David Francis is a drummer and teacher based in North East England. His musicality and versatility has earned him a diverse list of playing credits. He is also very active in the field of music education.
David has been extremely interested in music for as long as he can remember and played guitar and piano before moving to the drums aged thirteen. With a desire to learn more about music and try to make a living at it, David began intensive study and practice under well respected local teacher Geoff Hutchinson. After finishing school David completed a degree in Jazz Studies at Leeds College of Music, studying drums with Ronnie Bottomley and Tony Mann and composition with Tony Faulkner.

Since leaving college David continues to practise and study as much as possible and has had occasional lessons with Trevor Tomkins (Guildhall School of Music), Dave DiCenso (Berklee), and David Garibaldi (Tower of Power.) David also studies piano with David Murray.

David has worked with bands in many genres – rock, pop, blues, brass bands and musical theatre – but is particularly active in the North East jazz scene.

As mentioned, David is also an educator. He has been teaching Drums both privately and in local schools for over ten years. David has also led percussion ensembles and coached the rhythm sections/percussion sections of many award winning youth ensembles. In addition to this David has taught aspiring drummers at Newcastle Drum Centre, Gateshead College and at Jazz workshops in conjunction with the Sage Gateshead.

David has been a dedicated student of music for over twenty years and is still learning! Here are some of the qualifications he has gained so far:

• BA (Hons) Jazz Studies – Leeds College of Music
• A-Level Music
• GCSE Music
• Grade 8 Drums
• Grade 5 Piano
• Grade 5 Music Theory

He also has a CRB enhanced disclosure form available for your peace of mind and has full public liability insurance cover.

David is a member of the Musicians Union and the Hudson Music Teacher Integration Programme.

Drum Lessons in South Shields.