by
Rhythm Scene Staff
| Apr 01, 2017
College marching band season over? WGI finals in Dayton concluded? Aged out of DCI? If you are a percussionist with significant marching band or rudimental experience looking to apply your skills in the job market, entertainment drumlines might be the answer. With nearly every National Football League (NFL) team, over half of the teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and a growing number of clubs in Major League Soccer (MLS) fielding a drumline or marching band, opportunities to perform as a percussionist in the sports and entertainment industry have never been more accessible.
To learn more about life as a musician in the sports and entertainment industries, I interviewed directors, CEOs, and performers to better understand the history of these ensembles, the day-to-day experience of musicians and staff, and the role of the emerging entertainment drumline.
Kyle Maxwell-Doherty: Can you share with us a little bit about how your ensemble/company came into existence?
Vince Wallace (Pittsburg Steelers Steeline): The Steeline was started as an independent organization with the specific intent of creating an official drumline for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the beginning, we were a group of, for lack of a better term, “drumline guys.”
Many of us in the group had seen other pro teams with drumlines or had friends playing in groups in other cities. We all were from Pittsburgh, loved the Steelers, and had spent most of our lives drumming. When we saw that professional sports drumlines were something that existed, trying to start one was a no-brainer.
We started talking about the Steeline in 2011 and made a proposal to the team in early 2012. We cold-called the Steelers and were fortunate to make contact with some representatives from the Steelers’ front office. After the 2012 NFL season ended, the Steelers’ front office approached us and said they’d like us to be the official drumline of the team. Needless to say, we accepted their offer! Starting with the 2013 NFL season, we have played at every Steelers home game. We organized the Steeline into an LLC business, and have been operating as such ever since.
Pittsburg Steelers Steeline
VIDEO: Uptown Funk - Pittsburgh Steeline
Nathan McLaren (416BEATS/6Entertainment): I was fortunate enough to play as a member of the Top Secret Drum Corps from Basel, Switzerland and the Middlesex County Volunteers Fife and Drum Corps, as well as to instruct the Royal Guard of Oman’s drumline in the Middle East. After experiencing these world-class organizations, it became my goal to create a group within Canada that preserved marching arts as well as bring the Canadian drumline community to a different stage.
After receiving a corporate referral to create a one-time drumline activation for a client, I couldn’t believe how well it was received. It was a huge step in the right direction and immediately inspired me to get things rolling. Thus, 416BEATS was born and began performing in nightclubs in Ontario alongside some of North America’s biggest DJs. Through the success and acceptance from the city of Toronto, 416BEATS started building stronger business relationships with the sporting community as well as many familiar national brands.
Fostering and maintaining strong relationships is something 416BEATS has focused on from the beginning, and in early 2015 we announced the birth of 6Entertainment, Canada’s Drumline Entertainment Agency. This agency would become the face of the many branded drumlines that represented clients from across the country in over 170 performances in our first year.
416BEATS
VIDEO: 416BASS Debut | Friday Night — DVBBS ‘Stampede’ @ REBEL!
John Ziemann (Baltimore Marching Ravens Percussion Line): The Marching Ravens Percussion Line was founded September 7, 1947 as a unit of the Baltimore Colts’ Marching Band, which developed into Baltimore’s Marching Ravens in 1998. A detailed history of the percussion line and the marching band can be found on the Ravens’ website.
Baltimore Marching Ravens Percussion Line
Mike Scott (Dayton Dragons Drumline/Rhythm X): The Dragons Drumline was started by Zac Jansheski, first as an educational outreach and performance ensemble operated by the Dayton Dragons Professional Baseball team. Rhythm X, Inc. stepped into the management role in 2014. From the outset, the Dayton Dragons were interested in making the ensemble a youth program with an educational foundation. While the performers play at home games to entertain the crowd, we are careful to ensure that being in the ensemble is an educational experience. On the performance side, we manage the drumline for the team, including staffing, scheduling, and providing equipment from our exclusive partners. On the educational side, we use the resources of our clinic program, The X Academy, to ensure that the high-school aged performers have an outstanding learning experience. We’ve found that the unique combination of educational rehearsals and on-the-job learning as a semi-professional performer provides a second-to-none experience for our performers.
