Rick has had 22 years of private and group instruction experience and most recently, has taught percussion at Mansfield Music Mentors in Mansfield, Texas. He began teaching at MMC in January, 2011 and had a student roster of between 40 and 50 students per month. He has also taught at The Academy of Music and Art and The Cameron Dancenter in Gainesville, Florida where he maintained a student roster of between 50 and 75 students per month. Rick began his teaching career at The Academy of Music and Art on a part-time basis in 1991 and in 1993, he devoted all of his time to teaching. His teaching approach is tailored to each student individually and he creates goals for the students based on their ability. Rick has also performed mainly in the Southeast U.S. and has been in bands that have opened for groups such as Sister Hazel, Bad Finger, Joan Jett, Nazareth and The Call. While attending Santa Fe Community College, Rick studied Jazz and Latin style drumming with Billy Bowker and learned stick technique with Mark Speed at the University of Florida. He has also taken a master class with the late, great Jim Chapin.