In 1986 Andy Joined Sabian where he has held jobs in every aspect of the business. A deep appreciation for the beauty of cymbals and the voices that can be created has deepened his love and respect for our industry and the people who share that passion.
Andy has shown leadership in supporting and promoting education. He served on the board of NAMM and the NAMM foundation as well as on the board of the Percussive Arts Society and on several of its international committees. He created the SABIAN/Robert Zildjian scholarship for well-deserving students at the highest music teaching institutions, such as the Crane School and Manhattan School of Music. He supported and created international educational clinics and demonstrations assisting in bringing drum-set education not only to underserved areas in North America but also in emerging markets around the world. When he found that the retention rate of most North American drum-set students was only around 30%, Andy (along with Global Drum Ambassador Dom Famularo and Joe Bergamini) created the SABIAN Education Network (SEN). SEN is a community of educators and professionals who, through forums, open discussions and seminars create a stronger business for independent drum-set educators to improve their understanding of different learning styles and improve their syllabus, teaching methods and business practices with the intent of turning that retention rate to 70%. Andy and SABIAN believe in developing more and better drummers through more creative and inclusive education.
Sergio Bellotti is an international artist, educator, entrepreneur, and award-winning film composer renowned for his versatile musicianship. Highly sought-after as a global clinician, he serves as a professor at the esteemed Berklee College of Music in Boston and on faculty at the Conservatorio Della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, Switzerland. He was a featured TEDx Speaker in 2025, sharing his insights on rhythm, communication, and his signature “YOUniversity” philosophy.
Across his multi-decade career, Sergio has recorded or shared the stage with a staggering roster of talent, including Blues Hall of Fame icon Joe Louis Walker, Robben Ford, Nathan East, Tom Scott, Bernard Purdie, The Platters, The Drifters, Alessandra Belloni, Rocco Ventrella, and Italian composer Vince Tempera. His international festival appearances span the Montreal Drum Fest, The Golden Jazz in China, Bari In Jazz, Cape Breton International Drum Fest, Berklee World Percussion Festival, PASIC, and five consecutive KOSA festivals. Additionally, he co-leads the experimental duo PANoDRUMa alongside pan master Loris Lombardo.
Sergio is a respected industry entrepreneur supporting the global percussion community as owner of 247Drums and The Cymbal Boutique. He is also the innovator behind the 247Drums 5T aluminum practice sticks and maintains official artist endorsements with Yamaha, Remo, Sabian, and Vic Firth.
Joe Bergamini is an internationally known drummer who currently tours with The Doo-Wop Project. His extensive Broadway resume includes holding the drum chair for Gettin’ the Band Back Together and performing over 15 other Broadway shows including Movin’ Out, Jersey Boys, In the Heights, Rock of Ages, The Lion King, Hamilton, and others. He can be heard on recordings with progressive rock bands Happy the Man and 4Front, and he also has live performances with Billy Joel, Dennis DeYoung (Styx), and Debbie Gibson to his credit.
A best-selling author and editor, Joe has worked closely with the biggest names in drumming. He is the author of COBHAM: The Music and Drumming of Billy Cobham, Neil Peart: Taking Center Stage, Stewart Copeland: Drumming in the Police and Beyond, and GADD (A Life in Time) (with Steve Gadd). Among Joe’s many other books is The Working Drummer’s Chart Book.
Joe has run his own private teaching studio for over 30 years. A music industry consultant, he has been the director of the Sabian Education Network since 2015 and Senior Drum Editor for Hudson Music since 2009. The winner of four Modern Drummer Readers Poll awards, Joe proudly endorses Tama drums, Sabian cymbals, Vic Firth sticks, Evans drumheads, and Latin Percussion.
Frank Corniola is a respected drum educator and industry leader with over 40 years of professional experience as a session player and live performer. His contributions to drum education and the percussion industry have established him as one of Australia’s most influential figures in the field.
Frank is the author of several groundbreaking educational texts that have become international standards: Rhythm Section Drumming (1985), Rudiments and Motions (2001), and the four-book Contemporary Popular Music (CPM) Series. This series established formal examination standards for contemporary drumming in Australia.
In 1992, Frank established Duratek, a retail and education complex in Northcote, Melbourne. For over three decades, Duratek has been Australia’s premier destination for drummers and percussionists. The drumstick School of Music features state-of-the-art teaching studios and an in-house auditorium.
Corniola also founded Australia’s Ultimate Drummers Weekend, one of the world’s premier drum festivals; Musictek, a distribution and publishing company specializing in drum and percussion educational materials; and was the publisher of DRUMScene, Australia’s top drumming magazine.
Teri Coté is a drummer, singer, educator and visual artist. She began playing professionally at age 14; her first band, the Marcy Brothers, signed with Warner Bros. Records and opened for country legends including George Strait, Johnny Cash, Alabama, HWY 101 and many more. Teri toured extensively while completing high school, balancing weekend gigs in Lake Tahoe with her schoolwork. Upon graduation at age 17, she moved to Reno to play in a casino band, covering complex, syncopated arrangements and singing backup while still underage. Her dynamic career has taken her across California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Texas, Massachusetts, and Japan and Australia. With over 38 years of professional performance experience across nearly every genre, Teri is also an accomplished songwriter, singer, via guitar.
Currently, Teri collaborates in the original musical duo “Jane n Teri” alongside Berklee piano professor Jane Potter. Together they blend vocal harmonies, odd-time polyrhythms, jazz, and pop, recording at her home studio, the Groove Bakery, which she operates with her husband.
A passionate educator with over 25 years of teaching experience, Teri gives private drum lessons at 247 Drums in Winchester, MA. Raised by two painters, she is also a multi-dimensional visual artist skilled in painting, illustration and handcrafted jewelry designs.
Vera Figueiredo is a Brazilian drummer and composer graduated in piano. The drums have always been her guiding force, and no one combines rhythms with as much fluidity as Vera. Her music blends samba with jazz, rock, and funk. It is “forró with a salsa flavor,” as well as ballads in the style of bossa nova.
An important figure in the Brazilian instrumental music scene, she has released three albums: Vera Figueiredo & Convidados, From Brasil, and Vera Cruz Island. In 1990, she founded IBVF Brazil – Instituto de Bateria Vera Figueiredo, which became an important center for the study of drumming in the city of São Paulo, welcoming students from Brazil and abroad, both in person and online. Vera’s dedication to teaching has also led her to release educational materials, including the videos Ritmos Afro-Brasileiros & Influência Afro Cubana (Afro-Brazilian Rhythms & Afro-Cuban Influence) and Os 40 Rudimentos (The 40 Rudiments), as well as a play-along book published by Hudson Music: Vera Cruz Island – Brazilian Rhythms for Drumset, co-authored with Daniel Oliveira and based on compositions from the album Vera Cruz Island.
Vera is the driving force behind live education events in Brazil through her production company, IBVF Productions. She founded sérieMASTERCLASS, which brings together Brazilian and international drummers and percussionists at the Rubens Barso Auditorium at IBVF Brazil; and Batuka! Brazil, the leading drum festival in South America. Vera has performed many of the world’s biggest drum festivals, from PASIC (USA) and TUDW (Australia) and many more.
