Drums with Brian C.

I am a versatile Professional Drummer & Percussion Educator from Long Island, NY with over 30 years experience teaching people of all ages, levels & abilities. I have performed, recorded and toured with numerous bands across several genre's. I am also the Founder & Original Director of the World's 1st Special Needs Drum & Bugle Corps "FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps". For over a decade I helped lead over 100 Special Needs Adults to multiple championships, history making performances and international recognition. I began my drumming career back in 1990, when I was 9 years old for my elementary school band. In my formative years, I received private instruction on the drum set from several local instructors. I was also a member of my school concert band, orchestra, jazz band, marching band and actively participated in NYSSMA (New York State School Music Association) for both snare drum and drum set. I joined my first band at the age of 12. I would spend the next 15 years recording and touring with various bands in several genres from Long Island NY. In addition to my formal music education and performance career I have been teaching private drum instruction for over two decades to both main stream students and differently abled/special needs students. ​ I am proud to have studied in the past with Drumming’s Global Ambassador, world-renown Drum Instructor, Dom Famularo. From 2009-2020 I worked for Family Residences and Essential Enterprises, Inc. (FREE) as the Senior Music Specialist at their Performance & Creative Arts Center in Old Bethpage, NY. It was there that I was inspired to put my two lifelong passions of playing the drums/teaching music and working with differently abled students together. This ultimately led to me to creating the FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps, the World's 1st Differently Abled Drum & Bugle Corps. ​ Initially in 2010, I started with only five members with sticks and pads, with a dream of one day marching in a parade. Under my leadership the FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps grew tremendously. I grew the Corps to nearly 80 members, 15 Instructional/Support Staff, divided into 4 different sections (Drumline, Color Guard, Front Ensemble, Brass) as well as Drum Major's. I have won several awards for my service to the differently abled population on local, state and national levels. In addition to being the Founder & Original Director of the FREE Players Drum & Bugle Corps, I served as the Corps main writer, arranger and composer for over a decade, particularly for the Drumline & Front Ensemble. I am so proud to have created something that won numerous awards and championships, was featured on every major news network across the nation (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX), News 12 Long Island, FIOS1 and Newsday countless times, Associated Press, TIME, NowThis, USA Today, Modern Drummer Magazine, Drum Corps World, received attention from major movie studios and national television shows, made history as the first Differently Abled (Special Needs) Group to perform at the top marching arts events in the world on multiple occasions in front of thousands of spectators in stadiums and arenas, went viral on numerous platforms multiple times, receiving millions of views all across the globe. In 2019 I proudly taught an Education/Performance Clinic at PASIC (Percussive Arts Society International Convention), the largest Drum & Percussion convention in the world! I have had a very successful, rewarding career in the music industry for many years. I hope to be able inspire all of my students to chase their dreams, as long as you are willing to work hard enough, you can achieve almost anything!