Page Text: Be More Than A Drummer
Be More Than A Drummer is a course for drummers/musicians who desire to become more and expand their talents beyond the drums into varying artistic avenues/platforms and create multiple streams of income for their careers. I remember being frustrated when people told me that all I ever had the power to do was play the drums and I knew that I had a drive to also excel in business, education and entrepreneurship. Many times being a drummer is what kept people from hearing my thoughts and allowing me to venture into new terrain to develop those ideas, however I persisted and have been able to build a career indicative of those desires based on my own drive and ingenuity.
Education
Education is a huge passion of Ulysses’ career, and he has been very fortunate to maintain several positions that give him the ability to make a great impact in the area of Jazz and Performing Arts education around the world. He is in demand as Lecturer, Clinician, Professor, Consultant and maintains a position as Artistic Director at his family Non-Profit Organization, Don’t Miss A Beat in Jacksonville, Florida and is a professor at the Juilliard School in the Jazz Studies Department.
Don't Miss A Beat
Don’t Miss a Beat was founded in 2008 by Ulysses Owens, Jr. and his family. Growing up in the Crystal Springs area of Jacksonville’s Westside, Ulysses was introduced to music early on. He started playing drums at just two years old and his mother, Gwendolyn, soon enrolled him in classical piano lessons. In high school, Ulysses attended the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, where he became part of the school’s inaugural jazz program and graduated with a full scholarship to the Juilliard School. Visit our website here!
The Juilliard School
“It was really an honor to have been asked by Wynton Marsalis and Dr. Aaron Flagg to join the jazz faculty over three years ago,” says Ulysses Owens, an alumnus of the first Juilliard Jazz class and now a faculty member. “It seems surreal to walk the same halls I once did as a student and now be a teacher—it’s a dream come true.” At Juilliard, he teaches Jazz Small Ensemble and works with the Alan D. Marks Center for Career Services and Entrepreneurship and serves on the “EDIB” committee (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging) assisting a team of faculty, students and administration in creating an increasing equitable environment for all students, staff, and faculty.
Ulysses Owens Jr. Online Drum Course
I am really honored, that Peter Martin of whom I work with during my time with Christian McBride; branched off and started a website featuring Online Masterclasses with some of the most talented jazz artists in the world. I am honored to be part of that roster. October 2018, my course, “Finding Your Beat”, was released and is being sold globally. If you have ever desired to study with me; here is an opportunity to experience my teaching philosophy through exploring over 15 lesson topics. Visit the website here!