Kherson Amell

Kherson has taught drums privately in the Kingston area for the past eleven years, and has been a professional drummer for eighteen. He studied with drum guru Chris McCann of Montreal's McGill University during his formative years, and has continued to augment his expertise with lessons from such Canadian drumming luminaries as Rick Gratton, Paul Delong and David Langguth.

Kherson has been privileged to work with members of The Tragically Hip, CBC radio jazz darlings Haskell and the Cleavers, guitarist Eric Schenkman of The Spin Doctors and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Member Bernie Worrell (Keith Richards, Parliament Funkadelic, Talking Heads). His playing has given him the opportunity to perform across Canada and into the USA, and drawn accolades from such Canadian drummers as Mitch Dorge of the Crash Test Dummies, and the legendary Pat Steward (Bryan Adams, Odds, Colin James, Matthew Good). Kherson is currently balancing his busy teaching schedule with free-lance performances and recordings, as well as promoting his collaborative project known as Gingerman.

Sean Donaldson

We're pleased to welcome Sean to our faculty this fall! He is the youngest teacher on staff here at Renaissance, at the age of seventeen. He is a primarily a snare drummer who has played with pipe bands from an early age. As a pipe band snare drummer, Sean has won the World Solo Juvenile Drumming Championships, and recently was awarded Professional Drummer of the Year in Ontario. He has played for a number of professional pipe bands, including the 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band and the Toronto Police Pipe Band. He has travelled through Canada, the US and Scotland many times to compete and perform in both solo and ensemble settings.
In addition to his snare drum experience, Sean performs and teaches regularly on the drumset. He is a member of the Kingston reggae band Tea For The Voyage, and is principal percussionist with the Kingston Youth Orchestra, the Frontenac Secondary School Symphonic Band, and the Frontenac Secondary School Jazz Ensemble.

Christos Smirnios

Bio Coming Soon.

Ethan Myers

Ethan is a new addition to the Renaissance Music faculty, starting in December 2007. Ethan is a high school student and has been playing the drumset for the last three and a half years. He has taken a very progressive and committed attitude to the art of drumming and is currently organizing his busy schedule, playing with his personal group Aeriuym as well as the Napanee Secondary School Jazz Fusion Ensemble with Greg Runions. Ethan is also a peer tutor with the Limestone Secondary School Senior Band with Chris Alfano. He is continually working towards higher education in drumming and hopes to attend the Humber School of Performing Arts in the future, to study Music Performance.