New York City Drum Teachers

Colin Hinton

Residing in Brooklyn, NY, Colin is an active member of the creative music community. As a drummer/composer, Colin brings a unique approach to his music combining elements of jazz, free improvisation, and 20th century classical music.  His music draws heavily from Bartók, Ligeti, Feldman, and Grisey, as well as Henry Threadgill, Anthony Braxton, and Muhal Richard Abrams.  

Colin initially began piano lessons at age 4.  At age 8, he received a drumset.  After 10 year of intense classical piano study, Colin decided to pursue percussion as his main instrument.  Outside of performing, he is an active educator in the NYC area.  He has privately taught students of all ages and experience levels, as well as group classes at music schools and colleges.  He offers lessons on both drums and piano.

Colin has studied drums with Ed Soph, Dan Weiss, Ari Hoenig, Ralph Peterson and Tyshawn Sorey.  He has studied composition with Ingrid Laubrock, Tyshawn Sorey, and Eric Wubbels.  Colin attended the University of North Texas and City College of New York.  He holds a BFA in Jazz Performance and an MA in Music Performance with a focus in 20th century theory and composition.  

Teodor Vanovski

Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, and raised in Denver, Teo Vanovski is freelance drummer, band leader, and educator based in New York City.  His credits include performances/recordings with Rick Depofi (Shawn Colvin, Rosanne Cash), Drake Bell, Mike Makawski (Amy Winehouse, John Legend, Usher), LOTTE, Tom Gardner (Elle King, Bon Jovi, Nick Jonas), ASCAP, Birds in the Boneyard with whom he performed at Warped Tour 2017, Billy Sideman, Dear Comrade, Lola's Ghost, Luca di Fabio, and Comic Tales of Tragic Heartbreak. 

When he isn't performing original music with his own  quartet KOi4, Teo can be seen performing regularly with various bands, artists, and producers, whose genres span across jazz, funk, indie, singer song-writer, and folk. His teaching experience covers a wide age span from 10 year old beginners to 60 year old professionals.  

Some of his biggest influences are studio drummers like Jeff Porcaro, Steve Gadd, Steve Jordan, Bernard Purdie, Ash Soan, and Matt Chamberlain. Teo has a bachelor's degree in drum set performance from The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music.

Some of the teachers he has privately studied with include Amir Ziv (Droid, System Dialing Records), Curtis Macdonald, Al Hood (Phil Collins Big Band), Mike Marlier (Lamont School of Music), Hal Galper, Jane Ira Bloom, David F. Gibson, and Shawn Pelton of the SNL band. Out of all these teachers Teo has picked up a diverse appreciation for all kinds of genres of music and does his best to always center lessons around songs and short musical phrases.    

"Teo is a great drummer with a beautiful feel and a wide stylistic range on the drums; more importantly a great musician who sees the big picture and always makes the best musical choices"

-Shawn Pelton, drummer for Saturday Night Live-

Humberto Olivieri

Humberto Olivieri began his formal classical piano studies with professor Bruna Monestiroli, a former student of pianist and educator, Alfredo Casella. Montestiroli gave him the basic technique and understanding of tonal western
harmony, as well as introducing him to the art of teaching by letting him borrow some of her younger students and monitor his teaching. He then discovered Jazz, and pursued Jazz studies at the City College of New York where he graduated with a Bachelors in Music Performance.

In New York, he studies with Ray Gallon and Barry Harris and attends workshops with Kenny Werner, Fred Hersch, Bill Charlap and Ted Rosenthal, to name a few. He also studies with saxophonist Jason Rigby, who introduced him to the concept of free jazz.

Colin Leeds

Colin Leeds is a trained multi-instrumentalist, performer and music teacher. Originally form New Jersey, Colin discovered his passion for music at a very early age and has been pursuing his love for the art ever since. After graduating from Berklee College of Music in 2014, Colin began teaching private lessons for students of all ages as well as teaching and performing at local pre-schools. As a seasoned educator, Colin has turned absolute beginners into gigging musicians. When not on playing music, Colin loves to play basketball, bike, swim, read, write and laugh!

Colin is thrilled to be a part of Henderson Academy of Music and beyond excited inspire his students.  Whether you want to become a rockstar, pop-star, or just want to have fun, Colin is a firm believer that everyone has the ability to learn an instrument. Let's get together and play some music!

Juan Mejia

Juan Mejia is a Drummer, Percussionist, Composer and Educator from Bogota / Colombia, he graduated from The Collective School of Music in 2013 and Berklee College of Music in 2017.

Besides leading his own band "Juan Mejia's Conspiracy", Juan has played with artist like Paul Winter, Bruno Raberg, Jason Palmer, Lizje Sarria and Nicolas Emden to name a few.

