Share this artist:

Joseph Reichert

In his own words...
I began my musical career at the age of eight, in my hometown of Bayonne, NJ where I marched with the Bayonne Kidets from 1982 to 1985. The Bayonne Kidets were then the feeder corps for the famed Bayonne Bridgemen. I began my Kidet career playing cymbals and moved up to snare very quickly. My academic music career also began in 1984 while playing drums in my elementary school band. I continued playing drums in high school with all the bands: this is where I began to play percussion for the first time. Inspiration struck and I knew that I was going to be a musician and continue my musical career through college to become a music educator. I had the fortunate opportunity to attend New Jersey City University for my bachelor’s degree in music education. I had the pleasure of studying with numerous teacher s such as; Jim Neglia and Bay Area drummer Akira Tana. My drum corps experience continued in 1990 and in 1992 I became a member of the snareline of the Cadets of Bergen County. I played snare in 1992 and 1993 and was drum major in 1995 as well. While a marching member, I had the privilege of learning from the likes of; DCI Hall of Famer Tom Aungst, WIlly Higgins, Steve Keiffer and Mike Stevens and during the 1997 and 1998 seasons, I had the opportunity to instruct along side of these mentors. I completed my master’s in percussion performance from San Jose State University while studying with Galen Lemmon.

Prior to moving to California, from 1999 to 2006 I taught high school, elementary and middle school band. In 2008, after teaching at a California high school for two years, I pursued my master’s degree. Currently, I am working as a professional freelance musician in the bay area playing numerous shows, concert/orchestral and drum set gigs. During the day, I am the band director at Presentation High School in San Jose. I am an active member of CMEA, Conductor’s Guild of America and the Vic Firth Educational Team.

Comments from D'Rumpus
Joseph (also known as Joe) has a plethora of musical skills that shine through in his writing. With his deep roots in the drum corps activity he can really write some beefy beats -- this is nicely complemented by his educational background which he uses to source classic percussion rhythms and turn them into his own creations. Aside from the hard stuff, Joe has the the unique talent of writing more accessible music for younger students or ensembles. We're glad to have both Joe and his diverse writing here on D'Rumpus!