In February 2013, a driven lady came into my studio with a sincere hope that one day she could call herself a drummer. It is over 2 years from that day, and Sylvia DeSantis has met that goal amongst many others. Sometimes I can’t tell if she is my therapist or student, as plenty of our lessons begin with a deep dive into the challenges of entrepreneurship, a venture we have in common and enjoy learning from one another about. Sylvia is a Director at St. Josephs University, and maintains a clear understanding for education. While intimidating at times, it is quite obvious that she values music lessons and has shown tremendous growth over the past 2 years. When we are laser focused on the drums, there are a number of areas we could be targeting. Having been a student for so long, I watched Sylvia devour several books and drastically improve her competence behind the drum set. It is not uncommon for Sylvia to show up to a lesson in a Foo Fighters shirt or apparel celebrating some other rock band she loves. Therefore it is also not uncommon that we have studied, transcribed, and nailed songs from rock icons such as Soundgarden, Offspring, CCR, Audioslave, REM, The Rolling Stones, and others I’m probably forgetting. Sylvia has been an honor to teach over the past 2 years. I may be her teacher but there is plenty that I have learned from her as well. I’m looking forward to continuing our journey towards percussion mastery together.
Drummer / Teacher
Jon Ardito 
As the teacher can learn from a student, the parent can learn from a child.