Luke Notary

Luke Notary began to play the drums at a very early age with his father. He later studied with such masters as Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, Hamza El Din, and Jamey Haddad. His experience has brought him around the world to teach and perform. Most recently, Luke toured the world with Cirque du Soleil's "Varekai".

AS A PERFORMER AND COMPOSER

Luke's unique approach to sound, texture, and groove has made him stand out as one of New York's finest percussionists. Luke has taught percussion and drumset workshops all over the world, and to all ages of people. Most notably, Luke was asked by James Cameron to give workshops to the actors of "Avatar" to prepare them to play drums on screen. He has written the original scores for theater as well - Sam Shepard's "The Late Henry Moss" and Paula Vogol's "The Long Christmas Ride Home". He has also performed with modern dance companies such as David Parsons and Alvin Ailey.

AS A TEACHER

Luke has been been involved with early childhood teaching programs with City Center in New York for 5 years. Luke's real world experience and laid back attitude make him an ideal and inspiring teacher for all ages. Luke's approach to teaching is built on the belief that when he passes his passion on to a student, that inspiration will be released and the student will begin to reach their full potential. Luke understands that each student is an individual who learns in their own unique way, so they must be treated in the way that suits their creativity the most. Combined with practice skills, proper technique, and development if a love for one’s instrument, the limits are endless.

Luke can offer students a wide range of skills, including:

• PROPER TECHNIQUE - Proper technique enables you to reach the instruments maximum potential and keeps you sounding clean as a whistle.
• EXPLORING YOUR OWN CREATIVITY - Exploring your own creativity enables you to be a pioneer. So many things are yet to be discovered... by you! By always listening to your heart and exploring your own creative ideas, you will become an individual as well as an artist.
• SHARING EVERYTHING - I always share everything I possibly can with a student, including all my experiences, all my instruments, all my ideas, how to overcome plateaus, recognizing the social aspects of the music world, how to get gigs, how to get paid, how to practice and find dedication, and how to have fun at all times!
• PLAYING WITH DANCERS - I have 10 years of experience accompanying and performing with dance companies such as Alvin Ailey, David Parsons, and Merce Cunningham. If you would like to learn to accompany dancers, I am your man.
• PLAYING WITH SINGERS - Playing with singers is an invaluable skill for a drummer or percussionist, and it requires a strong sensitivity and dynamic control.
• PLAYING HYBRID KITS - In addition to playing the drum set and percussion, I am also very experienced playing with hybrid kits. I can give you the skills needed to play with multiple techniques at once, create your ultimate hybrid kit, and explore the possibilities.
• PLAYING WITH BANDLEADERS - All musicians should know how to take cues, whether they be visual, audio, or vocal cues. This is an invaluable skill for a drummer to have.

This video is a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Luke performing 'Russian Swing' on tour with Cirque du Soleil's 'Varekai'

Get Started with BML to schedule a lesson with Luke.