Jonathan W is an experienced drummer and 1-1 drum set teacher based in South
East London currently working with a variety of artists as both a sideman and session
musician in jazz and contemporary contexts.
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Born and raised in Margate, Kent, he began playing the drums at the age of 4 and took
up formal lessons a few years later. Studying under former Royal Marine percussionist
Dave White, he obtained both his Grade 8 and Advanced Performance Certificate with
distinction by the age of 15. Jonathan’s rich musical upbringing saw opportunities to
perform in big band, pit band, orchestral and jazz ensemble contexts where he ultimately
discovered a keen interest in jazz and improvised music.
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In a pursuit to learn more about jazz and to hone his skills as a drummer and musician,
he completed two years of the Junior Jazz course at the Royal Academy of Music before
commencing his undergraduate studies at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance
(2016-2020). Here he obtained his BMus (Hons) degree in Jazz Performance and was
fortunate enough to study drums under tutors James Maddren, Gene Calderazzo, Asaf
Sirkis and Dave Wickins.
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With music playing such an important role in his own life, it’s Jonathan’s desire to help
others on their own personal musical journeys believing music to be something that we
all can benefit from, regardless of whether we want to be professional musicians or not.
Teaching in a relaxed but focused manner, he can get new drummers up and running
with their first beats, take students through a variety of material and musical styles to
make them into well rounded players or lessons can be guided by the student if there are
particular areas of study they are interested in (i.e. reading music, learning drum parts to
songs, graded examinations).

Whilst encouraging students to explore their own musical
tastes and to develop a personal relationship with the instrument, he always establishes
a foundation in proper technique, getting a good sound from the instrument and being a
musical drummer!

Testimonials

Coming soon!