Carl Eppler (Titans Blue Crew/MCM Productions): The Tennessee Titans Blue Crew Drumline is a product of MCM Productions [the entertainment services division of Music City Mystique]. The Tennessee Titans approached a friend of ours, an alumnus of Mystique, and were looking to add drumline entertainment to the game-day experience. As we have performed in a variety of corporate and professional music settings—live, in studio, and on television—it was a natural fit.
Titans Blue Crew
KMD: Can you tell us a little about the service or experience you offer to teams and/or clients?
Michael Patterson (Jaguars D-Line): The experience of our players include drum corps (DCI), winter or indoor drumline (WGI), college drumline, and, of course, high school drumline. All our music is originally composed and arranged, so we have a very unique style that has created and sustained our identity. We play beats from music genres including rock, hip-hop, techno, reggae, street beat, Latin, pop, movie soundtracks, and more. Our visual aspect is equally important, as we strive to look exciting and bring a “wow” factor to our performances.
Dave Marvin (Denver Broncos Stampede): We’ve grown over the past 14 years to include a full brass line, drumline, and guitarist. We perform in the parking lots, pregame with the cheerleaders, some halftimes, and events year round. When the drumline and brass are split, the brass has a drumset player with them. The drumline has an astonishing guitarist and Colorado Rock and Roll Hall of Fame trumpet player. We are always looking for songs that will excite our crowds; it may be rock, country, swing, Latin—you name it. I try to offer the same type of variety that comes with the crowd: all styles and high energy!
Carl Eppler (Tennessee Titans Blue Crew/MCM Productions): MCM Productions offers custom drumline entertainment for a variety of events. Whether live concerts, television specials, or corporate gatherings, MCM Productions can bring a unique musical experience to any setting. For the Tennessee Titans, we enhanced the existing pregame fan experience by playing a 10-minute set of music in various locations around the stadium for tailgaters and fans.
Joel Matuzak (Minnesota Vikings Skol Line): We provide game day and community outreach performances for the Minnesota Vikings. We play before during and after the game. We also do about 50 local appearances a year at community festivals, charity, and corporate events.
KMD: How does someone audition for your ensemble? What is the process like? What advice would you give to individuals who are interested in joining an entertainment drumline?
Mike Scott (Cincinnati Bengals The Growl/Rhythm X): Each year Rhythm X, Inc. holds open auditions under the X Academy brand at Paul Brown Stadium. Dozens of prospective performers come from around the Midwest to audition in front of our management team.
Michael Patterson (Jaguars D-Line): During the first stage of auditions, we bring each player in one-by-one to one of the club areas of Everbank field. We will ask them to play a prepared piece, we will give them some music to sight-read, and then we will interview them about their experience and what they can bring to the D-Line. After we make our first cut, we bring everyone out as a group, and observe and listen to how they play in the ensemble. Do they have the “look,” do they play cleanly within the line with the other players, etc.?
Keith Rousu (Seattle Seahawks Blue Thunder): Recruiting for Blue Thunder is done via social media, personal connections, word of mouth, and reaching out to area college instructors. The audition process is two days: the first day is individual auditions and we send a piece for auditionees to prepare as well as expect them to perform a solo, and the second day is callbacks that focus on group work before final cuts. Be prepared to entertain; drumming is not the only skill being judged! Your ability to connect, emote, and interact with the judges, and ultimately fans, while playing is critical to success in our ensemble. There are plenty of performance videos available on the Internet; do your research so you know what you’re getting into.
Nathan McLaren (416BEATS/6Entertainment): A big characteristic of the 6Entertainment family is the personality of the performers and their love of drumming. We look for people who are personable and professional away from the drum, yet perople who are also flexible with different idioms of drumming and can represent a brand through their performance. We’re entertainers, so charisma and energy are a must. All of our drummers have a personality that comes out when we perform, and it’s that energy and hype we need. We typically come from a marching percussion background where we’re always so serious and intimidating when we play, but we want to see drummers break out of that shell and show us that not only do they have the skills to play, but that they can wow an audience as well.
John Ziemann (Baltimore’s Marching Ravens Percussion Line): Have a strong background in reading music and marching, a good attitude, and be ready to work and perform in all types of weather. Learn music and marching routines fast, respect your fellow band members, and take the organization seriously and with pride. After signing up for an audition, prospective members receive an information packet along with the audition music. There are two percussion clinics held for the returning members and the new members before the actual audition. The clinics are not mandatory, but everyone will be at the final audition.
