Luke Bullen and Steve Barney, both professional drummers who hail from Norwich, joined Norfolk Music Service percussion tutor Tim Skinner at City of Norwich School on Friday 25 January 2019 for a full day of performances, masterclasses and Q&A.
The drummers, who between them have played with Take That, KT Tunstall, Jeff Beck, Anastasia and Annie Lennox, were in Norwich promoting their new feature film 3 Drummers (along with drummer Nathan Curran).
Luke and Steve sat in with some level 3 students (grade 6-8) at CNS and offered some fantastic encouragement, hints and tips. Next they performed two workshops to packed out classes where they screened their new film, performed to backing tracks of artists they have played for and finished with a Q&A session.
Lastly Luke sat in with Tim Skinner’s CNS Percussion Ensemble and helped out as they rehearsed for the upcoming Norfolk County Music Festival.
The whole day was an incredible opportunity for drummers and musicians in the school to work with these professionals. Students at all levels were inspired and encouraged in their playing. Everyone could relate easily with Luke and Steve; they live in the same town, have been in the same schools and have gone on to be top in-demand session musicians.
[Main photo: Luke Bullen, credit Matthew Becker]
