About MDS

Established since 2007, the MDS ethos has always been one of excellence. Today, we have become the people’s choice for drum education as the largest specialized drum school in Singapore.

We seek to inspire and educate drummers by using the latest technology and resources in providing a distinctive contemporary drum education.

Inspiration & Education

At My Drum School (“MDS”), we believe that the heartbeat of drumming begins with inspiration. Our programmes are created with creativity, innovation, originality, improvisation and extemporaneous drumming. We ensure the right balance for your specific needs at every drumming level.

Co-developed by a team of curriculum specialists, our curriculum has been thoughtfully designed with your objectives in mind — we place a priority on your progress and create fun drumming experiences.

Our Accolades

Feature in Zao Bao
(22 Dec' 17)

“Rolling with beat of passion”.
(24 May 2017)

NTU Alumni Newsletter Feature
Apr 2017

“Bright Start, Bright Sparks”
on CNA (Sep 2016)

Voted Best In Drumming
on CNA (Sep 2016)

Top Entrepreneur Award
May 2015

Top 10 of Asia Award
Sep 2014

Singapore Quality Brand Award
Aug 2014

Spirit Of Enterprise
Nov 2013

Top 10 Fastest Growing Corporation
Sep 2013

Honored in Business Times
Apr 2013

Promising SME 500
Apr 2013

Asia Excellence Award
Mar 2013

Channel NewsAsia
Nov 2012

Mediacorp Channel 8
Nov 2012

MDS Philosophy

Skill cannot be harnessed by hard work alone.

At MDS, we believe that passion is the fundamental building block to every student’s success. Through passion comes curiosity, and it is this very curiosity that would spur the student to continuously work, and learn, more on his or her craft. It is our responsibility, as educators, to fuel that curiosity in every student; constantly nurturing, guiding and motivating every student to eventually reach their individual music objectives.

James Pang

Founder and Managing Director

The depth of James’ musicality begins from his early musical upbringing. James discovered his love for music at a tender age by experimenting with a dizzying array of instruments such as electone organ, classical guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, clarinet, flute, piano, drums, and percussion.

At 17, James was introduced to master teacher Blair Sherrill, a student of world-class drummer Dennis Chambers and began private drum lessons with Blair for four years in Singapore. He started performing with Blair for YMCA Singapore in 1999, and gradually brought his performances to many campuses and around town.

Follow James @

James graduated from the summer program with the L.A Music Academy (USA) in 2010, achieved a Certification of Accreditation from Orff Institute (Australia), and was the first in Singapore to received his Associate Diploma in Drums from the Australia & New Zealand Cultural Arts (ANZCA) with the highest honors in 2014. James has a wealth of knowledge in this particular area, having successfully completed seven drum examinations himself. Grades 2, 4 to 8 and Associate Diploma Drum Kit. His results were all First Class Honours, making him the most number of First Class Honours for drum examinations in Singapore.

James has judged for the Nation-wide competitions like Drumzout, Singapore Drum Off, Borders Without Walls, Youth Entrepreneurship Symposium, and Kota Kinabalu Music Festival. His biggest performance was to a crowd of 51,000 at the Singapore Sports Hub consortium for Jubilee Day Of Prayer 2015.

MDS Story

Every year is a significant milestone to our company’s history. We are grateful for the love and support especially during our humble beginnings and through those challenging times.

5 January, 2023

7 January, 2023

28 February, 2023

2007

In October 2007, My Drum School was founded by James Pang with only 10 students in his private studio apartment.

2008

After a year, 40 people were on a waiting list and despite the recession, James decided to find a permanent place for MDS.After evaluating eight locations, renovations started at this 700 sq ft facility.

2009

Along with 6 other part-time drum educators, MDS @ Jalan Besar (Central) was the first official centre opened in April 2009. Ms. Jenny Chui joined MDS as the 1st full-time employee in August 2009.

2010

We conducted our 1st Corporate Event at Henry Park Primary School. By the end of 2010, we had enrolled a total of 637 students.

2011

The first exam workshop was conducted in July 2011. Held at Goodman Arts Centre, with a turnout of 28 people, we invited Mark Murphy from Australia to host the event.

2012

MDS @ Ang Mo Kio (North) opened in February 2012, at Jubilee Square, featuring our Roland electronic drum kits. With an increasing demand for our lessons, we launched the Holiday Programme short course.

2013

We won 4 national awards in 2013. Asia Excellence Award, Promising SME 500 Award, Top 10 Fastest Growing Corporations in Singapore, and The Spirit Of Enterprise Award.

2014

MDS expanded its 3rd centre, MDS @ Katong (East), located in Katong Shopping Centre. Additionally, we had a successful 7th Anniversary Concert at Drama Centre (NLB), which drew a full house of 615 attendees. Our team of drum educators grew to a robust 31 by the end of the year.

2015

MDS expanded its 4th centre, MDS @ Buona Vista (West), located in Rochester Mall. Furthermore, the opening of our headquarters at Oxley Bizhub added a 1,400 sq ft facility complete with a mini-concert hall, a private studio, meeting rooms, director’s room, pantry, and a game area.

2016

MDS was chosen to participate in “Bright Start, Bright Sparks”, a Channel NewsAsia program showcasing top educational providers in Singapore. Additionally, we were awarded “Best In Drumming” by Parent’s World Magazine.

2017

We celebrated our 10th Anniversary Concert with over 40 performers at the Drama Centre (NLB). It was a remarkable milestone for MDS as we achieved a weekly drum student population of 700 after a decade.

2018

We conducted our biggest Corporate Programme till date with 278 preschool teachers from 25 MapleBear Schools in one day. We also organised many events at our HQ for companies.

2019

We had a logo update and a redesign of the premises after a decade. The school also relocated to Potong Pasir (Central) while expanding our Ang Mo Kio (North) centre. Mike Johnston (USA) was invited to conduct Masterclasses at MDS.

2020

The school faced unprecedented challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic, making it the most difficult year. Amid the 10-week lockdown, we had to swiftly transition to online learning to ensure continuity in our students’ drum education.

2021

As we adapted to the “New Normal,” MDS implemented rigorous Safe Management Measures to mitigate the spread of the Delta/Omicron strains in our physical locations. We persevered and remained committed to delivering exceptional services.

2022

Our biggest center was launched at Kallang Wave Mall (East), and in commemoration of our 15th Anniversary, we took our full-time employees and families to Vietnam for our international R&R. We now have a population of about 868 drum students.

About MDS

Inspiration & Education

Our Accolades

Feature in Zao Bao (22 Dec' 17)

“Rolling with beat of passion”. (24 May 2017)

NTU Alumni Newsletter Feature Apr 2017

“Bright Start, Bright Sparks” on CNA (Sep 2016)

Voted Best In Drumming on CNA (Sep 2016)

Top Entrepreneur Award May 2015

Top 10 of Asia Award Sep 2014

Singapore Quality Brand Award Aug 2014

Spirit Of Enterprise Nov 2013

Top 10 Fastest Growing Corporation Sep 2013

Honored in Business Times Apr 2013

Promising SME 500 Apr 2013

Asia Excellence Award Mar 2013

Channel NewsAsia Nov 2012

Mediacorp Channel 8 Nov 2012