George N. Parks Drum Major Academy

About

45+ Years of Excellence

The George N. Parks Drum Major Academy has been setting the standard in Drum Major and Student Leadership education for more than 45 years. DMA provides students with hands on experiences and opportunities to develop their training and growth. We are committed to teach students about the art of peer leadership.

Every workshop session each day combines lectures based on conducting, score reading/preparation, leadership and communication with student participation exercise – students do not just sit and take notes! Remember this is an educational music workshop, not a summer camp. Students will be working hard from their first morning session to the end of the evening session, so they must come ready to learn!

The most common comment we receive from students and their parents: “This was life changing!”

George N. Parks (1953-2010), DMA Founder.

George N. Parks (1953 – 2010), Founder

George Parks was one of the pioneers of modern drum majoring during the 1970s and 1980s. As drum major for West Chester University’s “Incomparable” Golden Rams Marching Band and the Reading Buccaneers Drum and Bugle Corps, he brought the major elements of concert band conducting to the outdoor podium and enhanced them with showmanship. As a college professor and band director of the University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band for 31 years, he continued to hone his skills, expanding the role of drum major to include the critical aspects of leadership, teaching, and communication.