In addition to teaching privately in San Francisco, Ezra is now available for drum lessons on Monday’s at “A Drummer’s Tradition” in San Rafael, CA. For info contact Ezra directly.
As a life long student himself, Ezra exhibits a substantial depth and breadth of musical and rhythmic knowledge based on many years of extensive training, study, and experience in his field. With a refreshing, unique and heartfelt approach to teaching and music in general, what can be expected from drum lessons with Ezra is a proper drumming foundation mixed with a “sky’s the limit” approach to creativity, musicality, and fun for all ages.
Education Credentials:
The foundation of Ezra’s musical education started with piano lessons at age 7 as well as formal drum instruction at age 9 (after years of uncontrollable lap, desk and tummy tapping). He began learning the basics of guitar by his mom around age 11 and before he even owned an instrument he was playing in bands and writing music to play with friends. This enthusiasm continued throughout his teenage years until he was ripe for more serious music study as a Music Performance/Jazz Studies major at the University of Vermont. Being a multi-instrumentalist/percussionist offered him a cutting edge to most instrumentalists as he was able to receive instruction in the classical, jazz, and world music programs offered there. Ezra was a member of the University Symphony Orchestra where he played timpani (large tuned orchestral kettle drums) as well as studied classical snare drum and marimba. He was at the forefront of the University Jazz Studies department where he played in many groups over the years including The Latin Jazz Band, various small bop combos, and the University Big Band Jazz Orchestra. He was a member of the University Percussion Ensemble which performed an extremely versatile repertoire from John Cage compositions to Indonesian Gamelan suites, and was a featured soloist at various performances. He completed piano proficiency course work and took several semesters of music theory and composition. He worked regularly with teachers on Latin and African hand percussion which was regularly enhanced by workshops and private instruction from visiting artists and scholars. This work would only deepen with his semester abroad in Ghana in 2004 where he studied the Ghanaian xylophone (known as the Gyil) as well as multiple regional drumming styles with master drummers around the country.
After graduating in 2005 he expanded his musical boundaries by taking on the highly rigorous and revered discipline of North Indian Classical music with the hand percussion instrument Tabla as the focal point. After studying privately for a year in Vermont, he continued this training in California at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael with Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Saheb and Pandit Swapan Chadhuri. This endeavor would culminate with a trip to India in the winter of 2009. All the while throughout the years he has continuously studied with various masterful drum teachers both on the east and west coast including “Rakalam” Bob Moses (Jazz legend), Andrew Barr (The Slip, Natalie Merchant), Scott Amendola (Nels Cline Singers, Charlie Hunter), Peter Magadini (Diana Ross, Mose Allison), and many, many others.
Teaching Credentials:
Ezra has been teaching music for approximately ten years. He has taught private students of all ages and has the ability to craft his teaching methodology to suit various learning styles. He has designed and lead workshops that combined elements of African drumming, multiculturalism, and environmental awareness for diverse groups of children ranging from 5 to 100. He has taught at dozens of public, private, and charter schools around the bay area and also has an extensive background working with children and adults with developmental disabilities. He is a faculty member at the Bird School of Music in San Francisco and he currently teaches drum lessons out of his rehearsal studio in Russian Hill (SF) as well as out of the comfort of your own home (negotiable). Ezra is passionate and committed to music and the art of passing on knowledge to others. He will inspire and motivate you!
To book a lesson or receive more information please send an email to Ezralipp@gmail.com
