Nick Kepron is a preeminent young drum set player, improviser, painter, composer, arranger, producer, and educator living in the Washington DC area. 

 

Born in Englewood NJ and raised in and around New York City, Nick grew up in a musical household and developed a passion for the drums before the age of two. Soon, he was interested in creative music, improvisation and composition.  

    

While attending a music masterclass at age three, Nick had his first encounter with bassist Rufus Reid, who told the audience, while musicians were preparing to play, that “the secret to ensemble playing is to…listen.” 

    

In a split second, Nick jumped out of his 3rd row seat and walked to the front of the stage, in front of 300 attendees, and waited for Mr. Reid to locate the small voice informing him that “Mr. Rufus…forgot something..."

    

"Mr. Rufus, You gotta feel it in your soul!”  

    

 

During his teen years, Nick was one of two drummers nationwide to be selected to perform and tour with the inaugural NYO Jazz orchestra, under the direction of Sean Jones. NYO Jazz played their debut performance at Carnegie Hall, which featured Dianne Reeves and Wycliffe Gordon, and then embarked on a European tour with Dianne Reeves in August 2018. Nick was also selected to participate in the Vail Jazz Workshop in 2016. Throughout high school, Nick was also the drummer, co-director, bandleader and arranger for a 17-24 member funk/fusion group, and the drummer for the Kimmel Center’s Creative Music Program Magenta Ensemble, among many other ensembles.

 

 

As an educator, Nick is the creator and sole teacher of Drum Set Biomechanics, a revolutionary practice method which pulls upon exercise science, neuroscience and athletic training frameworks to create custom tailored solutions for pervasive technical limitations in drum set playing. For more information, visit the COACHING page. 

 

Nick is currently training full time, teaching privately, and working on a substantial amount of composed and recorded music behind the scenes, to be released over the next few years.