David Watkins completed his Master of Music in Performance from
Miami University (OH),
where he was the Graduate Assistant in Percussion and
Athletic Bands under
Dr. Bill Albin
and Dr. Stephen
Lytle. At Miami, he served as the drumline instructor and composer/arranger, as well as co-director of the Miami Pep Band. His master’s thesis
is entitled The Snare Drum: An Analysis of Performance Applications and A Comparison of Teaching Approaches. He also holds a Bachelor's degree
in Music Education from Eastern Kentucky University, where he studied intensely under Dr. Jason
Koontz. During his time at EKU, he was trained
in classical music, and specialized in African, Indian,
Brazilian, and Caribbean Music. He also served
as the drumline section leader, instructor and composer/arranger.
David has performed with many professional and collegiate ensembles, including competing in the 2016 Panorama competition in Trinidad with the Silverstars Steel Orchestra. At EKU and Miami,
he participated in percussion ensembles, steel bands,
wind bands, orchestras, and marching bands.
In 2008, he marched
snare drum for Tates Creek
Indoor Ensemble in WGI finals.
He has also had multiple performances with
Global Rhythms and the PANorama Caribbean Music Festival
in Virginia Beach,
VA, and has collaborated
with artists such
as Andy Narell,
Ellie Mannette, Liam
Teague, Jeff Queen,
Srinivas Krishnan, Dave Longfellow, Tom Miller, and Ray Holman.
Currently, he is the Director
of Percussion Studies
at John Overton
High School, where
he teaches many music classes, including guitar,
world percussion, and classical percussion ensembles. He is also the Percussion Caption Head
for the Vanderbilt University Spirit of Gold
Marching Band, where
he serves as the
percussion director, as well as composer/arranger. He proudly endorses Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets.