Donna Thompson - BIO

Donna started singing in the church when she was nine years old. She was in the church choir for a number of years and proceeded to learn other instruments such as the drums and piano. Donna's interest in music was inspired by her grandmother's singing. As Donna got older, she started participating in singing competitions and in theater at her local community college. While attending school, Donna was the lead singer and drummer for the jazz band for two years. Donna continued to pursue her second music degree at the Hartt School of Music, where she earned her Bachelor's degree in Music and Arts with a vocal concentration. During her studies, she performed diverse pieces in several languages.
Donna taught voice lessons in an after school program in Hartford Connecticut to students of all ages. Donna is happy to be a part of the Falcetti School of Music team because she will help students reach their full music potential with the training, skills and experience she brings.

As a drum teacher, Donna has been playing drums for over 25 years, bringing heart, rhythm, and spirit to every beat she plays.  Her journey began in church when she noticed there wasn't a drummer and felt inspired to step in and learn, not just to fill a space, but to eventually teach and help others through music. Over the years, Donna has explored a variety of styles including jazz, reggae, rock, R&B, soul, and gospel music.  She has played in a rock band, Jewish band, country band and served in both English and Spanish churches. She enjoys participating in open mics and collaborating with rock bands whenever she can. Donna plays by ear and has a natural gift for teaching simple rhythms and counts in a way that makes learning feel approachable and fun. Her passion goes beyond performance, and her goal is to teach people of all ages not only how to play the drums but how rhythm connects to life itself with timing, patience, listening, and flow.

My Goal is to help students understand the fundamentals of music with their voice while having fun and learning at the same time.

My Approach to Teaching

My teaching goal for adults is to focus on playing different style drum grooves, basic drum notation, playing with other musicians, playing along with their favorite songs, maintaining tempo with a metronome, and playing in a recital. My teaching goal for kids is to focus on keeping a steady beat for 30 second to a minute, counting aloud to the notes while playing, playing a steady beat with kick, snare, and hi hat patterns, performing a song for parents so they can see and hear their child’s progress, learning and understanding quarter notes, half notes, half dotted notes, eight notes, and sixteen notes, and play in a recital.