OUR EDUCATORS
Meet the Founder
Sheila Klotz
Director of Percussion Education
Driven to inspire the next generation of drummers after a successful worldwide performance career in US military bands and 30 years as a percussion educator, Sheila is "propelling the art of percussion into the next generation"
Her impressive teaching portfolio covers the percussion instrument spectrum from entry-level student to professional drummers. She served as Professor of Percussion Studies at St. Mary's College of Maryland and the College of Southern Maryland.
Formal drum education began in a local drum corps with Rudimental Sage John Bosworth where she honed her rudimental chops and won 3-state and 2-national solo titles..
Although originally self-taught on this kit and classical percussion she was introduced to both by her high school band director. Her hunger for the drums led her to full percussion study at WVU, subsequently earning a spot as Percussionist in The United States Air Force Band in Washington, DC.
Half way through her military career, Sheila traded drum sticks for the conductors baton in a new role as Commander, Conductor and Musical Director for the 257th Army Band and is credited for reviving the "military band in the park" with a fresh, new successful concert model now in use in US military bands.
Intensive kit study began while in The AF Band with Ronnie Shaw, who initiated a rigorous study in independence, polyrhythms groupings and rudimental applications. Her throne duties over the years include Pop/Rock, Funk, R&B, Jazz, R&B and Country Western bands. In a span of 15-years, she honed her gospel chops as drummer for The Lighthouse Baptist Church Women's Gospel Choir.
Steadfastly maintaining her passion for the kit, she cultivated a strict, at home, drum-set workout regime. The self-study paid off In 2020 when she won the International Drum Set Competition "Hit Like A Girl" and is now serving as an adjudicator for the contest.
Alongside her Drumline instruction at King's Christian Academy, she maintains a robust private percussion studio providing studies in classical percussion, drum set and immersing people in the communal aspects of hand drumming in the region.
An active freelance drummer, recording artist and percussionist in the Mid-Atlantic region, and currently serves as an Educator Clinician with WFLIII Drums endorsing both WFLIII and TRX Cymbals.
