Your shopping cart is currently empty.
Drum Set Teachers
Drum Set Teachers
The Music Shoppe of Springfield
Whether you're ready to get started with lessons or just want more information, please check out our Lesson Studio Contact Form.
Brandon Townsend
Drum Set Instructor | Springfield, IL
_thumb.jpg)
Brandon Townsend started drumming at a young age and quickly discovered his passion. In junior high and high school, he was chosen for Honor Bands every year. He was awarded the Terrence Flannigan Award for musical excellence. He was a member of his high school marching band as well as the very first Greenville College Marching Band in 2011. Ever since 2002, he has played a variety of musical styles including jazz, blues, rock, big band, and worship music.
His professional career includes playing in the pit orchestra for Spring Awakening at the Legacy Theatre and Beauty and the Beast at The Muni, both in 2012. He released a Christmas CD in 2010 with Tinseltown Marauders. He played many area shows with Solar Cadet, including the SOHO Music Festival in 2016, and released a CD of original music. He was a member of the Sangamon Valley Civic Orchestra in 2015. Brandon has played praise and worship music at area churches since 2006. He currently plays at West Side Christian Church in Springfield. He has performed with Nashville recording artist Tyler Daniel, Ty and the Family Foundation, the University of Illinois at Springfield concert and pep bands, The Company Blues Band, and Jameson Freeway.
Check out Brandon on Instagram below!
Darin Holthaus
Drum Set & Percussion Instructor | Springfield, IL
Darin Holthaus is a percussionist, composer, and educator who has performed across the U.S. and the Dominican Republic. Based in the Midwest, he is known for his diverse drum set abilities and dynamic teaching style. Darin has over 20 years of performance and teaching experience, which includes teaching at the University of Illinois–Springfield, public school music programs, and private percussion studios. He was a featured artist at PASIC (Percussive Arts Society International Convention) and has served as an adjudicator for ILMEA events and as a clinician for various Illinois high schools.
Darin has vast musical experience, including recording on countless albums for independent artists and recording/touring with Nashville recording artists and producers. His experience includes performing with various orchestral, jazz, choir, country, rock, funk, and concert band groups. He holds a Commercial Music degree with an emphasis in percussion performance from Millikin University's School of Music and continues to compose, record, and engineer music in addition to teaching and performing.
Ronnie Engel
Remo Artist
Drum Set & Percussion Instructor | Springfield, IL
Ronnie Engel is a pluralistic drummer/percussionist/composer equally skilled in the realms of drum kit, hand-drumming, and multi-percussion. He has developed a method of playing referred to as "polydrum," which is a hybrid pan-global application of techniques to instrument/objects in an ambidextrous manner. This craftwork has been presented in an array of context including most all popular music genres, for orchestra and contemporary ensembles, for film and tv, for theatre and modern dance, for carillon with percussion, West African drumming, Indonesian gamelan, for composers Lou Harrison and Jon Hassell, and most notably as a performing member of the Harry Partch Ensemble under the direction of Danlee Mitchell.
His education includes studies in orchestral and contemporary percussion at Illinois State University, world music at the Center for World Music and San Diego State University, world music and percussion at California Institute of the Arts BFA/MFA, carillon with Karel Keldermans, instruction from Mark Craney, Rusty Gillette, Glenn Cronkhite, Gary Neihaus, and percussion knowledge as shared by John Noonan.
As an educator he has taught both privately and in institutional environments for all ages and levels of learning including as world percussion faculty at California State University Long Beach and is a Remo Drum endorsed artist.