Primary Instrument
Vibraphone
Location
Anchorage
Willing to teach
Beginner to advanced
Credentials/Background
John Damberg is a master vibist, marimbist, percussionist, composer and educator
who has enjoyed a successful career in music spanning 43 years. John resides in
Anchorage, Alaska where he is the leader of the John Damberg Latin Jazz Quintet,
the Instructor of Percussion at the University of Alaska Anchorage, the founder and
Executive Director of the Alaska Jazz Workshop, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit community
service organization promoting jazz education and performance opportunities in
Alaska. John is an active performer and educator in Alaska and Pacific Northwest.
He is an ardent promoter of jazz & percussion education.
John specializes in teaching performance and improvisation skills on all types of
percussion instruments including drum set, vibes, marimba, steel drum, tympani,
Afro-Cuban hand drums, and piano to beginning to advanced students from grade
6 through adults. He teaches Monday thru Saturdays at his home studio in North
East Anchorage and online via FaceTime and Skype. John currently charges $60 for
one hour lessons and $30 for 1/2 hour lessons. Payment may be made in cash,
check via credit card.
Background:
John was born in 1952 in Kittery, Maine and received his early music training in
Detroit, Michigan. He moved to Seattle in 1979 and was very active on the Seattle
Music scene until 1991, when he moved to Anchorage, AK to teach at UAA. John
holds BM and MM degrees in Percussion Performance, Jazz Studies and
Ethnomusicology, and a BM degree in Music Education.
As a percussionist, John has performed in a wide variety of musical settings
nationally and internationally including: original Latin and jazz ensembles,
recording studio dates, with the Detroit, Seattle and Anchorage Symphony
Orchestras and Broadway touring shows. John has performed with internationally
acclaimed jazz artists including: Wynton Marsalis, Rebeca Mauleon, Eddie Palmieri,
Jovino Santos Neto, Kristin Korb, Milt Jackson, Cedar Walton, Denis Deblasio, Brian
Lynch, Oscar Stagnaro, Allison Miller, Michael Davis, & Mimi Fox and with nationally
renowned entertainers including: Harry Connick Jr., Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, the
Temptations, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and Sammy Davis Jr., Steve Allen, Joel
Gray, and Liberace.
As a composer, John writes music for his Latin Jazz Ensemble and for other creative
projects including: movie sound tracks, travel videos and children’s educational
videos. John’s compositions have been featured on the 2005 CD release Azure by
the JoMaLa Jazz Quintet, the 1998 CD release of Angie’s Samba by the John
Damberg Latin Jazz Quintet, the 1993 release of Human Hands: a Composers and
Improvisers Ensemble, on his 1985 release of Soaring and on videos including
“Cruising Alaska’s Inside Passage” and the award winning children’s video “Monty
the Moose”. John is currently working on a new CD of original jazz, Latin, and funk
music to be released in September 2012 featuring the John Damberg Latin Jazz
Quintet.
As an educator, John is a passionate educator who uses his love for people, music
and self expression to help his students develop effective strategies to realize their
passions, goals and dreams while building well balanced and rewarding lives. He is
a visionary actively promoting creative collaborations with other individuals in
strong leadership teams to enhance the growth and well being of the Alaska Music
and Arts community. He is the founder and Executive Director of the Alaska Jazz
Workshop, a 501 (c) 3 community arts and service organization founded in 2000 to
promote jazz education and performance opportunities in Alaska. John has
mentored with over 2,000 Middle and High School students through the Alaska
Jazz Workshop.
Please go to www.johndamberg.com for more information.
Clinic/Workshop Information
Read more
Primary Instrument
Vibraphone
Location
Anchorage
Willing to teach
Beginner to advanced
Credentials/Background
John Damberg is a master vibist, marimbist, percussionist, composer and educator
who has enjoyed a successful career in music spanning 43 years. John resides in
Anchorage, Alaska where he is the leader of the John Damberg Latin Jazz Quintet,
the Instructor of Percussion at the University of Alaska Anchorage, the founder and
Executive Director of the Alaska Jazz Workshop, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit community
service organization promoting jazz education and performance opportunities in
Alaska. John is an active performer and educator in Alaska and Pacific Northwest.
He is an ardent promoter of jazz & percussion education.
