Education
Private Instruction
Ulysses, teaches privately and on the road so if you are interested in receiving lessons shoot him an email at Info@usojazzy.com and he will respond immediately. For most of his students, due to his busy touring schedule, he is unable to teach consistent lessons weekly or bi-weekly but is open to discussing any options that will work for any inquiry.
He is very gifted as a private drum instructor, and has taught privately throughout the U.S. and globally in countries (Australia, Japan, Singapore, and in Europe:) He is very skilled in ensuring that the foundation every student possesses knowledge the appropriate techniques. He is proficient not only on drum set, but other percussion instruments, (Timpani, Marimba, Xylophone, Chimes, Concert Snare Drum, and various other hand percussion instruments). Below are areas of study within his drum instruction that every student will approach.
Don't Miss A Beat Inc.
History of Agency: DMAB was founded in 2008 as the brainchild of Ulysses Owens, Jr. and his family. Ulysses grew up in the Crystal Springs area of the Westside. His parents introduced him to music early on and he started playing drums when he was just two years old. Ulysses parents, especially his mother, Gwendolyn, helped to cultivate his talents by enrolling him in classical piano and music lessons. "My mom always said that she wanted me to be more than just a church musician," Ulysses explains, so Ulysses attended the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. Here, Ulysses thrived and became part of the school's inaugural jazz program. He went on to graduate with a full scholarship to the Juilliard School.
After graduating from Juilliard in 2006, Ulysses traveled the world as a jazz drummer. The more he traveled, the more he kept thinking about home. "I saw so many arts programs for kids, especially in other cultures, and I thought we really need something like this back home." After hearing about Jacksonville's high dropout rate and other problems with struggling youths, Ulysses and his family designed a program to help suspended youths stay in school. This program helped these youth to keep up with their schoolwork so that "...they wouldn't miss a beat." Since its founding, DMAB programming has evolved to include the performing arts, academic enrichment, and civic engagement. Programming also includes developing workable skills for parents so that, as noted previously, youth have self-sufficient, caring adult role models who are able to provide a safe, healthy environment for their children.
Just this past year, and with help from City Councilman Warren Jones, DMAB was selected by the City of Jacksonville and JaxParks to be "in residence" and provide programming for underserved youth all year long at the J.S. Johnson Community Center's Youth Room in Jacksonville. This was a great honor and also enhances DMAB sustainability by ensuring a permanent home for the organization.
Mission: The mission of Don't Miss a Beat, Inc. (DMAB) is "...to blend music, art, academic achievement, and civic engagement to inspire and enlighten children and teens in the Riverside and Brooklyn communities." Objectives to meet this mission include: (1) to utilize the performing arts as a tool to facilitate youth development and to cultivate youth talent in the arts; (2) to provide tutoring and academic support thereby enhancing youth educational achievement and graduation rates; (3) to conduct civic engagement projects so that youth develop a connection to community and learn how to be responsible, productive citizens; and (4) to offer workable skills training for adults in the community so that they may become increasingly self-sufficient and therefore better able to provide a safe, healthy environment for their children.
For more info, and to donate please visit, www.dontmissabeatinc.org