Connect with world cultures through music
"Think you’re a hopelessly Westernized drummer? Can't think outside of '2 and 4' on the snare? Fear not, Teasley is here. ...[He] not only introduces us to different world percussion styles (Southern Italian, Brazilian, South Indian, Egyptian, and more), but how we might apply rudiments and other rhythmic patterns to such instruments as tambourine, shaker, doumbek, frame drum, and ultimately the drumkit....[He] challenges you to become not only a more technically adept drummer, but a more creative and even innovative one. Open-minded drummers of all genres and veteran world percussionists looking for a fresh approach should find [him] a great educational resource."
- Will Romano, Modern Drummer Magazine
Each year, thousands of listeners enjoy programs that mix world instruments and rhythms in ways most people have never experienced before. There’s a program for every level, from the discovery of world music to building skills for performance.
Award-winning school programs bring to life many of the nations and cultures covered in the school curriculum.
School programs
Add excitement and motivation to the learning process
You can offer live programs that have everyone exploring music from around the world. Audiences --of all ages-- experience other cultures through instruments, including danceable rhythms from countries like Brazil, South Africa, Tibet and Iraq.
Hear how we are connected to the Middle East, Cuba, Africa, Latin America and India through musical lines. Tom takes instruments and rhythms that are thousands of years old, and uses them to pump energy into jazz, funk, blues, and hip-hop.
Listeners explore the world through musical contributions from other cultures:
- The wide variety of drums, gourds, shells and electronics played with world class skill captures and holds attention
- School subjects like History, Geography and Social Studies come alive with the rhythms of Brazil, South Africa, Egypt, Tibet and Iraq
- Students see the creative process at work as a new composition forms on stage
You'll hear how musicians borrow from the world around them to create new music, and you'll have the ingredients and the impetus to try your own musical experiments.
This work earned Tom Teasley the 2006 Artist-of-the-year award from Young Audiences of Virginia for his presentations throughout the state.
"Watching Tom Teasley can generate all sorts of ideas on how to make use of resources that stare us in the face."
- T. Bruce Wittet, Modern Drummer Magazine
Clinics, Workshops and Residencies
Musicians and students explore a world of ideas with a masterful guide
| Tom Teasley's students in action |
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Discover ways to work with distinctive sounds from different styles and cultures, with methods that give you new ways to play.
Whether you're working with a simple frame drum or a synthesizer, you can break out of familiar territory into new styles of music without getting overwhelmed. Instruments that at first are exotic or foreign can be a window into ideas from other parts of the world. Understanding of the sacred and everyday ways that people have used percussion opens the way to a respectful and meaningful approach.
Ready to try some new techniques? Tom shares his "cross-pollination” approach to instruments and playing methods. You'll explore how to take an instrument from one part of the world and apply playing techniques from another part of the world. Learn how to incorporate cutting edge techniques that take advantage of computer technology and electronics.
Since serving as artist-in-residence at the Kennedy Center, Tom continues to develop special programs for students and musicians as our own musical styles evolve. Recognizing his idea-generating impact, PASIC (the Percussion Arts Society International Convention) has featured him three times at the world's largest convention of percussionists.
Workshop: World Percussion for Western Trained Musicians
Feeling stuck playing the same things you’ve always known? You can experience influences from India, ancient Persia and Africa by hearing and trying out percussion instruments and patterns that emerged from these regions.
Learn by example and step-by-step instruction on a wide range of hand drums includes djembé, doumbek, frame drums, riq and pandiero. Hands-on coaching and Tom’s own transcribed exercises and study guides helps build a flexible approach to working with Eastern styles, with additional resources adapted from the work of Ted Reed and George Stone.
Workshop: Integration of Electronic and Acoustic Music
The huge number of special effects, samples and digital features introduced with electronic instruments can be overwhelming. This program helps you target specific musical ideas and learn how to combine electronic and acoustic instruments for desired results.
Topics include digital looping, sequencing and techniques used by some of the newest up-and-coming percussionists – today’s DJs.
Residency in World Percussion
Take advantage of small group study and in-depth coaching in techniques using indigenous instruments. Residency experience allows you to focus on African, Brazilian and Cuban rhythms in an ensemble setting, for groups of instructors or students.
Your program can include performances of groups of students, and ensemble concerts where participants join Tom in presenting new music.
For schools planning in advance to acquire instruments, Tom can help arrange possible discount pricing by working directly with instrument manufacturers.
Want something different?
Your program can feature particular cultures, instruments, or styles. Learn about new offerings including:
- World, Wind and Percussion: Animal horns and early Australian instruments with drums and more world percussion
- Word-Beat, combining percussion and poetry from history's greatest writers
- Collaboration with your creative people, setting your work (films, prose, multimedia) to original music
How do you learn about new programs? Join the mailing list. It's free, it's quick, and it's easy. You can read the newsletter about offerings and events, updated about 4 times a year, in your inbox.
Privacy policy: Your information is never shared with third parties, period.
Sponsorships and Grants
Sponsorships from major instrument makers
In the interest of getting more instruments into the hands of students and teachers, drum makers may offer financial support to underwrite programs. When arranging sponsorships, Tom works with instrument makers to bring instruments to your school for demonstration, and can help you with selection and possible discount pricing if you are purchasing them.
Ask Tom Teasley about sponsorships when you contact Tom to set up an educational program. If planning to purchase instruments, ask about possible discount pricing from the major manufacturers that Tom endorses.
Many thanks to these drum makers for their generous support of educational programming:
Grants from arts organizations:
You can schedule programs through state and county organizations that provide matching funds (or grants) for pre-selected artists. You'll find Tom Teasley on the roster of selected artists for a growing number of regional organizations, including these:
- Virginia Commission for the Arts
- Young Audiences of Virginia
- Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, North Carolina
Contact the organization of your choice to learn how to apply for funding. Contact Tom Teasley to schedule your event.
Private Lessons
Want some one-on-one coaching for your particular interests? Tom enjoys working with youth and adults of all skill levels, and can focus exclusively on what you want to know in private lessons.
To find out about opportunities for lessons in Tom's studio contact Tom.
One-Sheets
Need a brief program description? Click on the images below for printer-friendly one sheets (in a new tab, if using a tab-enabled browser).