KMD: Tell us about who typically attends your auditions? What are the demographics of your current ensemble?
Shaun Gallant (Gallant Entertainment Inc.): Being located in New York City, GEI screens applicants from all around the NYC metropolitan area. While a core group of our performers are located in NYC, many members are located in New Jersey, Philadelphia, Massachusetts, and even a few from Baltimore. Our ensemble is extremely diverse: we have young players fresh out of college, seasoned Broadway percussionists, and even a former member of the West Point Band’s field music group, The Hellcats!
Mike Scott (Cleveland Browns Drumline/Cleveland Cavaliers QStix/Rhythm X): Our performers come from a variety of backgrounds, which helps to make the ensembles interesting. Most students are post-graduate and work in the Akron and Cleveland areas. Several are alumni of Bluecoats, and it is really exciting to see so many people, from college-aged to post graduate and beyond, work together in this context.
Joel Matuzak (Minnesota Vikings Skol Line): Most of our members are in their mid-20s to early-30s. Many have marched corps and this is their “softball” league. They enjoy sports and performing, so this is a natural fit.
KMD: Tell us a little bit about what the rehearsal process is like in your ensemble.
Chris Moore (Atlanta Falcons Drumline): We meet for two full Sundays during pre-season. After that we meet typically meet about three hours before a game to rehearse new music and get any new members up to speed.
Atlanta Falcons Drumline
VIDEO: Atlanta Falcons Drumline post-game performance 1/2/11 part I
VIDEO: Atlanta Falcons Drumline post-game performance 1/2/11 part II
VIDEO: Atlanta Falcons drum line
VIDEO: The Atlanta Falcons Drumline
VIDEO: Worm in front of the Falcons Drumline
Vince Wallace (Pittsburgh Steelers Steeline): We rehearse once a week on Wednesday evenings for three hours. Rehearsals start in late June and run up until mid-December. We take a break from rehearsing once football season is over, and we pick back up again after our next year of auditions. Typically, we spend about half of rehearsal time in sectionals and the other half in full ensemble, either learning music or working on visual design. We usually front load a lot of our music in the summer, so we’re ready with a basic package of repertoire to start the pre-season, and then start adding some of our more elaborate tunes as the season unfolds. Normally we’re able to learn a full piece of music, with visual elements, in about three to four weeks. We also have a lot of music that we play year to year, so many of the members already know it.
Aaron Silberstein (New York Knicks New York Sticks/Gallant Entertainment Inc.): Our rehearsal process changes to fit the needs of each event. GEI has developed a book of music that we expect all our performers to be familiar with and show up to events prepared to play. For events or games that use new designs or music, we will hold rehearsals beforehand and occasional court rehearsals to iron out the show. All of the music is made available to the performers ahead of time with scores, recordings, and videos of movement at their disposal.
New York Knicks New York Sticks
VIDEO: New York Sticks - New York Knicks Drumline 1
Dave Marvin (Denver Broncos Stampede): This is a professional group. We have a rep book of about 90 minutes worth of one- to two-minute charts. All material is sent to new members, which they learn and then put together with the line in the summer. Players come with the book ready, so our game-day rehearsals are all we do.
KMD: What can you tell us about your creative process?
Carl Eppler (Titans Blue Crew/MCM Productions): We were tasked with putting together the content for the Tennessee Titans drumline in about two weeks, so our goal was to create tunes and cheers that were simple to learn but fun to perform. This is entertainment for the uninitiated sports fan; they aren’t interested in or impressed by how many notes we can ram. While we try to keep it interesting for the players—i.e., there are certainly some features that hit the highlights of all your favorite drum corps licks—the fan experience is key. The audience wants to clap along and groove with what you’re playing.
Mike Scott (Dayton Dragons Drumline/Rhythm X): Like everything else with the ensemble, we center our creative process on the educational experience of the members. We compose music or use music from within other places in the marching percussion community to find content that challenges our students and that improves upon specific skills that will help them grow as musicians. Because this group ultimately performs for an engaged crowd, we also ensure it’s a blast to play and entertaining to the family audience.
Keith Ruosu (Seattle Seahawks Blue Thunder): All music that Blue Thunder plays is created by our members and we usually have anywhere between 18 to 25 pieces of music in our catalog during a season.