Juan has released 2 albums under his name, "Juan Mejia's Conspiracy" and "PERSONA" and 2 albums as a co-leader, Elephant Parade by Radio Illicit and Redmoon by MDH trio. 

Mike Marcinowski

Mike Marcinowski is a Brooklyn based drummer, percussionist and teacher. Originally from western Massachusetts, Mike was drawn to NYC because of its long and storied musical history and thriving scene. Equally at home in rock, folk and jazz realms he enjoys bringing the subtlety and nuance of free improvisation to tightly arranged pop music. His current projects include lo fi country acts, avant garde musical theater and a solo drum/synth act called Big Ceremony.

Music has been a part of Mike's life for as long as he can remember, growing up listening to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones with his family. He started playing percussion in elementary school and moved to the drum kit in high school. Mike has degrees in classical percussion and ethnomusicology with a focus on the West African diaspora. He has studied Malian/Guinean folkloric drumming with master drummer Karim Tounkara and Sekou Sylla and jazz/improvisation with Bob Gullotti, Bob Weiner, Chad Taylor, Ches Smith, Gerald Cleaver and Billy Martin.

Mike can be found playing throughout NYC in a number of scenes, as well as accompanying dance classes with the Mark Morris Dance Group and teaching students privately. He has worked with students of all ages and abilities, offering guidance in technique, reading, and improvisation techniques to both drummers and non-drummers.

Luca Bertaglia

Luca Bertaglia is a professional drummer, composer, arranger, teacher and educator, session drummer
and bandleader based in New York City.

Originally from Italy, Luca has been active in the national music scene since 2011.  Luca has played in
multiple original, cover and tribute bands and as a session drummer for different artists.  He is also
bandleader of his own project, Luca Bertaglia Mind Project, currently recording his first solo album.

In January of 2014, after winning national competitions as an individual performer and with bands he
collaborated with, Luca moved to New York to study at The Collective School of Music and pursue his
career in the music industry.  During his professional career, Luca has had the pleasure and honor of studying with some of the most significant artists in contemporary music.  This includes Jason Gianni, Fred Klatz, Peter Retzlaff, Ian Froman, Jon Davis, Frank Katz, Vince Cherico, Dennis Chambers, Marko Djordjevic, Tobias Ralph,
Adriano Santos, Chris Coleman, Jimmy Cobb, Kim Plainfield, Ari Hoenig, Mark Guiliana,
Kenny Grohowsky, and Ziv Ravitz.

Luca is a dynamic drummer with the ability to play any style.  He possesses professional knowledge and
experience working in studio sessions and recording, utilizing traditional and hybrid drums.  Thanks to
his capabilities and experience, Luca has the ability to teach as well as perform.  His students are of all
ages and experience levels, ranging from private lessons to classes in several schools.

Dillon Mansour

Dillon Mansour is a musician, composer and educator from Hartland, Wisconsin now living in New York City. Being involved with classical percussion, drumline and jazz drumming at an early age, he received various honors for his ability as both performer and leader. Some recognition of his talents includes awards from Lawrence Conservatory of Music, Wisconsin School of Music Association as well as receiving the John Philip Sousa Award.

Now in New York City, Dillon has received a BM from City College of New York and performs regularly with his trio playing original compositions at various venues such as ShapeShifter Lab, Silvana, Tomi Jazz and Rockwood Music Hall. He also tours around the country as performer and clinician at numerous academic institutions and youth programs ranging from elementary to collegiate students. Dillon has been full time and adjunct staff at schools in Long Island, Queens, and the Bronx. 

Dillon Mansour endorses Pork Pie Percussion.

Justin Michael

Justin has been playing and studying the guitar since he was 13. Now 26, he graduated from Rutgers University, cum laude, and studied under the tutelage of jazz guitar master Vic Juris, in addition to an all-star faculty. 

Justin is comfortable playing various styles of music on multiple instruments, performs regularly throughout the tri-state area and has been sharing his love of music through teaching since 2011.

Michael Schott

Michael is a local musician who grew up in the heart of New York City. He is a drummer, pianist and lover of all styles of music. He graduated with a Bachelor's of Science from SUNY New Paltz in Contemporary Music Studies and Production in 2014. He has spent the past few years teaching at several music schools in both New York City and the Hudson Valley. 

Michael is versed in many styles of music, like rock, jazz, blues, Latin and even classical Indian. He has played drums for fifteen years and added piano and guitar to his musical repertoire. His philosophy is to find a nice balance between academics and having fun in the lessons. Finding a unique way to engage each student is the most important factor. Michael will use a combination of books and exercises to focus on improving your playing whether beginner or advanced. With Michael's help your musical goals will be clarified and reached!

