Daryl's musical foundation has been fostered by combining multiple disciplines in the arts including: piano, percussion, improvisational acting, composition, steel pan, electronic music, and drum kit. He is a passionate artist that strives to find common ground among all disciplines. Teaching since 2014, Daryl has studied pedagogy for piano, percussion, and drum kit. He holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Music from the University of Akron and the University of Hartford, respectively.
As a teacher, he is currently a guest artist at various schools in Winsted and Simsbury and teaches privately in Middletown, West Hartford, East Hartford and Plainville. All private lessons are catered to the students’ interests and needs, with special attention given to developing and using the students imagination.
“The most important thing you can do as a teacher is adapt your lessons to the learning style of each individual student. Discipline will always be important, but if you can make the inherent challenges of learning music fun, you can teach anyone anything they want to learn. Then you’re not only inspiring good musicians, but good humans.”
As a performer, Daryl has played drum kit and/or percussion in dozens of pit orchestras. His freelance work has taken him to China and Iceland as well as playing with the Las Vegas Philharmonic and subbing on Broadway. Daryl has worked in a variety of other disciplines throughout the U.S. including: original experimental and rock bands, collegiate steel bands, traditional Ghanaian, Cuban and Brazilian ensembles, and jazz vocal/instrumental ensembles. He currently serves as a modern dance accompanist, where he improvises music for technique classes on piano and percussion. In his free time, Daryl continues to practice and is learning to build and tune steel pans.