ABOUT ME
TL;DR:
I love making music, learning new ideas, and serving others - I plan to keep doing so 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 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, versatile musicianship.
Such interests has led Rashaad to performing in jazz ensembles, symphony orchestras, contemporary groups, pop bands, and more. Some of Rashaad’s performance settings include the Ron McCurdy and the Langston Hughes Project, Amherst Jazz Orchestra, Pioneer Valley Symphony Orchestra, Diplomats of Funk, and Dynamo. Rashaad led his own trio for the Northampton Jazz Festival (2019) in addition to several other performances and projects. He also serves as a partnered content creator on Twitch, where he regularly streams music performances for audiences across the globe.
Having received his Bachelor’s from Vanderbilt University, and Master’s from University of Massachusetts Amherst, Rashaad is currently pursuing a Doctoral degree at the University of Miami. Since 2012, Rashaad has been teaching privately in various environments such as his own teaching studio, a graduate teaching assistantship, music stores, outreach programs, and remotely. Currently, Rashaad is an adjunct professor at Florida Memorial University, serving as a lecturer and private lesson instructor.
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 (2019).
While performing, recording, and making music are certainly passions for Rashaad, he finds enjoyment the greatest when he gets to share his musical experiences with others.
Education ~
Rashaad is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts for Jazz Performance at the University of Miami, where his primary mentors have included Dafnis Prieto, Steve Rucker, and David Chiverton. Just before the doctoral pursuit, Rashaad was a Henry Mancini Fellow for the Frost School of Music in Classical Percussion. During that term, he studied with Svet Stoyanov, Steve Rucker, Dafnis Prieto, and Joe Petrasek.
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.