Faculty and Staff
With a style and format that borrows to a large degree from military traditions, it's no surprise that success begins from the band's leadership. Our professional staff arrange music, write drill, conduct rehearsals, and ensure the students receive the highest level of music and performance education.
Chris Moore
Christopher Moore currently serves as director of athletic bands and percussion studies, as well as serves as the coordinator for undergraduate music technology studies. He served as assistant director and staff arranger of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Band and director of instrumental music at Marist School in Atlanta. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Jacksonville State University and a Master of Music degree from East Carolina University. Moore is an active freelance performer, clinician, arranger, composer, and film scorer. His compositions and arrangements have been performed nationally and internationally. He has served as percussion and arranging consultant to Wynton Marsalis on three large works for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. Moore also is director of the Spirit of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps.
Benjamin "BJ" Diden
Benjamin J. Diden is the assistant director of bands at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He serves as conductor of the symphonic band and assistant director of athletic bands. Diden received the Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree and the Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting degree from the University of Tennessee. He has served as a graduate assistant for the Pride of the Southland Marching Band at UT and the Mighty Sound of the Southeast Marching Band at USC, where he worked extensively with the entire band program of each university. He taught for several years in the public schools of Tennessee, most recently at Cumberland County High School in Crossville, Tennessee. Diden is a member of MENC, the College Band Directors National Association, and the National Band Association. He is also an honorary member of Tau Beta Sigma and Kappa Kappa Psi.
Cameron "Chip" Crotts
Dr. Chip Crotts is Director of Jazz Studies and Assistant Director of Bands at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA. Highly active as a professional trumpet player, Chip has performed and recorded for the Disney Company in Europe and the United States, and as a first call player, maintains an active career of national touring shows, regional symphony dates and local performances throughout the year. A Grammy nominated performer, Dr. Crotts has recorded and worked with hundreds of artists over the years, including Boston Brass, the Manhattan Transfer, Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, The Temptations and Maynard Ferguson, among others.