Bill is from International Falls, Minnesota. He started playing the drums at age 10, playing in all of the school bands, (symphonic band, orchestra, jazz band, marching band, and in the pit for the school theater productions) as well as playing in the faculty big band.

Bill's professional career began at age 16, playing with guitar great Gary Hooker. This association was crucial to Bills development, as you had to be able to play rock, jazz, Latin, blues, and country to make it in the band. Playing hundreds of dates with this band provided great lessons in versatility, as well as a real world look inside the life of a professional musician.

After high school, Bill decided to further his studies at the world famous Musician's Institute in Hollywood California, specifically to study with Joe Porcaro (L.A. film soundtrack and jazz legend), and Ralph Humphrey (Frank Zappa, L.A. Studio). Bill graduated in the top ten percent of his class in 1995.

Since school, Bill has been in high demand as performer and teacher, playing an average of 200 dates per year, and teaching up to 60 students per week. Bill has given clinics and performed at many Denver area elementary schools, high schools, and universities. He has been teaching here at the Colorado Drum/Music Institute since 1998. He has achieved his goal of playing with the worlds finest Jazz, Blues, and Rock musicians and his teaching has helped hundreds of students achieve their goal of becoming better drummers.

Matt began playing the drums at age 10. He has taken advantage of every drumming opportunity, and by 1999 received his B.M.E. from the University of North Texas. During his senior year in high school he was the section leader for a marching band that traveled to California for the Disney Magic Music Days Parade and the Hollywood Christmas Parade. He made the all-county band for jazz and concert bands and also played in the pit for The Sound of Music. He has studied with Doc Schietroma, Paul Rennick, Ed Soph, Henry Okstel, and Harol Bosarge.

Matt has played in many top bands in Denver Colorado. Matt Moon and Stranger Neighbor, Columbine United Methodists Simple Gifts, Funkiphino, The Lavellas, Musa Konate, and the Lost Tribe, just to name a few. Matt also played in the awesome musical Menopause.

Matt currently works with AOA (Alive on Arrival) and the B3 Project. He is also the house drummer at Herb's Hideout, one of Denver's premier nightclubs where many of the areas top musicians come to jam. He has been teaching at the Colorado Drum/Music Institute since 2001.

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Bill has a Bachelors Degree in Percussion Performance, studying under Dr. John Pennington. Bill has instructed high school drum lines, leading one to first place at the state championship in Denver. He has taught private lessons since 1996. Bill's style and ability contributed to many bands in the Denver area: Esovae, Salus, Drug Under, Love 45, and Ben Park Drive just to name a few. Bill's fluid style of composition provides a solid backbone and delivers dynamic intensity to every band he has played with. He has also played in some extremely notable venues: Invesco Field, Red Rocks Amphitheater, the Whiskey in Hollywood, and Carnegie Hall! He now teaches a full schedule here at CMI.

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James started playing drums at the age of 4! He studied music and percussion all the way through school and joined the Pomona High School marching band. He continued his studies at Metro State College in Denver Colorado. He played with local bands such as Living Insanity, Chili Whip and Kingpin. In 1999, James joined local D.J.'s Lewis and Floorwax Blues band the Groovehawgs. He has been playing to crowds of over 100 thousand people and more every year. He has shared the stage with ZZ Top, BB King, Def Leppard, James Brown and more. His band is probably the most popular band in Colorado. James has recently released his solo debut CD Running out of the West. He is a great addition to the Colorado Drum/Music Institute.

Adam has been playing drums since age 10, in various styles and situations. He studied marching, jazz, and concert music while in school, and began performing these styles as well as funk and rock during college. He attended St. Mary's University of Minnesota for a degree in Physics, and kept music as a minor. He performed with the college jazz combos and ensembles as well as with the school's Brazilian drum ensemble, Batucada Nossa Senhora. Outside of school, he was involved gigging and recording with the jam-rock band Paco.

After graduating, he moved to Denver to teach at CMI and perform and write music. He has since played for many bands such as Twenty Two, Rekha, 12:13, and some smaller projects, with styles ranging from ethnic to hard rock. He is currently performing and recording with the groups Wadi Rum and The Otone Brass Band.

Kevin, CMI's newest drum teacher, has been playing the drums for 18 years. He got his start in elementary school band and orchestra, and kept progressing from there. He went on to do formal training as a Music Performance major at the University of Wyoming under the tutelage of Dr. Stephen Barnhart. Kevin has extensive performance experience on drum set in jazz, rock, Latin, and funk styles, as well as classical percussion and in percussion ensembles. Originally from Rapid City, SD, Kevin has been in Denver for 5 years, and is in two local groups, up-and-coming funk band Filthy Children, and a New Orleans-style brass band, the O-Tone Brass Band. He also subs for a couple of different groups and is a freelance jazz artist.

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Jimi started playing the drums in 1980. Before that, he simply played the snare drum in the school band. In 1985, Jimi took a bold step and joined the Air Force. He played in a rock band in the military, and just like high school played events and parties. His band Critical Force even played "The Strip" in Hollywood. All of this work landed them recording contract with Barracuda Records. But, because he still had a year and a half on his military contract, the record deal fell through. But, while stationed in California, he had the opportunity to play the bigger clubs and develop contacts that he would use when he was to be discharged from the military. In 1989, he left the military and moved to Orange County. There he was involved in two bands: Strength in Numbers, and Rockabye. Both were hard-rock / metal bands. He even did a short studio gig with Loren Black, the bassist of Great White. In addition, he was going to college to pursue a degree in business. However, in 1992, Denver's appeal was too much and he moved back to Colorado. At that point he decided to finish his degree at the University of Colorado.

While going to school, Jimi started to teach drum lessons and played in local bands to make a living. He received a scholarship and minored in music while earning his Bachelors of Science in International Business in 1996.

A few months later, he used his degree to start the Colorado Drum Institute. In no time at all, his business grew to over 100 students. At that time he decided to hire more help. After 6 years the Colorado Drum Institute grew to include Guitar, Bass and Keyboards. Today he has 13 employees, 7 studios, and endorsements from very reputable companies such as Vic Firth, D'Addario, Evans drum heads, and Zildjian. He has also written three drum books. One is a rhythm reading book, The Musician's Guide to Common Rhythms The second is an innovative independence system for the drum set. The third, and probably his most prolific work, is the 140 page Double Bass book. Everything someone needs for double bass is in this book. He is currently working on another rhythm reading book to include studies in odd-meter, rolls, and other miscellaneous teaching material.

In 1999, Jimi had the opportunity to play for the Pope during Christmas Mass at the Vatican through the church group Musicians of St. Claire. This group played a number gigs here in Denver, and then went on a tour of Italy. Starting off in Milan, they generally completed a big circle going through Venice, Florence, Assisi, and then Rome and the Vatican. Playing for the Pope and his immediate staff was probably the biggest performance that Jimi has ever given.

Jimi plans on continuing the success of the Colorado Music Institute and providing the best and most complete music lessons in the state.

Mike began taking interest in music at the age of 9, playing alto saxophone in elementary school. At the age of 12, Mike began taking private lessons on Piano and Drums. By the time he was in high school, he was playing Drums, Saxophone, Piano and Guitar. During high school, Mike performed in award winning Jazz, Concert, and Marching bands. In 2001, Mikes high school percussion ensemble placed first in the Rocky Mountain Percussion Association championships.

In 2002, during his senior year of high school, Mike began teaching private drum lessons by recommendation of the director of music at Doherty High School in Colorado Springs. Upon graduation, Mike was doing house calls and instructing the drumline at Doherty High School. He has been teaching ever since.

Mike attended the University of Colorado at Denver, studying music and earning a Bachelor of Science in Music with an emphasis in Recording Arts. During his education at CU, Mike studied percussion under Professor Thomas Van Schoick. He was also fortunate enough to study with clinicians and multi-percussionists, Luis Conte and Michael Spiro.

In 2007, Mike joined the Colorado Music Institute as a drum instructor. He is also a drummer for the worship band at Grace Community Church in Centennial, and has played drums for various bands in Colorado Springs, most notably the Ska/Punk band Secret Sauce, who have performed at numerous venues including the Colorado Music Hall.

Stu has been playing music for over 20 years, and has enjoyed both regional and national success as a touring musician.

Stuart began his music education early with piano and trombone lessons. A love of music led to five grades of achievement on Piano, and three on Trombone, studying through the Royal Schools of Music in the UK. He began studying the guitar at age 10 after his parents turned him onto A Night at the Opera by Queen. In 2004, Stuart achieved a Bachelors Degree in Music from The Metropolitan State College of Denver, where he studied with great Jazz musicians such as trumpet player Ron Miles, and sax legend Fred Hess.

Stuart's guitar playing has been featured on recordings nationwide with groups such as The Witching Hour, Salus, and his current musical project, Savage Henry. Stuart currently tours nationwide with Savage Henry, and has performed at venues such as Red Rocks, the Fox Theatre, The Aggie Theatre, and Folsom Field in Colorado. He has been featured locally and nationwide on radio stations such as Alice 105.9fm, KTCL 93.3fm, KQMT 99.5fm, and KUVO 89.3fm. Stuart has shared the stage with such national acts as Better Than Ezra, Dada, Paris DeLane (formerly of Sonia Dada), and Cowboy Mouth.

Stuart has been teaching music for 10 years and has taught for Mars Music, The Ascot Music Academy, ProSound Musicians Superstores, Denver Public Schools, and currently the Colorado Music Institute.

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Born in Chicago Illinois, Marc has been surrounded by music his entire life. His father was not only an accomplished musician, but a sound engineer who worked and toured with bands such as REO Speedwagon and Kansas. He has done much traveling through out his life and has had the privilege to work and play with some of the greatest musicians in the world.

Marc attended the Musician's Institute in Hollywood California for his formal training. He started playing in 1987 and is well versed in all styles of guitar including Rock, Funk, Fusion, Metal, and Jazz, just to name a few. He has played in a lot of bands that include Flood Ritual, Listen, Vent, Hammerlane, Liquid Courage, and P.T.M. He currently teaches 50+ students per week and is one of the instructors for CMI's Rock School!

Kirk has been a Denver native all his life. Although he is 44 years old, he has managed to play guitar for 38 years and has been teaching for 23 of them. His "on the stage" experience is paralleled by none, having played 5 nights a week for 12 years - that is a lot of stage experience. Most of his works can be found in the Rock / Hard Rock and even Metal Categories. He is now investing his time into the new and very influential Country / Rock Arena. Between opening for acts such as Clay Walker and Neil McCoy, Joe Diffie and Trent Tomlinson, just to name a few, he has begun traveling extensively to the Nashville area and will soon break into that circuit.

Kirk has studied with Dave Beagle and Renee Heredia, and has managed to find time to do a course at the very prestigious Berkeley School of Music in Boston. Kirk now invests his time into teaching 50 or more students a week at CMI. He is a valuable asset and will be a major part of our curriculum.

Charles began playing cello at the age of 10. By the age of 12 he had begun training on guitar and bass which would become his true passion. His bass playing led him to the Denver School of Arts for high school. There he began studying jazz and classical music on a new instrument, the upright bass. Charles worked hard and earned a full ride scholarship to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder. There he studied closely with Chip Stevens, Paul Erhard, and Gonzolo Teppa. He also started his teaching career as a adjunct bass teacher for CU Boulder at the age of 18.

Charles remained at Boulder for only one year, taking the next year off of school and traveling to India to study Indian music. He lived in Bangalore, India for 5 months and studied from the South Indian violin maestro T.T. Srinivasan and North Indian master Ustad Faiyez Khan.

The next year Charles earned a scholarship to study jazz from Kenny Walker, Eric Gunnison, and Lynn Baker at the University of Denver, where he remained for the rest of his college education. During his senior year, Charles went to London to study at the Royal Academy of Music and City University. There he studied with one of England’s top bass players, Michael Mandesir (John Mclaughlin, Tina Turner, Alan Holdsworth).

Charles has become well versed in many styles of music including Jazz, Rock, Latin, World, Funk, RnB, HipHop, and Blues. Some of the musicians/bands Charles has worked with include Hazel Miller, Joe Bonner, Future Jazz Project, The Kinetix, Savage Henry, Elin Palmer, Greg Harris, and James Oneil. He has become and remains one of the top bass players in the Colorado area.

Nate has been immersed in music since the age of ten and became a professional musician at age 15, having to get work permits in order to play in clubs and venues due to his young age. Nate's bands have toured throughout the Midwest and Pacific Northwest.

He has studied various styles of music with great interest in the rock, jazz, and classical genres. He has studied under Steve Shurack, a pupil of the great classical guitarist Ricardo Iznaola from the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music, as well as with accomplished Seattle-based Jazz and Classical guitarist Julian Catford. Nate received his degree in music from Seattle Pacific University, while at the same time being trained as a studio technician and keeping busy as a studio/session guitarist.

Nate has been teaching music for 5 years, and enjoys every minute of it.

Sean is a fifth generation Colorado native, hailing from Sedalia. Coming from a musical family, he briefly played snare drum before falling in love with the guitar at age 12. Sean has played in multiple bands, and after graduating from Douglas County High School, studied theory and classical guitar at ACC.

Sean taught privately before joining CMI in August 2008. He currently plays in two bands that have toured between Colorado and Missouri since 2003: I.C.B.M.'s where he plays guitar, bass, and sings, and The Blues Buzzards where he plays bass.

Kevin started playing guitar at the age of 12 and he is now 31. In those years, he has managed to play in several bands, local and other. During this time he pursued and caught a degree in Music, and more specifically Audio Engineering at the University of Colorado at Denver. His teaching experience goes all the way back to 1991.

In addition to being a full time employee here at the Colorado Music Institute, he doubles as an audio engineer/ Guitarist at Cherry Hills Community Church located in Highlands Ranch Colorado. He excels in many styles such as Metal, Funk, Classic Rock, Blues, and Jazz just to name a few. He also teaches the Bass Guitar for the styles mentioned above. All of this while balancing 40 students, a wife and new daughter. He has an uncanny ability to teach students of all ages, from very young to old, makes him one of the most versatile instructors at CMI.

Eric's love for music began very early as he grew up in his father's record store in Iowa. A family friend taught Eric four chords which started a life long pursuit to become a better musician.

Eric attended Central Missouri State studying Classical and Jazz Guitar, piano, ear training and Music Theory. He supplemented his formal education by forming, and touring the mid-west with, his all original bands Scarecrow and Chain Number Seven.

In 1996, Eric made the move to Denver and soon found himself playing the Denver scene with the original band Great Atomic Motor and a Beatles cover band The Don’t Let Me Downs. Along with teaching music, Eric writes and records, engineers, mixes and masters his music along with other local bands and solo artists.

A native of Boston, Brian began playing at the age of ten under the instruction of local Blues guitarist Tim Gairin. By his early teens, Brian was a regular on the Boston blues circuit, sharing the stage with performers such as The Toni Lynn Washington Band, Monster Mike Welch, and Weepin Willy. Brian went on to play in various local punk and hardcore groups where he had the opportunity to open up shows for many notable late nineties national underground rock acts.

Brian began teaching guitar while studying music at Emerson College and continued upon graduation in 2004. He teaches students of all ages and ability levels, and has eight years of teaching experience. He teaches Rock, Classic Rock, Pop, Indie, Emo, Punk, Metal, Hardcore, Blues, Country, and Folk. Brian's lessons are fun and relaxed while always remaining focused on the specific musical goals of his students.

Kevin earned a Bachelor of Music Degree in Theory and Composition, with honors, in 1985 from the University of Northern Colorado. While there, he studied harpsichord, piano and organ. He is a multi-instrumentalist, having his music study on trombone. As part of his degree program he learned to play all band and orchestra instruments, as well as studying voice.

He began playing professionally in 1980, and is currently involved with Echoes of Pink (a Pink Floyd tribute band), Cock-Eyed Junior (Classic Rock), and a host of different groups and studio situations.

Kerry is originally from Laramie, Wyoming, and has lived in Aurora for the last 30 years. She began studying piano at age 7, and accompanied several choirs during high school. She began singing in adult church and community choirs at age 15. She received a BA from the University of Wyoming with a major in French and minors in Spanish, music, and education. She has been teaching piano since 1978 and voice since 1985, and has been certified by the State of Colorado since 1985.

She sings in the Cherry Creek Chorale, including concerts at Carnegie Hall in 1994, Atlanta for the International Choral Festival, and the Lucerne International Choral Festival (Switzerland) in 2008. She has also toured with a 100-voice choir in Italy, Austria and Hungary.

She is a member of the Aurora Music Teachers Association and the Colorado State Music Teachers Association (CSMTA) where she was Vice President for Student Activities. She is the current President of Pacesetters Music Teachers.