School of Fine Arts

Ben Wagley
Drum Set

Ben started playing and studying the drum set at age 9, and began performing and teaching professionally at age 16. He has taught drum set lessons professionally for more than 14 years in Indiana, Illinois and Texas.

Ben attended the University of North Texas on a drum set scholarship, focusing on jazz studies and percussion. He studied privately with internationally renowned drum set instructor Ed Soph for four years. While at UNT, Ben was a member of the Three O’Clock Lab Band, and performed with numerous small jazz groups, as well as other types of ensembles. Ben is well versed in not only drum set, but also rudimental snare, classical snare, marimba, and timpani.

Following his studies at UNT, Ben played and taught professionally in Chicago. While in Chicago, he formed his own traditional jazz trio, improvisational modern instrumental music group and rock group. He has performed with many pop, gospel, contemporary Christian, reggae, blues, big band and country groups, playing drum set as well as percussion. In addition to his live performance experience, Ben also has extensive experience with studio recording.

Ben has a gift for teaching and fostering each student’s love for music. He has taught a broad range of students, from children to adults, and is committed to passing on the knowledge he has gained from his teachers as well as his own real world experience in the music industry. Ben’s ultimate goal as a teacher is to instill the skills necessary to allow his students eventually to become their own teachers, while exploring and nurturing each student’s creative ability. He believes that a mastery of fundamentals and technique are absolutely vital to success on any instrument. Beyond teaching these core fundamentals, each student’s own interests should be explored while continually exposing him or her to new musical ideas. Ben is committed to teaching students how truly to be musicians and to make music on the drum set.

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