Mr. Subha Das
Principal Assistant Director
Subha Das is a professional percussionist/music educator in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended the Duquesne University School of Music from 1994-1999, and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Music in Percussion Performance. During his tenure at Duquesne, Subha was fortunate to study orchestral percussion with Gerry Unger (former member, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) and Stanley Leonard (former timpanist, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra). As part of the well-rounded education he received, Subha also studied jazz with the legendary Dr. John Wilson, Mike Tomaro, Lenny Rodgers and Jay Ashby (Paul Simon). For a brief period in 1996, he was able to study Latin percussion with Rolando Morales (Percussionist/.Assistant Conductor of Disney’s Lion King on Broadway). Some highlights from music school were performances with legendary jazz guitarist Mike Stern, The New York Voices, and Michael Abene (GRP Big Band arranger). In 1999 Subha was awarded outstanding soloist at the Elmhurst College Jazz Festival. Since graduating, Mr. Das has built a very successful career for himself, being one of the most in-demand percussionists and private instructors in the Pittsburgh area. In 1998, he joined the staff of the award-winning Mount Lebanon Percussion program, where he holds the title of Principal Assistant Director.
His duties within the program include:
Private percussion lessons for students in grades 4-12.
Director of the Mallet Ensemble
Director of the Brazilian Drumming Ensemble
Brazilian Drumming/Marching instructor for the Summer Enrichment Camp
Highlights at Mount Lebanon Percussion:
2006-Directed at the Music Educator’s National Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah
2007-Directed at the National Percussion Festival in Indianapolis, Indiana
2008-Directed at the Pennsylvania Music Educator Association Conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
2009-Brazilian Ensemble performs at the National Percussion Festival
2010-Both Brazilian and Keyboard ensembles perform for the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy at the University of Oklahoma.
2011- Both Brazilian and Keyboard ensembles perform for the PMEA convention
2012- Both Brazilian and Keyboard ensembles perform at the National Percussion Festival
2013- Both Brazilian and Keyboard ensembles perform at the National Percussion Festival
Aside from teaching, Subha maintains an active career in performing with the following groups:
The Olga Watkins Group - Soul / Blues / R&B Quartet led by an amazing singer.
S K Das Jazz - this group specializes in providing cool, hip jazz — perfect for upscale events like wedding receptions, corporate functions, and private parties.
Steel City Calypso - this group uses the distinctive sound of the steel drums to draw audiences into a compelling mix of Caribbean jazz and global fusion music.
The year 2008 was a very busy recording season for Subha. He can be heard on Donna Bailey’s latest CD, All Because Of You, recorded by four-time Grammy winning engineer, Jay Dudt. He is also on the debut CD by Resonance, Steel Drum Jazz. In 2009, Subha performed on Olga Watkins’ Long Time Coming CD. Currently, Subha is finishing up work on a live CD by Olga Watkins and a Christmas CD by Donna Bailey. Both projects are slated for a Fall 2013 release.
In addition, Subha is and will always remain a student of his instrument. Over the past few years, he has been studying drum set with Steve Rucker (Bee Gees) at the University of Miami. And of recently, he has also been studying Brazilian Percussion with master drummer Marcus Santos in Boston, as well as with various teachers in Salvador, Bahia.
In 2013 Subha was named an educational artist for Meinl Percussion.
In 2019 Subha was named an educational artist for REMO.
To keep up with Subha’s career, please visit him at www.subhadas.com
