Dan Piccolo is a drummer, percussionist and composer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has performed, taught, and studied internationally during his professional career, which has spanned nearly twenty years.
Dan holds both a Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance and a Master of Music in Improvisation from the University of Michigan School of Music. He has studied concert percussion with Michael Udow and Salvatore Rabbio, among others, and his drum set teachers have included Michael Gould, Steve Curry, and Geri Allen. Dan is also skilled in several types of hand percussion, having studied frame drumming with Jamey Haddad and tabla with Pandit Kuber Nath Mishra in multiple visits to Varansi, India. A grant from the University of Michigan’s International Institute funded the first of these visits.
Dan’s performance credits include a wide range of musical settings. For six years Dan was the drummer with Nomo, with whom he toured internationally and recorded three albums for Ubiquity Records. Dan has also toured as a member of Cloud Nine Music, His Name is Alive, Saturday Looks Good to Me, and others. Locally, Dan performs regularly with symphony orchestras, rock bands, Indian classical music ensembles, jazz combos and big bands. He is the founder and director of the group Starbrand, who are quickly gaining notoriety on the Michigan live music scene.
In addition to this busy performance schedule, Dan teaches more than thirty private percussion students each week and coordinates the percussion program at Ann Arbor’s Pioneer High School, a 2006 Grammy Signature School.