Raf Vertessen

Raf Vertessen received his Masters of Music and Composition from The Conservatory of Amsterdam. He teaches drum, percussion, clarinet, piano, harmony, theory and composition. His background includes classical, jazz, rock, punk, electronic music, avant-garde and improvised music. 

As a teacher he has 9 years of experience in music schools in Belgium, The Netherlands and New York city and 9 years of experience teaching to all levels - classically trained - touring and performing musician (America, Europe, Africa, Asia).

Vijay Anderson

Vijay Anderson is a freelance drummer, bandleader, composer and teacher who recently relocated to Brooklyn, New York. He has performed and recorded with LA-based multi-instrumentalists Lynn Johnston and Vinny Golia; Bay Area composer/performers Ben Goldberg, Sheldon Brown, Lisa Mezzacappa, Aaron Bennett, Ava Mendoza, Hafez Modirzadeh and saxophonist Marco Eneidi. He has worked extensively with bassist Adam Lane as part of Lane's Full Throttle Orchestra, the Adam Lane Trio and Adam Lane's Blue Spirit Band. 

Vijay's recorded work can be found on Cadence Jazz Records, Clean Feed, CIMP, Edgetone, NotTwo, NineWinds and NoBusiness Records. Additionally, he leads two of his own bands, the Vijay Anderson Quartet and the Touch and Go Sextet. His first record under his own name entitled "Hard Boiled Wonderland" was released in August 2010 on Nottwo Records. In 2012, Anderson received a travel grant from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation to take the Touch and Go Sextet to the Novara Jazz Festival 2012 in Novara, Italy. A recording of this concert was released in 2014 on the NineWinds Label.

Recent work includes performing with Sheldon Brown's Blood of the Air as well as various groups with saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh, including a quartet with bassist Mark Dresser and pianist/composer Diane Moser. Other recent projects include the Silverscreen Sextet involving luminaries from Los Angeles creative music scene as well the Adam Lane Trio featuring alto saxophonist Nick Lyons which toured the Russian Federation in 2017. Vijay holds an MFA from Mills College where he studied with classical percussionist William Winant. He also has B.A. in Jazz Styles from San Francisco State University where he studied with Jazz legend, Eddie Marshall.

Nick Neuburg

Nick Neuburg is is a drummer/percussionist, pianist and composer originally from the greater Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Nick began music studies at an early age and quickly became an in demand musician among the local community of Jazz musicians by his teens, performing often with Pianists Mike Gerber and Antonio Adolfo and Multi-Instrumentalist and jazz great Ira Sullivan. 

After graduating high school, Nick relocated to Boston to attend the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studied with the legendary drummers Rakalam Bob Moses and Billy Hart and studied composition and improvisation with pianist Anthony Coleman and Guitarist Joe Morris. Upon graduating the Conservatory in the spring of 2014 Nick remained in the greater Boston area until the summer of 2018, during which time he both remained active in the creative music scene as a performer and became busy working and teaching. Over those years, Nick was a part of the bands Aykroyd, Letter Castle, Particulars, Ryan Power, Los Greys, Every Kim Parcell, Listening Woman and Creative Healing, among others. 

Nick has been teaching private music lessons on both Drums and Piano consistently since 2015 and is excited to continue teaching in NY! As an educator, Nick strives to help students develop the fundamental skills and vocabulary as a musician that will allow them to play the music they most enjoy, making the learning and growing process as much fun as possible along the way. He aims to pass down the knowledge received to him by his many great teachers to the best of his abilities.

Michael Sanders

Michael Sanders is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and teacher based out of Brooklyn, NY. He has taught guitar, piano, bass, drums, voice, songwriting/composition and music theory to students of all skill levels. Michael puts an emphasis on teaching to the needs of the individual student. Whether the student is interested in rock/pop, jazz, classical, or any other style he will come up with a strategy catered to the interests of the student.

In the past Michael has been known to create original arrangements of music requested by students fit for their current skill level. If a student is not interested in learning to read music, a more "by ear" approach is used.

Michael can be seen performing around New York with his current bands King Jane and Jenna & the Janes. As a performing member of a band he has been on full U.S. tours with multiple groups. As a studio musician he has recorded on several albums, most recently this summer with his band King Jane at the world renowned Power Station recording studio in Hell's Kitchen.

As a composer, Michael's music has performed by a wide range of ensembles ranging from piano trio to orchestra. He is originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana where he obtained his undergraduate degree in music composition from Louisiana State University, studying with Dinos Constantinides.

In 2018 he completed his masters of music in New York City at the Mannes School of Music at the New School, studying with Lowell Liebermann.