Mr. Biondo is the founder and director of the West African Drum Ensemble at University of La Verne. Mr. Biondo is also the department coordinator for the University of La Verne Department of Music.

Steve Biondo is a drummer/percussionist and recording artist. He began playing drums at the age of ten and went on to learn marimba, vibes and then steel pan in 1980. His influences are Jazz, Latin, Cuban and African percussion. Mr. Biondo is a percussion adjudicator for Drums Across California established 1979 by Michael Ellerby. DAC is celebrating over 20 years of percussion education. The judges at DAC are highly trained percussionists who have achieved excellence in percussion teaching and have at least ten years of professional performing experience at the highest level.

Instruments: drums, djembé, steel pan, congas and miscellaneous percussion.

Years recording and performing: 35

Private instructors: Dick Hyman, Bob Maxim, Vito Biondo Sr., William Polacek, Tom Float, Michael Ellerby, Rudolph Charles, Gerald Lawrence, Ray Lawrence and Raynor Carroll.

Bands and projects: The Anaheim Kingsmen, The Velvet Knights, The Lynwood Diplomats, Obscure Cover, The Reed Gratz Band, Gayle Serdan, Monkey Meet, Jazz Caribe, Wild Kingdom, Kindling, The Appollonicon.

Steve has performed or recorded with: Ricky Lawson, Reed Gratz, Bart Samolis, Ron Powell, Max Bennett, Gayle Serdan, Ronald Muldrow, Andrew Ford, Jonathan Moffett, Luis Conte, Rick Shaw, Rickard Schmidt, Ted Grimes, