DRUMMER CAFE

The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance was honoured recently to play host to one of the world’s most respected drummers, Thomas Lang. Not only was Thomas a visitor; he has now joined the Institute as part of the visiting faculty, and this was his first session teaching in addition to performing a masterclass exclusively for Institute students.

Thomas, who was voted in 2007, the Best Drummer by the readers of Rhythm magazine, is quite simply awe-inspiring. He is of course extremely in-demand as a session and touring drummer and probably best known for his unbelievable control and ability.This was something he was keen to share with all of the students who spent time in class with Thomas during his visit.

His tuition DVD’s are amongst the best selling in the world and everyone present got to see first hand why he is such a great communicator and motivator. As a fitting conclusion to his first visit, Roland brought Thomas’ full customised kit into school and Thomas gave a fantastic masterclass to a packed room. The Institute students were enraptured by his skill and certainly learned a lot from him, but they are already eagerly awaiting his next visit, something Thomas assured when he commented, “I’ll be back!”

Pete Whittard, Managing Director at the Institute, commented:

"Of course, many schools invite great artists to conduct masterclasses and clinics from time to time, as do we. However, to have someone of the calibre and reputation of Thomas Lang not just visit us and give a masterclass, but also dedicate time to actually teach our students over two days and make a longer term commitment to the Institute by joining as a visiting member of our teaching faculty, is both an honour for us and a huge benefit to Institute students. Where else can drum students have such a level of access to one of the world’s greats?!"

The next drum clinician to visit the Institute is Sebastiaan De Krom, who will be bringing his jazz trio into school on Tuesday 27th November from 7 to 9pm. If you are interested in attending this or other clinics and masterclasses at the Institute then contact them directly on 020 7328 0222 / This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

About The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance:

The Institute is widely recognised as Europe's finest school of modern music. Established almost a quarter of a century ago, the Institute has been developing and delivering cutting-edge courses to students of contemporary music for longer than any other UK-based school. Originally known as The Drum Institute, the school has built its reputation on providing world class teaching using the very best teachers and state-of-the-art facilities. It now offers a range of professional courses including a 3-year Degree (BMus), a fully-funded one year Diploma, a specialist one year Higher Diploma, plus a wide portfolio of part-time courses designed to meet a variety of training needs for guitarists, bass players, drummers and vocalists. Past or present Institute students can be found everywhere, touring with the likes of Katie Melua and Moby, playing with bands like Babyshambles and Radiohead and artists like K. T. Tunstall and Beverley Knight, and also working as teachers all over the world.