Bio

I was born and raised in Catoosa County, Georgia just outside of Chattanooga, TN. At the age of 8 I went to see my brother play with the school marching band and I was immediately drawn to the quad player in the drumline -- I was so enthralled, that my parents signed me up for drum lessons almost immediately.

I studied at the Chip Hancock School of Percussive Arts from 8 years old until I was 16. During that time I learned the fundamentals of snare drum, drum set, and concert percussion and I worked my way to the top of my school band program, serving as section leader of my middle school and high school band programs. After Chip left the country to tour with the musical "Evita" I began studying with Dr. Monte Coulter at the Cadek Convervatory of Music at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where I would eventually attend classes, working toward a degree in percussion performance.

After my time at UTC I moved to Atlanta for a year to study at the Atlanta Institute of Music with Creig Harber (The Drifters, The Platters, Bo Diddley) and Tom Knight (TLC, Monica).

In 2010 I joined touring rock band, After The Crash, and travelled all over the southeast 'paying my dues' as a performing rock drummer. I eventually settled in Birmingham, Alabama and began working as a private teacher at Birmingham School of Music and later Mason Music in a addition to working with several area high school and middle school drumlines and percussion classes.

In the summer of 2022, after spending nearly 12 years in Birmingham teaching and gigging I made the decision to move back home to Chattanooga. Since moving, I spend my time teaching and gigging as much as my schedule allows.

I am currently the head of percussion at Lakeview Middle School and Ooltewah High School and I occasionally work as a consultant at other schools, including East Hamilton Middle School, and Dade County Middle and High School.

My Teaching Philosophy

My philosophy toward teaching is simple: I strive to teach every student the skills necessary to operate as a full-time, working musician. I understand that not every student will take the life path that I have chosen, but I didn't know at 8 that I would end up turning my passion in my profession. I am eternally grateful to Mr. Hancock and Dr. Coulter for taking the time to make sure that I did everything the 'right' way, as that is what has allowed me to thrive in my career.

While I tailor my lesson plans to each individual student's needs, there are certain aspects of my lessons that apply to all students, primarily reading and technique

I begin with reading and technique from the very first lesson. Taking the time and effort to practice proper technique will ensure that challenging concepts are much easier to learn. It will also ensure that the student is able to play longer, as poor technique early on can manifest in destructive injuries many years down the road.

Similarly, learning to read music to a decent level is a necessary skill for all musicians. Not all gigs that I take are reading gigs (though many of them are), however, having a knowledge of the 'hows' and 'whys' of music and especially of music notation and counting is profoundly impactful when playing as a member of a band. Also, being able to write music down and read it later rather that relying strictly on memorization is an extremely valuable skill!