Nathan McLaren (416BEATS/6Entertainment): Our repertoire is a mix of walking music and short solos that can be re-arranged and added to at any moment to adapt to a performance. With a presentation repertoire of over 20 minutes of music, as well as other performance options to draw from, our content is designed and arranged by a team of members in the group and written with specific tasks, feeling (groove, upbeat, visual etc.), or performances in mind.
Mike Hodges (Gallant Entertainment Inc.): My role with GEI is head composer/arranger and creative manager. We have a variety of clients that all have specific needs and we tailor our ensembles—instrumentation and size of ensemble—and musical selections to each situation. We have a drumline book of about 20 charts that serve as our bread and butter in most cases. This book includes compositions from several composers—Queen, Mason, Bachman, myself, and others—written specifically for us. We do not use any previously published or “stock” drumline charts that are common among the marching percussion world. Our charts cover different musical styles from traditional marching streetbeats to Afro-Cuban to hip-hop and more, giving us flexibility and variety in our repertoire. This especially proves crucial when a last-minute gig pops up and we can draw from this material to put together a performance on short notice. We also incorporate some accessories into our normal setup—hi-hats, cowbells, tambourines, jam blocks, etc.—to give us some sonic options. My writing for this group is different than what I would typically do for a marching band or drum corps because our goals are different. We seek to engage and entertain the audience only: no judges or score sheets! An audience at a corporate event is less likely to appreciate a passage of cheese-chu-chuddas than the fans at a drum corps show, so I try to make things more digestible for them.
New York Giants G-Line
VIDEO: New York Giants “The G Line” Holiday Halftime Performance
KMD: Can you share with us some of your favorite memories from your time directing/performing with your ensemble?
Vince Wallace (Pittsburgh Steelers Steeline):If I were to say any aspect of Steeline is my favorite, it’s been the opportunity to meet so many diverse people. All the Steelers games are great; any time you can be part of an NFL football game is pretty special, since it’s such a high-profile, exciting atmosphere. One gig that stands out was an opportunity we had to perform for Ben Roethlisberger at his son’s birthday party. When a Steelers player at that level requests you to perform, it really means a lot. We also played at the NFL Hall of Fame Game in August of 2015. That was really interesting because we got to travel to Canton, Ohio to the pro football Hall of Fame. We also were joined by the Minnesota Vikings Skol Line, and we did a drumline battle with them. It was a really great experience!
Joel Matuzak (Minnesota Vikings Skol Line): My favorite memory was when the team brought the drumline to London. It was amazing to feel like a rockstar for a while.
Michael Patterson (Jacksonville Jaguars D-Line): Some of the greatest memories involve going to the London game and performing for crowds at Wembley Stadium, Trafalgar Park, and Regents Street. We have also performed for Superbowl events as well as numerous community, corporate, and charity events.
Tony Good (New York Giants G-Line/Gallant Entertainment Inc.): I think my favorite memory or experience was my first pregame show directing from the sideline. I was a performer with the ensemble before this season, so I always remember the feelings I would get as we took the field for that. Being a director and working on the headset, taking commands from the production team, relaying to our ops/sound guys and to our performers, and then watching everything happen on a stage so big was an incredibly different rush I had never experienced before. I enjoyed it so much this season, it has inspired me to my next career goal as the director of a college football marching band.
Chris Moore (Atlanta Falcons Drumline): That’s hard to say. In addition to the excitement of the games, we have had the opportunity to play at some really great events at the College Football Hall of Fame and for a wide variety of conventions that come through Atlanta.
Carl Eppler (Tennessee Titans Blue Crew/MCM Productions): The NFL regular season with the Tennessee Titans was great. We met die-hard Titans fans who always supported the pre-game performances. Other memorable gigs MCM Productions had include the 2014 CMA Awards—performing with Little Big Town and Ariana Grande—the 2011 and 2014 CMA Fests—with Sugarland and Little Big Town, respectively—Keith Urban, recording a state-of-the-art drumline sample package for the That Sound software company, and various corporate gigs, including Cracker Barrel’s and Title Boxing Club’s national conferences.
Dave Marvin (Denver Broncos Stampede): Last year’s Super Bowl run and the parade that followed were absolutely unbelievable!
