T.J. Maistros is an award-winning percussionist who offers Catoctin Music students the benefits of his training at some of America’s foremost music education institutions, appearances at high-profile venues with world-class performers, and experience preparing for and participating in a top-rated high-school band program and numerous honors ensembles.

T.J. received his Master’s in Percussion Performance from Steinhardt School of Music at New York University (NYU), a top-10 music school, in 2018, and his Baccalaureate in Music in Percussion Performance in 2016 from George Mason University. At Steinhardt, T.J. studied with world-renowned performers and recording artists Jonathan Haas, James Saporito, Tony Moreno and Simon Boyar, and at Mason with Grammy-winning Afro-Cuban specialist Joe McCarthy, John Kilkenny, and John Spirtas.

At George Mason, T.J. was the featured drummer for Doc Nix and the Green Machine, voted the #1 Pep Band in the NCAA in 2015. As part of the alternative/classic rock band Perception, T.J. recorded in the historic Quad and Premier Studios in Times Square, opened for Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall-of-Famer Dave Mason in a nationwide Sirius XM Radio broadcast from the U.S.S. Wasp, and appeared at Greenwich Village’s iconic Bitter End club. T.J. has also served as a side man to well-known artists Chris Brubeck, Edward Kalendar and Mark Barasch, and recently performed and recorded with up-and-coming singer-songwriter Jason Bembry at The Bitter End and in the Dolan recording studio.

At Steinhardt, T.J. participated in a wide range of show and ensemble performances, and he continues to perform a wide range of gigs in the D.C. and New York areas, including church services for percussion and drum set, orchestras, choirs and concert bands, musicals, and rock and jazz recording sessions.

T.J.’s honors include the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, NYU Broadway Percussion Seminar, the Philadelphia International Music Festival, and the Ultimate Drum Camp. He currently serves as a consulting instructor to Stone Bridge High School and Park View High School band programs.

Check out Mr. TJ playing some jazz with fellow CSM teachers! LINK: https://youtu.be/3d5TYye_Qic