Rich learned at an early age that playing a variety of music styles was the key to being a working percussionist. In his hometown of Hastings NE, his high school years introduced him to rock, jazz, dixieland, and concert percussion. His early influences were Neil Peart of Rush, Omar Hakim of Weather Report and Sting, and Steve Smith of Journey and Vital Information. With the help of his first drum set teacher, Leslie Foster, Rich was well on his way to making drumming his life's ambition.
After high school, Rich attended Missouri Western State University and studied under Dr. Dennis Rogers. Rich continued his drum set studies and developed valuable mallet and chart reading skills there. From 1994 to 1998, Rich attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and studied under Professor Al Rometo and John DeStefano. While there, Rich continued advancing his concert percussion, mallet and tympani skills, and also served as the drum line section leader for the University of Nebraska Cornhusker Marching Band. He also kept active performing with many other University Ensembles. In addition, Rich kept active in community groups such as Cactus Hill and the Lincoln Symphony.
In 1999, Rich joined the United States Army Band field, and was able to put his vast knowledge of percussion and drum set to use for multiple military and civilian groups. While stationed with the famed 101st Airborne Division Band in Clarksville, Kentucky, Rich traveled to Nashville, TN and studied with Chester Thompson, known best for his years playing with Phil Collins and Genesis. After transferring to San Antonio, TX, Rich was fortunate enough to study Latin Percussion and Marimba with acclaimed mallet composer Alice Gomez.
After completing five years of service with the U.S. Army, Rich joined his wife in Des Moines, IA. There he was discovered by a Latin jazz group from Pella, IA, called Ashanti. Rich served as the group’s Latin percussionist and alternate drum set player performing at jazz festivals, weddings, and college music clinics.
In addition to his work with Fusion, Rich continues to use his percussion and drum set skills performing with a variety of groups in Nebraska and Iowa. Since moving to the Omaha area, Rich has also created The Chop Shop Percussion Studio offering percussion education to a wide variety of students.Rich holds a B.S. degree in Business and a minor in Music Performance from Wayland Baptist University-San Antonio, TX.
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