KoSA Wraps 16th Annual International Percussion Workshop,Drum Camp and Festival with a Surprise Guest!

 July 31, 2011 / Castleton VT, USA — The 16th Annual KoSA International Percussion Workshop, Drum Camp and Festival wrapped its annual week of intensive, intimate living & learning with international drum and percussion masters and with a very special surprise guest. Participants and faculty alike were stunned and reacted quite emotionally when Neil Peart, of the legendary renowned Canadian rock group “Rush”, took center stage at the camp’s closing session. It was an honor for KoSA Founder, Aldo Mazza, to have Neil accept an invitation to come to KoSA and join Aldo for a publicly candid interview on various topics. Neil also took a few questions from KoSA participants. For a postscript, Aldo, and KoSA Artist Faculty members Marcus Santos, Michael Wimberly and Memo Acevedo joined Neil on a drum kit and djembe ensemble improvisation, with Neil moving to djembe for the finale of a once-in-a-lifetime, spontaneous percussion performance.
This closing event was the icing on a very tasty cake! Registered participants came this year as far as Mexico and the U.K., and all over the U.S and Canada to study with KoSA’s stellar faculty. KoSA 16 Faculty featured: Memo Acevedo (Tito Puente), Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge, Rod Stewart), Sergio Bellotti (Spajazzy, Berklee), Jimmy Cobb (Miles Davis), Dominick Cuccia (Company of Fifers & Drummers), Mario DeCiutiis (KAT Drums & Mallets, Radio City), Dom Famularo (Drumming’s Global Ambassador), Aiyun Huang (McGill University), Aldo Mazza (Repercussion), Allan Molnar (Nelly Furtado), Jim Royle (Steel Drum Master), Jeff Salisbury (Albert King, James Harvey), Marcus Santos (Paquito DíRivera), Glen Velez (Grammy winning Frame Drum Master), Michael Wimberly (P-Funk, African Drum Specialist) with dancer Alexis Johnson, Zoro (Lenny Kravitz) and the talented KoSA Rhythm Section: Bob Quaranta (Piano) and Francesco Beccaro (Bass).
Two KoSA Lifetime Achievement Awards were given out during the course of the week. The first to Jimmy Cobb, a jazz legend who among others, played with Miles Davis during one of Mile's stand out periods. The second was given to rock drumming legend Neil Peart, whose work with the band Rush has inspired thousands of young drummers to take up the sticks and play.
“There are many great percussion festivals around the world where the students are the audience. At KoSA, the students are the music!” stated first-time Faculty member Dominick Cuccia. “If a young drummer or percussionist can only have one mind blowing ‘once in a lifetime’ experience, KoSA is the perfect place to have it!”
“KoSA has a distinct family atmosphere of unparalleled sharing and giving—where personal egos are checked ‘at the door’,” adds KoSA co-founder, Jolán Kovács-Mazza. “It is the nature of every KoSA event to be a distinctly personal journey and this runs in multiple ways...between teacher and student, student and teacher, and also teacher to teacher.
“The sum of the entire experience is what continues to make KoSA Workshops unique.” affirms Aldo.
The KoSA International Percussion Workshop, Drum Camp and Festival takes place annually in Vermont, along side a growing number of KoSA events in North America, Cuba, Italy, and China. For more information, please visit the KoSA website at www.kosamusic.com or find us on Facebook.
KoSA 16 was sponsored in part by Beatnik • Cadeson• Cooperman • Canadian Musician • Ddrum• Dream Cymbals • Evans Factory Metal • Hudson Music • Istanbul • Mehmet • KAT Percussion • LP • Ludwig /Musser • Mapex • Mike Balter • Modern Drummer PAS • Pro Mark  •  Remo • Sabian • Shure • Sticks ‘n Skins • Taye • Toca • Vibe Drum• Vic Firth • Yamaha • Zildjian


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