MUSICAL ACCOMPLISHMENT

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. 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.

James is best known for his work as an inspiring drum educator. He is passionate about his work, radiating joy and patience while graciously leaving legacies by sharing the spirit of drumming. His popularity grew as founder and Managing Director of the nationally recognised My Drum School (MDS) in Singapore. Within 10 years, the reputable school has 4 centres, 45 teachers and over 3,400 students – a testament to James’ hard work and ever-growing passion to offer a high level of music education in a distinctive contemporary setting.

ACADEMIC ACCOMPLISHMENT

James’ music accolades are paralleled by his academic achievement – obtained his Business Degree at Nanyang Technological University with a First Class Honors in 2006. For three consecutive years he was on the Dean’s List, awarded scholarships and won a gold medal for emerging top of his academic cohort. Between 2004 – 2006, James became the ‘Face’ of Nanyang Business School’s print advertisements, appearing on bus-stops shelters all over Singapore and the newspapers, making him one of the most recognizable faces on campus.

Upon graduation, James moved on to the business world and performed exceedingly well in Deloitte where he handled Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A). In spite of his bright prospects in the corporate world, James resigned from his position in the top accounting firm in order to pursue his dream of establishing a drum school. MDS was then founded in October 2007.

Shortly after in July 2009, James Pang was featured in The Business Times as one of the successful entrepreneurs under 30 in Singapore. He also appeared in Channel News Asia, Computer Times and other magazines for his innovation in using technology in his business. James believes in using and imparting his gifts and talents, and now builds his drum school upon two pillars: to inspire and to educate.

My Drum School won national awards like “Best In Drumming” Parent’s World Magazine 2015, Top Entrepreneur 2014, Singapore Quality Brand Award 2014, Top 10 of Asia 2014, Asia Excellence 2013, Singapore Promising SME 500 (2013), Top 10 Fastest Growing Corporation, and The Spirit Of Enterprise 2013.

FUN FACTS

He has appeared on almost every media channel, including Channel News Asia, Zao Bao, The Business Times and The New Paper.
He only had his first formal drum lesson at the age of 17.
He won a bowling competition, with 9 strikes and a score of 201, in 2013.
His YouTube channel has garnered more than 1.23 million views and 5,870 subscribers since 2011.
He won a nation-wide crab-eating competition in 2009.
He is a Accenture Gold Medalist.
He bagged 2 cash scholarships and was in the Dean’s List for all 3 consecutive years.
He turned down the offer of being a NTU President Research Scholar in 2004.
He served 2.5 years in the Commando Elite Forces during his National Service in 2003.
He has been serving as Music/Worship Director in his church since 1999.
He is married and has four lovely kids.

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James is proud to be endorsed by Mapex Drums and Heartbeat Drumsticks.