Crescent City Drum School Mission Statement

Below you will find bullet points on the vision and mission statement for the Crescent City Drum School and what we envision to accomplish.

• To provide private lessons on snare drum, drum set, and hand drums (or percussion) to all students, particularly those from low income families and young adults who otherwise would not be able to afford these lessons, through the partnership with existing foundations in the City of New Orleans set up for this express purpose
• To preserve our musical culture by teaching students the history of New Orleans drumming and the rhythms pertaining to our musical culture
• To prepare students for the real world by teaching them to play all styles of music AUTHENTICALLY so that they can be well versed in these styles, resulting in the students becoming versatile on their instrument, which in this day and age is a necessity to make a good living as a performing musician
• To provide group classes to different levels of students; the levels would be determined by auditions for these classes to place the students in the level they are best fitted to
• To bring in master drummers and percussionists on a regular basis for clinics and workshops
• To cater to the music programs in the local schools and universities for additional instruction not available in those schools
• Courses to help students in marching bands from around the city
• Classes to teach the history of our music tradition as it pertains to the lineage of the great New Orleans drummers that have contributed to the musical culture of New Orleans music and drumming
• To provide a clean and professional environment for all of the above to take place on a timely and concise schedule that fits the students (and parents) needs

The conception of the Crescent City Drum School is the brainchild of Ricky Sebastian and Carlos McInerney. Ricky Sebastian is a master drummer / instructor who has taught thousands of students from around the world at the infamous Drummers Collective, based in New York City, for over 13 years, and who was also the head drum set teacher at the University of New Orleans from 1998 – 2004, and the implementer of the World Music Ensemble and the UNO Percussion Ensemble before moving back to NYC. Ricky has returned to New Orleans after Katrina to devote his life and time for educating the next generation of great New Orleans drummers. For more information, please visit Ricky’s web site at: www.rickysebastian.com

Carlos McInerney is the owner of Allied Music, the oldest music store in New Orleans. Allied Music has been in existence since 1966 and has catered to musicians and sound techs since that time. Carlos is also a passionate drummer and is a partner in the vision of the Crescent City Drum School by making available his resources and a good portion of his facility for the physical manifestation necessary to make the Crescent City Drum School a reality.

The school is already functioning with new drum sets, cymbals, and a lot of ideas, but we need help to make our vision a reality, and we need YOU to spread the word so that everyone is aware of what we are doing to preserve the great musical heritage of New Orleans and to support the future wave of drummers and percussionists that this city is so famous for.

Sincerely,

Ricky Sebastian
Carlos McInerney