ABOUT ME
TL;DR:
I love making music and have studied with many people - I plan to keep doing both from today to the grave.
RG
Biography ~
Rashaad Greene is a percussionist/drummer who is known for his exceptional ability to work and adapt in countless musical settings. Growing up as solely a classical percussionist, Rashaad eventually discovered passions in other worlds within percussion, such as drum set and hand drumming. Over the years, he has learned to exploit his extensive interests as a means to continually develop his unique and versatile musicianship.
Some of the groups and artists that Rashaad has performed with include the Ron McCurdy and the Langston Hughes Project, Amherst Jazz Orchestra, Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra, Diplomats of Funk, The Zack Bartolomei Trio, Dynamo, Les Boulvadieres, The Valley Winds, and Cyprian Consiglio. Rashaad led his own trio for the Northampton Jazz Festival (2019) in addition to several other gigs and projects.
Rashaad has been teaching privately since high school and has done so in environments such as his own teaching studio, a graduate teaching assistantship, as well as through outreach programs. Even through the inherent difficulties of remote teaching, he still manages to provide students with the invaluable lessons of which they seek.
Rashaad was selected as a winner of the UMass Concerto Competition (2020) with "Arena" by Tobias Brostrom. Some other recent honors and awards that Rashaad has received include the Henry Mancini Fellowship for the Frost School of Music (2020-2021), David Baker Scholarship of JEN (2019), and an Outstanding Performance, Graduate College Blues/Pop/Rock Group of Downbeat with the "Odd Meters Combo" (2019).
On the more recreational side, Rashaad also sings, plays jazz vibes, piano, guitar, trumpet, and trombone. He also enjoys photography and is an avid gamer. His game sessions as well as informal music performances can be seen on the popular streaming site Twitch. While performing, recording, and making music in almost any capacity are certainly passions of Rashaad, he finds great meaning and enjoyment when he gets to share his musical experiences with others.
Education ~
On a full scholarship, Rashaad is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the University of Miami. He will be studying with Svet Stoyanov, Steve Rucker, Dafnis Prieto, and Joe Petrasek. He will also be doing performative work as a Henry Mancini Fellow for the Frost School of Music.
Rashaad received his Master's in Music from University of Massachusetts Amherst. With a Graduate Teaching Assistantship, he studied percussion with Percussion Collective member Ayano Kataoka (with Sandbox as residence artists), and drum set with Tom Giampietro. While at UMass, Rashaad also studied with Yousif Sheronick (frame drum), Austin McMahon (drums), Catherine Jensen Holmes (jazz voice), and Jim Argiro (piano).
Rashaad received his Bachelor's in Music Performance from Vanderbilt University. His primary teacher was Percussion Collective member Ji-Hye Jung, and he additionally studied with Bill Wiggins (timpani/percussion), Lee Vinson (orchestral percussion), and Mat Britain (steel pan/hand percussion). In the jazz department, Rashaad studied with Derrek Phillips (drum set), Ryan Middagh (composing/arranging), Jeff Coffin (studio/combo), Roger Spencer (vibes/improv), Bruce Dudley (piano), and Liz Johnson and Christina Watson (both voice).
While at Vanderbilt, Rashaad was accepted into the DIS Copenhagen Study Abroad Program, in which he studied with Johan Bridger (marimba), René Mathiesen (timpani), Per Jensen (percussion), Birger Sulsbrück (congas), and Morten Lund (drum set).
Outside of college, Rashaad has received some form of private instruction from many notable drummers, such as Jeff Hamilton, Ulysses Owens Jr., Francisco Mela, Brian Adler, Matt Wilson, Chester Thompson, Jeff Sipe, Jordan Perlson, and Jeffrey Lien. Rashaad has also studied with frame drum master Glen Velez. Sarah and Richard Dietrich are responsible for initiating Rashaad on his professional musical journey, as they were his first private instructors all throughout middle school and high school. With their guidance, he regularly participated in Honor Bands, All-State Bands, National Honor Band/Orchestra of America, Youth Orchestras, and other prestigious programs.