Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, and raised in Denver, Teo Vanovski is freelance drummer, educator, and song writer based in New York City. His credits include performances/recordings with Rick Depofi (Shawn Colvin, Rosanne Cash), Mike Makawski (Amy Winehouse, John Legend, Usher), LOTTE, Tom Gardner (Elle King, Bon Jovi, Nick Jonas), ASCAP, Drake Bell, Billy Sideman, Becca Kruger, Dear Comr...
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Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, and raised in Denver, Teo Vanovski is freelance drummer, educator, and song writer based in New York City. His credits include performances/recordings with Rick Depofi (Shawn Colvin, Rosanne Cash), Mike Makawski (Amy Winehouse, John Legend, Usher), LOTTE, Tom Gardner (Elle King, Bon Jovi, Nick Jonas), ASCAP, Drake Bell, Billy Sideman, Becca Kruger, Dear Comrade, Lola's Ghost, Luca di Fabio, Brian LeBlanc One Stop Pony Band (event band), Brooklyn Hits (wedding band), and Comic Tales of Tragic Heartbreak. He has done regional tours and performed at Warped Tour 2017 with Birds in the Boneyard, as well as appearing on their debut album “Presenting Birds in the Boneyard.” On various Sundays Teo is also the house drummer for Calvary Baptist church in Manhattan, where he performs originals and contemporary gospel with worship leader Jordan Gizzard.
Aside from performing, Teo also owns and teaches at Drum Lessons NYC (www.drumlessonsnyc.net). It is one of the top places in NYC for private drum instruction. Teo’s approach to teaching goes deep into technique and musicality. He has developed and recorded many tracks to aid students in learning songs, playing with dynamics, keeping solid time, trading solos, interacting with a soloist, and being familiar with multiple genres.
Teo has a bachelor's degree for drum set performance from The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, and can be seen performing/teaching in NYC with artists whose genres span rock, pop, funk, singer songwriter, folk, gospel, etc.
Some of the teachers he has privately studied with include Amir Ziv (Droid, System Dialing Records), Curtis Macdonald, Al Hood (Phil Collins Big Band), Mike Marlier (Lamont School of Music), Hal Galper, Jane Ira Bloom, David F. Gibson, and Shawn Pelton of the SNL band. Seeking to expand on both drum performance and audio engineering, Teo has studied closely with Pelton and Macdonald to develop mic placement techniques, using a studio console, and mixing.
"Teo is a great drummer with a beautiful feel and a wide stylistic range on the drums; more importantly a great musician who sees the big picture and always makes the best musical choices"
-Shawn Pelton, drummer for Saturday Night Live-
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