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Experienced Professor in Music
Neeraj M.

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Hourly Rate: $80
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About Neeraj

Bio

Are you looking to take your drumming, percussion, or music studies to the next level? I'm Dr. Neeraj M. — a performer, educator, and Fulbright Fellow with decades of experience across classical and orchestral percussion, jazz drumming, Latin and Afro-Cuban styles, contemporary music, music theory, and world percussion. Whether you're a beginner finding your footing or an advanced player preparing for auditions or professional performance, I tailor every session to your goals and can guide...

Are you looking to take your drumming, percussion, or music studies to the next level? I'm Dr. Neeraj M. — a performer, educator, and Fulbright Fellow with decades of experience across classical and orchestral percussion, jazz drumming, Latin and Afro-Cuban styles, contemporary music, music theory, and world percussion. Whether you're a beginner finding your footing or an advanced player preparing for auditions or professional performance, I tailor every session to your goals and can guide you across a remarkably wide range of musical traditions and styles.

That range comes from a career spent performing and studying at the highest levels. In 2008 I received a Fulbright Fellowship to study in Denmark at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, where I worked with the timpanist of the Berlin Philharmonic and leading Scandinavian marimbists. My orchestral work includes performances with the Detroit and Madison Symphony Orchestras, and I've collaborated with composers Bright Sheng and Michael Daugherty and worked alongside artists like Clyde Stubblefield of the James Brown Band and Raul Rekow of the Carlos Santana Band. As co-founder of the percussion duo PERCUNOVA, I've presented concerts and workshops across India and Thailand. I'm also an active jazz and Latin percussionist — I've led my own jazz group, appeared at the Isthmus Jazz Festival and the Art Tatum Heritage Jazz Festival, and received a research grant to conduct fieldwork in Afro-Cuban folkloric drumming.

I hold a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan and currently Associate Professor at the City University of New York, Queensborough Community College.

Ready to start? Reach out and let's talk about where you want to go — and how we'll get you there together.

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Education

University of Wisconsin
Bachelor of Music
University of Michigan
Masters
University of Michigan
PhD
  • Licensed teacher

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Approved Subjects

Drums

Drums

Dr. Neeraj M.is an accomplished drummer and percussionist whose performance career spans orchestral, jazz, Latin, Afro-Cuban, and contemporary music, having performed with ensembles including the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra, where he served as principal percussionist. A Fulbright Fellow, he studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, working with the timpanist of the Berlin Philharmonic and leading Scandinavian marimbists, and has performed and recorded alongside internationally recognized artists including Clyde Stubblefield of the James Brown Band, Raul Rekow of the Carlos Santana Band, and Latin percussion masters John Santos and Michael Spiro. As an educator, Dr. M. has taught percussion at the university level for over two decades, holding faculty positions at the City University of New York, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Casper College, and has presented clinics, master classes, and workshops across North America, Europe, India, and Thailand. He is an artist/endorser with Pearl/Adams, Innovative Percussion, and Remo Drumheads, and brings the full depth of his performance experience into his teaching, guiding students across a wide range of percussive traditions and styles.
Ear Training

Ear Training

For the past twelve years, Dr. Neeraj M.has taught musicianship and music theory at the City University of New York, Queensborough Community College, working with both music majors and students of mixed experience levels. His courses cover a comprehensive range of foundational and advanced skills, including written theory, harmony, counterpoint, ear training, solfege, and sight-singing, all contextualized within a broader understanding of music history. Drawing on his extensive career as a performer across classical, jazz, and world music traditions, Dr. M. brings a uniquely practical perspective to the theory classroom, helping students connect abstract musical concepts to real-world musicianship.
General Music

General Music

For more than twelve years, Dr. Neeraj M. has taught general music courses at the City University of New York, Queensborough Community College, including Introduction to Music and Music Around the World, serving both music majors and non-majors. His courses emphasize active listening, cultural context, and live and video performance demonstrations, drawing on his 25+ years of experience as a performing musician across classical, jazz, Latin, and Afro-Cuban traditions to bring the material to life in the classroom. In Music Around the World, Dr. M. guides students through the rich musical traditions of Africa, Latin America, Indonesia, Ireland, the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia, offering a genuinely global survey of musical culture. His firsthand experience performing and studying across these traditions — from Afro-Cuban folkloric drumming to contemporary Scandinavian concert music — gives his teaching an authenticity and depth that few instructors can offer.
Music Theory

Music Theory

For the past twelve years, Dr. Neeraj Mehta has taught musicianship and music theory at the City University of New York, Queensborough Community College, working with both music majors and students of mixed experience levels. His courses cover a comprehensive range of foundational and advanced skills, including written theory, harmony, counterpoint, ear training, solfege, and sight-singing, all contextualized within a broader understanding of music history. Drawing on his extensive career as a performer across classical, jazz, and world music traditions, Dr. Mehta brings a uniquely practical perspective to the theory classroom, helping students connect abstract musical concepts to real-world musicianship.
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Hourly Rate: $80
Contact Neeraj