Marc Dicciani sitting onstage on the edge of a drum set with theater tiers and boxes behind the set
Faculty

Marc Dicciani is a drummer, a professor, a performer, a researcher and a clinician.

Biography

Marc Dicciani is a full professor of drum set and music business, coordinator of the Drum Set department at University of the Arts and a very busy international performer, clinician and researcher with dozens of international concert dates and clinics throughout the year.

He has made concert appearances with a wide variety of artists, including 

  • jazz musicians Randy Brecker, Joey DeFrancesco, Jon Faddis, Robin Eubanks, Christian McBride, Gerald Veasley, Pat Martino, Stanley Clarke, Phil Woods, Clark Terry, John Fedchock, Diane Schuur, Grover Washington Jr., Tom Kennedy and Jimmy Smith; 

  • singers Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Ben Vereen, Tom Jones, Lou Rawls, Mel Tormé, Dionne Warwick and Natalie Cole; pop artists Boyz II Men, the Spinners and the Stylistics; and

  • orchestras including the Dallas, New Orleans, San Diego, Buffalo, Long Beach, Honolulu, Edmonton, Jacksonville, Nashville, North Carolina, Hartford, Gulf Coast, Philadelphia, Boston Pops, and the National Symphony. 

Dicciani has performed and recorded for major network TV shows and films in Los Angeles, including two telecasts of the Golden Globe Awards, and in ensembles with Doc Severinsen, Snooky Young, Pete Christlieb, Ron Carter, James Moody, Ernie Watts, Stevie Wonder, Ray Parker Jr. and Lee Ritenour. He spent many years touring internationally with entertainer Ben Vereen, with whom he continues to tour and perform internationally.

He has been with the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (the Grammys organization) for more than 25 years, serving as Philadelphia board member, chapter president and member of the National Board of Trustees. Dicciani is currently on the Board of Directors of Philadelphia Music Alliance, an organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Philadelphia’s rich musical legacy, where he is also chair of the Education Committee. In addition, he is a member of the Advisory Board of the National Jazz Festival.

Marc is a drum set artist/clinician for, and is endorsed by, Yamaha Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth Drum Sticks, Remo Drum Heads, Latin Percussion, MONO Cases, Music Molds and writes for Modern Drummer Magazine, Drum Club Magazine, Planet Drum Webzine, Percussive Arts Society and In-Concert magazines.

Experience

  • Dicciani has lectured and conducted clinics at countless universities, including 

    • University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Cal State; University of Texas El Paso; East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina; University of Maine; Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina; Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; University of Delaware, Newark; Kent State University, Ohio; University of Santa Monica, California; American University, Washington, D.C.; Villanova University, Pennsylvania; Temple University, Philadelphia; and 

    • colleges and schools in England, Chile, Japan, South Korea and Singapore; at international conferences (International Association for Jazz Education, Association for Jazz Education, Jazz Education Network and Percussive Arts Society International Convention); and 

    • regional conferences (Pennsylvania Music Educators Association, New Jersey Music Educators Association, College Music Society and, Grammy in the Schools).

  • At University of the Arts, he has taught for 30-plus years and served in numerous senior leadership positions, including director of the School of Music, dean of the College of Performing Arts and university dean. 

  • In addition to his administrative work, Dicciani teaches drum set, hand and electronic percussion, and courses in drum set improvisation and music business to undergraduate and graduate students; directs an alternative percussion bucket drum ensemble and a salsa ensemble; and teaches the nation’s only graduate drum set course for music educators at Villanova University, Pennsylvania, or Ursinus College, Collegeville, Pennsylvania, each summer.

Visit Marc Dicciani’s website. 

Awards & Accolades

Dicciani has been widely recognized for his work. 

  • He was recently honored as the recipient of the prestigious Drumset Education Legacy Award presented by Yamaha Drums at the 2019 PASIC Convention. 

  • In February 2020, Dicciani was selected as the Artist-in-Residence at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in its Health Design Lab MEDiA (Medicine Intersecting Art) residency program, to research drumming, virtual reality and artificial intelligence in order to help rehabilitate the differently abled, emotionally challenged and those with neurological or neurodevelopmental disorders.

  • In the summer of 2020, he was named to the Scholarly Research Committee, as well as the Drumset Curriculum Subcommittee of the International Percussive Arts Society. Dicciani has published numerous articles, podcasts and videos on drumming, practice, learning, technique and skill development, based on his research in neuroscience and related fields.