John Alexander Durr

Originally from the Rochester NY area, John Alexander (Alex) Durr grew up with access to the Eastman Community Music School (ECMS) where he studied percussion with Ruth Cahn throughout grade school and received diplomas in Percussion, Music Theory and Jazz Theory. He also studied drumset with Primo Mussumeci for 12 years, beginning when he was seven.

While at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam, he studied percussion with Professors James Petercsak and Catherine Meunier. Here, he received a B.M. in Music Education and a Certificate in Percussion Performance as well as the 2014 Crane Percussion Alley Award for excellence in performance and teaching. In 2019, he received his M.A. in Sound Design for Visual Media from the Academy of Art in San Francisco. He currently teaches music at a private school in Rochester, and instrumental lessons to his own private studio. He also works as a live music recording engineer for Floated Magazine, and as a freelance performer.

Alex has performed with the Penfield Symphony Orchestra for a number of seasons, and the Orchestra of Northern New York. He also frequently performs in musical pit orchestras for local theaters and can be heard gigging with a number of rock, pop, and jazz groups. His compositions are a reflection of his diverse interests and belief that music should be enjoyable to play for all performers.