Mike Scott (Dayton Dragons Drumline/Rhythm X): Last year during opening weekend, we were able to bring together three programs of Rhythm X, Inc. at Fifth Third Field, the home of the Dayton Dragons. The Dragons Drumline students—mostly high school students—were able to perform and rehearse alongside the Rhythm X battery performers while our European students of European X got to watch and experience an American baseball game. It was really humbling to see the eager students of the Dragons Drumline get to perform alongside their idols in Rhythm X in front of such an excited home-opener crowd.
John Ziemann (Baltimore Ravens Marching Percussion Line): Besides playing at ten Baltimore Ravens home games, we’ve had the excitement of numerous outside performances including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Inauguration Parade for President George W. Bush, performances with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, leading two Super Bowl parades for the Baltimore Ravens, halftime performance at the Navy/Notre Dame game, and being featured in a one-hour documentary broadcast worldwide for ESPN’s 30 For 30 series featuring the history of the Baltimore Colts’ Marching Band/Baltimore’s Marching Ravens.
Aaron Silberstein (New York Sticks/Gallant Entertainment Inc.): The first time we brought the New York Sticks on to center court with our LED system is by far one of my favorite memories. The arena lights went to blackout as the announcer began introducing the team. As the audio track kicked into high gear and the drumline began to play, the light show began flooding the court with the Knicks’ colors, lighting up the drummers. The audience response and the feeling inside Madison Square Garden was electric.
VIDEO: The Spotify Drumline—Pride Toronto, 2016
KMD: How do you feel your percussion education (high school, college, drum corps, private instruction, etc.) prepared you for participation in this type of activity?
Tony Good (New York Giants G-Line/Gallant Entertainment Inc.): My experience performing in drum corps absolutely prepared me to successfully audition for and secure a spot with the New York Giants G-Line. The book is very groovy and demanding on the bottom bass drummer, so I went into the auditions in 2012 knowing that I wanted to play bass drum and definitely wanted a challenge. Over time, our composers began writing more bottom bass driven charts, so I was having a blast!
I think the experience of performing and my current full-time job as a high school band director equipped me. GEI and the New York Giant’s G-Line is living, breathing proof that you can utilize your experience in the marching arts to have gainful employment as a performer, and do to so on some of the world’s biggest stages. As a music educator, I definitely see the arts on a major upswing and the general population appreciating the arts more than they have in a very long time. Performance jobs like these will only continue to rise and will hopefully provide incredible opportunities for people out there like me who want to still play and be involved with the entertainment industry while maintaining a full-time career in another field.
Mark Leitz (New York City Football Club’s City Beats/Gallant Entertainment Inc.): I think the biggest carry-over from playing in drumlines throughout school is the extreme familiarly with the style and what it takes to perform. I’m used to memorizing music and playing on the move, so those aspects are automatic and I can just get into the performance aspect and be loose and have fun in the moment.
Mike Hodges (Gallant Entertainment Inc.): As far as my past drum corps experience, it has mainly helped in knowing all the basics and vocabulary intimately. I’ve had to leave most of my preconceived notions at the door; entertainment drumline is something different. It has expanded my idea of what a drumline can do and opened me up to bring many different influences to the table when composing for the ensemble.
VIDEO: Toronto Fashion Week 2016 - RUDSAK Drumline
VIDEO: 6Entertainment Drumlines
KMD: What do you foresee as the role of the drumline in the future of the professional sports or entertainment industry?
Vince Wallace (Pittsburgh Steelers Steeline): I feel it will only grow from here.More and more teams are adding drumlines and starting to incorporate them into their entertainment packages on game day. It’s my hope that our roles as pro sports drumlines will continue to expand and will be integrated as invaluable parts of our teams.
I also see a time when these groups aren’t just common in the NFL and NBA. I think the NHL and MLB will experiment more with live music. Pro sports teams are competing with the ease of sitting at home and watching a game on a huge TV on a comfortable couch. In order to get people to keep coming to games, the fans must be entertained from the time they get out of their car until the time they go home. That’s where drumlines are at their best. They can perform anywhere, anytime, and for anyone. That’s one of the things I like most about being part of the Steeline!
Michael Patterson (Jacksonville Jaguars D-Line): The concept of having drumlines in the NFL has grown tremendously in the past 10 years. When we started in 2004, only three teams had them. Now, at least half the teams in the NFL have drumlines. It brings that college feel with live music to the games, which always make things exciting.
