCI leadership includes serving as the Percussion Caption Head (2018–2026), Battery Arranger (2019–2026) and Staff Coordinator (2023–2026) for the Blue Devils B Corps, during which the ensemble earned two High Percussion awards (2024, 2026) and secured their sixth Open Class Championship title in 2026. He was also a part of the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps percussion staff from 2019 to 2026. Beyond DCI, Sean is active in Winter Guard International (WGI) and founded Thesis, Northern California’s premier Percussion Independent World (PIW) ensemble. Sean currently serves as the Creative Director and Battery Arranger for Thesis.
As a performer, Sean has been fortunate enough to perform and present clinics internationally and throughout the United States. In 2018, he co-founded the California percussion quartet, “Orphic,” a percussion ensemble devoted towards commissioning new works for chamber percussion ensembles. Orphic has served as Artist in Residency for Los Positas Community College, presented signature concert programs at the University of the Pacific, and has been a featured ensemble for private benefactor concerts for the Stockton Symphony. More notably, Orphic performed in the Nuremberg Day of Percussion and Austria Day of Percussion as guest artists in 2019 and 2022. As a performer with Orphic, Sean enjoys workshopping new compositions with living composers and sharing these works to audiences around the world.
Sean holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Fresno State University and a Master’s degree in Education from National University. He is endorsed by Marimba One, Evans Drumheads, Promark, and Zildjian.