John specializes in teaching performance and improvisation skills on all types of
percussion instruments including drum set, vibes, marimba, steel drum, tympani,
Afro-Cuban hand drums, and piano to beginning to advanced students from grade
6 through adults. He teaches Monday thru Saturdays at his home studio in North
East Anchorage and online via FaceTime and Skype. John currently charges $60 for
one hour lessons and $30 for 1/2 hour lessons. Payment may be made in cash,
check via credit card.
Background:
John was born in 1952 in Kittery, Maine and received his early music training in
Detroit, Michigan. He moved to Seattle in 1979 and was very active on the Seattle
Music scene until 1991, when he moved to Anchorage, AK to teach at UAA. John
holds BM and MM degrees in Percussion Performance, Jazz Studies and
Ethnomusicology, and a BM degree in Music Education.
As a percussionist, John has performed in a wide variety of musical settings
nationally and internationally including: original Latin and jazz ensembles,
recording studio dates, with the Detroit, Seattle and Anchorage Symphony
Orchestras and Broadway touring shows. John has performed with internationally
acclaimed jazz artists including: Wynton Marsalis, Rebeca Mauleon, Eddie Palmieri,
Jovino Santos Neto, Kristin Korb, Milt Jackson, Cedar Walton, Denis Deblasio, Brian
Lynch, Oscar Stagnaro, Allison Miller, Michael Davis, & Mimi Fox and with nationally
renowned entertainers including: Harry Connick Jr., Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, the
Temptations, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and Sammy Davis Jr., Steve Allen, Joel
Gray, and Liberace.
As a composer, John writes music for his Latin Jazz Ensemble and for other creative
projects including: movie sound tracks, travel videos and children’s educational
videos. John’s compositions have been featured on the 2005 CD release Azure by
the JoMaLa Jazz Quintet, the 1998 CD release of Angie’s Samba by the John
Damberg Latin Jazz Quintet, the 1993 release of Human Hands: a Composers and
Improvisers Ensemble, on his 1985 release of Soaring and on videos including
“Cruising Alaska’s Inside Passage” and the award winning children’s video “Monty
the Moose”. John is currently working on a new CD of original jazz, Latin, and funk
music to be released in September 2012 featuring the John Damberg Latin Jazz
Quintet.
As an educator, John is a passionate educator who uses his love for people, music
and self expression to help his students develop effective strategies to realize their
passions, goals and dreams while building well balanced and rewarding lives. He is
a visionary actively promoting creative collaborations with other individuals in
strong leadership teams to enhance the growth and well being of the Alaska Music
and Arts community. He is the founder and Executive Director of the Alaska Jazz
Workshop, a 501 (c) 3 community arts and service organization founded in 2000 to
promote jazz education and performance opportunities in Alaska. John has
mentored with over 2,000 Middle and High School students through the Alaska
Jazz Workshop.
Please go to www.johndamberg.com for more information.
Clinic/Workshop Information
I give multiple types of clinics and workshops listed below.
Workshops
1. Let’s Improvise: Learning the Fun Art of Music Improvisation
Find your inner musical voice through improvisation: beginning – advanced levels.
2. Let’s Create Music Together: Small Combo Improvisation Skills and Techniques
Covers basic music theory and composition skills, song forms, group
communication
3. Understanding the Percussionist’s Learning Styles and Psyche
Circular vs. Linear learning styles: a comparison
Tapping into the Oral Tradition of learning
Marching to the beat of a different drummer’s learning styles
4. Basic Percussion Techniques and Skills for all Percussion Instruments including:
a. Drum set
b. Keyboard percussion: vibes, marimba, xylophone, bells, chiimes
c. Latin hand percussion: congas, bongos, timbales, claves, guiro
d. Orchestral percussion: timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals
5. Functional Piano Introduction: Skills needed to play in bands of all types
6. Sightreading 101-Tips for Developing Effective Sightreading Skills
7. Enhance Your Musical Self Expression Through Hand Drumming, Singing &
Improvisation
8. Introduction to Finale Notation Software program & How it applies to percussion
notation
9. Exploring the Rhythmically Rich Music of Africa, the Caribbean Countries, and
Brazil.
For more detailed information on the workshops listed above please contact John
Damberg at [email protected]
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