Dave Stark has been playing music since the age of 5 and has been teaching Drum Set for over 35 years. In addition to teaching all levels of Drum Set education, Dave is an author and sought after clinician. His teaching career includes clinics at Berklee, The Collective School of Music, MI and music venues/schools around the world.

Dave grew up in NY where he studied with some of the world’s top drummers and teachers including Jim Chapin, Gary Chaffee, Frankie Malabe and many others. He attended Berklee College of Music on scholarship and upon leaving he returned to NYC where his playing and teaching professionally thrived.

Dave is an artist and endorser of the following companies who have all recognized his commitment to Drum Set education: Sabian, Yamaha, Evans, Vic Firth, Prologix, and Solomon Mics. He is a former member of the both the PAS Education Committee, Drum Set Committee and is the current Florida Chapter President for PAS.

There are many things that tie us together as drum set players and artists. One of the things I've focused on as both a teacher and student myself is the relationship between posture, the ergonomics of how you set up your kit to adapt to your body, and your ability to use dynamics not just over a musical passage but between each limb. I started down this path at the age of 16 when I first became aware of things I was doing wrong. It's hard to accept that perhaps what we've been doing all along might be wrong or in the very least, not the best way to approach our drum kits. I've evolved with my own research as well as other teachers, and studying the human body. My goal here is to share some of my knowledge with attendees so they can in the very least question their approach to his art form and ask the big question, "is there a better way?" This ties into learning to pay attention to each limb within a groove (or fill) and adapt different dynamic levels with an emphasis on control, and better rhythmic flow.