House of Drumming.com

Here in Wash DC, The Thelonious Monk International Drum Competition will be held.
Vinnie Colaiuta will be backing all the artists below in the Eisenhour Theater @ the Ken Cen
the following night.

3 of the 12 competing drummers will be asked to open the concert.

The 12 semi-finalists are as follows:
The 12 semifinalists are: Justin Brown, Richmond, California; Dor Herskovits, Tel Aviv, Israel; Noam Israeli, Haifa, Israel; Dustin Kaufman, Houston, Texas; Kristijan Krajncan, Kranj, Slovenia; Martin Krümmling, Gotha, Germany; Julian Külpmann, Hanover, Germany; Abe Lagrimas, Jr., Waipahu, Hawaii; Kyle Poole, Los Angeles, California; Jamison Ross, Jacksonville, Florida; Colin Stranahan, Denver, Colorado; and Oscar Suchanek, Waltham, Massachusetts.


Cast features Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Jimmy Heath, George Duke, Patti Austin, Nnenna Freelon, James Carter, Ingrid Jensen, Jane Ira Bloom, James Genus, Lee Ritenour, Geri Allen, Vinnie Colaiuta, Ada Rovatti, Claire Daly and special guests Aretha Franklin and Chris Botti

Washington, D.C. - The 25th annual Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition presented by the world-renowned Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, will take place September 22-23, 2012. Open to musicians under age 30 from across the globe, this year's competition will shine the spotlight on the drums.

Tickets are $50 to $75 and may be purchased via the Kennedy Center box office in person, by calling 800.444.1324, or online at http://www.kennedy-center.org. Information regarding VIP packages, which include admission to the post-event VIP Cast Party, is available from the Institute at 202.364.7272 x107 or bjones@monkinstitute.org.

jean krupa wrote:The 12 semi-finalists are as follows:
Justin Brown, Richmond, California

I haven't heard of him, but I live right near the town he was born in.

My kids went to Richmond High School.

For the most part, it's a tough town; many kids are raised under difficult circumstances, and their adult lives are often more of the same.

I can't count how many of my children's friends and relatives have been murdered, because I would be sure to forget a few.

If it was only one or two, I would be sure to remember each one.

I'm glad he got out.

bclarkio wrote:

jean krupa wrote:The 12 semi-finalists are as follows:
Justin Brown, Richmond, California

I haven't heard of him, but I live right near the town he was born in.

My kids went to Richmond High School.

For the most part, it's a tough town; many kids are raised under difficult circumstances, and their adult lives are often more of the same.

I can't count how many of my children's friends and relatives have been murdered, because I would be sure to forget a few.

If it was only one or two, I would be sure to remember each one.

I'm glad he got out.

Must have been real tough. Especially playing a Craviotto kit.

Haha that didn't help the case Paul!

"At the age of 10, he went on to study at UC Berkeley’s Young Musicians Summer Program and continued his studies there for 7 more years."


That just screams super wealthy.

His playing is great, but let's call a spade a spade. Highly supportive family situation with the money to send him to the probably the best thing a kid could go to at that age, for 7 years no less! He better be a damn good player!

From what I could gather, he was given full scholarships to every school he attended.

California native Justin Brown began playing the drums when he was just two years old. His talent was recognized early on and Justin was the recipient of full scholarships to a number of prestigious music programs, including the UC Berkeley Young Musician's Summer Program and the Stanford Jazz Workshop's Summer Jazz Camp. By the time he graduated from Berkeley High School, Justin had already performed at several jazz festivals around the United States and was also a member of the National 2002 GRAMMY High School Jazz Combo.

In August 2002, Justin was chosen from numerous applicants from around the country to receive a fellowship to participate in the inaugural Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet, an intensive performance-based jazz studies program at the University of the Pacific (UOP) in Stockton, CA. After two years at the Brubeck Institute, Justin moved to New York City to attend the Julliard School on full scholarship.

Josiah wrote:Haha that didn't help the case Paul!

"At the age of 10, he went on to study at UC Berkeley’s Young Musicians Summer Program and continued his studies there for 7 more years."


That just screams super wealthy.

His playing is great, but let's call a spade a spade. Highly supportive family situation with the money to send him to the probably the best thing a kid could go to at that age, for 7 years no less! He better be a damn good player!

You don't necessarily have to be super well off to attend a summer music camp. Maybe one of the instructors took him under his wing and got him in for free, or maybe his church helped with the fees. But, if he does come from a wealthy family, good for him. I want that drum set.

Occam's Razor.

@ Paul - Terri Lynn Carrington is still the youngest recipient of a scholarship to Berklee. She was older then 10.

Nothing wrong with someone being young and a great player. Let's just give due notice to the fact that family wealth affords a lot of educational luxuries otherwise not available.

You know that Crav kit costs a small fortune even with an artist discount.

Josiah wrote:@ Paul - Terri Lynn Carrington is still the youngest recipient of a scholarship to Berklee. She was older then 10.

I don't think he went to Berklee. He went to UC Berkeley which is in California. It was a summer camp.

My bad on that one. Correct indeed. Still it is an opportunity afford by the select few, not the majority.


I firmly believe we would have never heard of Tony Royster Jr had his family not been who they were and spent the money on his drumming and particularly famous private teacher. As time goes on, more and more we see this phenomenon. That's all, the whole sob story of a hard upbringing I don't buy in this kind of case.