About Me
I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Percussion from the University of Colorado and I am currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Education at Fort Lewis College while participating in student teaching toward my Pre K-12 Music Teaching license at Los Alamos Public Schools. My existing certifications include an NMPED Level 1 Substitute license and an NMPED Level 3 Educational Assistant license. I expect to hold a Level 1 teaching license by summer of 2026 and to graduate with my MEd in the spring of 2027.
My educational experience includes 16 years teaching private drum and percussion lessons from my own studio, as well as private schools and music stores. Four of those years I also directed popular music ensembles for a School of Rock franchise. For the past seven years, I have taught the drumline and assisted with front ensemble for the Los Alamos High School marching band and run percussion ensembles and concert percussion sectionals for the high school and middle school concert band programs. During my time with the Los Alamos Bands, I contributed to three state championship titles. Many of my students have successfully auditioned for the NCNMMEA North Central Honor Band, the NMMEA All-State Band, and Santa Fe Youth Symphony Orchestras and Jazz Project Combos, including the past two drummers for the semi-professional Quemazon Combo. During my student teaching, I recently directed the Los Alamos High School Jazz 1 Big Band at the Albuquerque Jazz Festival, where we received Superior and Excellent+ marks from the adjudicators. Outside of music, I have also spent time coaching high school track and field and teaching emergency maneuvers to new drivers.
As a recognized expert in historical and international rudimental drumming and modern percussion education, I have been fortunate to publish eight didactic method books on various topics with Hudson Music, Mel Bay, and Ruffe Dragg Press, and I am an educational endorser of Vater Percussion products. My research has been featured in the peer reviewed journal of the Percussive Arts Society Percussive Notes and I was the featured percussion clinician at the 2022 Association of Concert Bands National Convention.
The key to my success has always been building positive relationships with my students. By connecting with my students as individuals, I am able to tailor my instruction to their specific needs while also meeting curriculum goals. I believe that teaching music is meaningful in its own right, but also that the skills learned outside of the music are just as impactful to my students. Work ethic, responsibility, timeliness, communication, teamwork, perseverance, leadership and a number of other executive functions, or so-called soft skills, can be highly developed through learning an instrument and participating in musical ensembles. I am happy to facilitate both great musicianship and also the development of great individuals through my lessons and work with larger groups.
Whether through formal education or independently, I am always striving to learn something new. My library of historical music method books has become vast and I have recently added several new instruments to my skillset, which now includes percussion, tuba, euphonium, horn, trombone, flute, clarinet, trumpet, guitar, bass, and mandolin, to greater or lesser extents. This past year I also started learning Norwegian, in addition to the Spanish I learned in high school and college. It is never too late to learn.
Educational Philosophy
Ryan Alexander Bloom 