Chris Moore (Atlanta Falcons Drumline): I hope they continue to thrive. You just can’t replace live performers interacting with the fans with anything else.
Carl Eppler (Tennessee Titans Blue Crew/MCM Productions): Our hope is that the drumline entertainment will continue to be integrated into the game-day experience of more professional sports franchises. It gives the fans something different, and the energy level and accessibility of the performers can connect to the fans in ways the athletes cannot.
Joel Matuzak (Minnesota Vikings Skol Line): I think the sky is the limit. This entertainment-style of drumline is becoming very popular across all of the sports leagues; most NFL teams have a drumline now. It would be great to see more collaboration and an extension of the team brands to include drumline battles and performances for other events.
Aaron Silberstein (New York Knicks New York Sticks/Gallant Entertainment Inc.): Drumlines are brand ambassadors and a fantastic asset for sports teams. The drumline is accessible and can interact directly with the fan base to promote the team in a way that few other team assets can. They can take a step beyond simple entertainment to become a focal point for the team’s fan culture. I think drumlines have a productive future in sports entertainment.
John Ziemann (Baltimore Ravens Marching Percussion Line): The future of drumlines and marching bands in professional sports have a major role in fan entertainment. You can play all the canned music you want at any sporting events, but when a drumline or marching band entertains with moving and dancing to their music it sparks energy throughout the fans. When a team is losing, it takes the marching band or drumline to reach deep down and pull all of their entertainment skills to entertain the fans and bring them back into the game for the team.
Keith Ruosu (Seattle Seahawks Blue Thunder): The number of music ensembles in the NFL has expanded from four to 26 over the last 14 seasons. These ensembles offer added entertainment value and carry the excitement for the team into the community and at team events. I foresee a future with each team having an ensemble of some kind, whether it’s in-house or for hire. Each team will find its own ways to leverage the dynamics that music ensembles bring to the table.
Mike Scott (Cleveland Cavilers QStix/Cincinnati Bengals The Growl/Dayton Dragons Drumline/Cleveland Browns Drumline/Rhythm X): The QStix are a great example of how drumline-style entertainment can evolve into something extraordinarily unique and entertaining to a wide breadth of sports fans. The QStix is one of the most explosive and entertaining music ensembles in professional sports, and it’s been very exciting to see it adapt and grow into something that works really well in this context. I also really enjoy the educational nature of the Dragons Drumline. It’s exciting to get to use this commercial space for something as rewarding as this. I look to what we’ve done with the Dragons team as an example for how communities can come together through music to provide something that is both educational and entertaining. I’m proud of the Dayton community for having something like the Dragons Drumline, and I’m grateful to the team for being so supportive and educationally minded. I think the growth, particularly in the NFL, has been strong for several years, but I’m excited to see more and more interest from the media and the marching band community at large. I think that teams will continue to find ways to more organically integrate these performances in the game-day experience, and I hope that these relationships grow stronger overtime.
Shaun Gallant (Gallant Entertainment Inc.): We feel that there will be growth across all facets of live entertainment at sports, corporate, and private events. We have consistently grown over the last seven years, adding sports and corporate clients and employing musicians across the country. As we grow, the most rewarding thing for the partners in GEI is to continue to employ musicians and provide them with performance outlets.
Nathan McLaren (416BEATS): The drumline is a great call to action that’s not only visual but also portable. Pushing the envelope and changing the norm of what a drumline can do is our mission. Incorporating new technologies to further the entertainment value, and adding elements to bring excitement to each performance are all keys to our success. It’s not easy, but the goal in every performance is to play for everyone in the crowd, not just satisfy the three or four drummers.
Kyle Maxwell-Doherty is a freelance percussionist and dance musician living in New York City. He teaches at SUNY Westchester Community College and Hofstra University. He was the timpanist with the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular Orchestra in 2015 and has been subbing at Hamilton: An American Musical since the show opened off-Broadway at the Public Theater. He has performed at the Blue Note, (Le) Poisson Rouge, and Spectrum. He also acts as director of New York City Football Club’s City Beats (GEI). Currently, he is pursuing a DMA at the University of Arizona as a student of Dr. Norman Weinberg and Dr. Morris Palter. He also serves as the Secretary for the New York PAS Chapter and is a member of the PAS Music Technology Committee.