Vernon Strayhorn Jr. has been playing drums since the age of 3. At age 6, Vernon was allowed his first public playing opportunity as the drummer for the choir at his home church. By the age of 12, Vernon began receiving formal musical training under his future high school band director’s tutelage. In High School he participated in the Marching Band, Jazz Band, Winter Drumline, Concert Band, and Orchestra. Throughout his 4 years at Arundel High School, he achieved a significant list of performance accomplishments and earned a remarkable array of awards, scholarships, and honors. Vernon attended Berklee College of Music where he participated in several ensembles covering different genres of music and performed around the Boston Metropolitan area. While at Berklee, Vernon studied under notable musicians Neil Smith, Terri-Lyne Carrington, Ralph Peterson, Sergio Bellotti, Mike Mangini, and Walter Beasley. While at Berkley, Vernon became well versed in Gospel, R&B/Pop, Funk, Latin, Jazz, Rock, and Afro-Cuban. Fusing together the two elements of natural gifting while also being fundamentally sound is the philosophy behind Vernon’s teaching. He believes that with these two components, anybody has the opportunity at becoming an outstanding musician.
