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iSchool faculty profile Sean DolanDrums, percussion, B'Ginnings & iBand |
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I have been surrounded with music since a very early age. My parents were from Ireland and loved their native music. I remember going to New York’s Erin’s Isle, East Durham, in the Catskill Mountains where they would enter me into talent contests. I won many of them and had a blast just sitting there watching the bands play. I loved singing but always wanted to be a drummer. After all, while I was an infant, my mother told me the family band needed one. At the age of 13 I played my first paid gig for my brother and sister’s newly formed band, Shannon Breeze. They had two gigs lined up one weekend and had to make do with a replacement drummer because their drummer got in trouble with his parents. My Father and I drove up the NY Thruway, met my brother and sister halfway, transferred the drum kit and me into the “Band Van” and headed for the gig at the famous Irish Music Festival in the aforementioned East Durham. We performed well and had a lot of fun. But, then, they handed me my pay afterwards. I couldn’t believe I could get paid for something I loved to do! I was hooked. From then I went on to play in the band full time. By the time I entered high school I was already performing every weekend. I continued to play weekends through High School, all the while performing in various ensembles in Holy Cross High School under the tutor of Michael Lipsey. Michael is now the Percussion Dept. Director at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. When I entered Holy Cross, his newly formed percussion quartet, Talújon, were artists-in-residence. We had a fantastic percussion program and performed very challenging material by very well known composers. I was lucky to be there, learning so much at such an early age. Nearing the end of high school I made a decision to go to College for music. I only took two auditions: One for Aaron Copland School at Queens College and one for The Juilliard School. Fully intending on going to the former, I found out a few months later that I got into Juilliard. I had to go, of course! When I entered The Juilliard School, I was soaking wet behind the ears. I got a crash course in classical music and city life. I learned so much from my teacher, Gordon Gottlieb, the other great instructors there and most importantly, the big city around me. I played the most challenging music in some of the most famous halls in the world. Alice Tully and Avery Fisher just to name a few. We even went on a tour of Japan and Korea where the Juilliard Orchestra performed for TV in Japan’s Carnegie Hall equivalent, Suntory Hall in Tokyo. Throughout my college career I continued freelancing and performing every weekend with my family band at various clubs and catering halls around New York. After earning my Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Percussion Performance at Juilliard, I have returned to what I love the most; drum set and singing. I now play drums/percussion and sing, simultaneously and separately, with multiple artists all over the NY area. I’m a member of the Kenny Ford Band under Hank Lane Music Productions, a cover band called Rock Junky and an original project called Box of Poems. I have performed and recorded numerous jingles and songs with various artists around the tri-state area. I can be heard on radio and TV and now perform live usually at least a dozen or more times a month. I’m very thankful to be able to make music my love and life, and I hope, through my experience, I can inspire my students to love music as much as I do. And maybe make some money in the process!
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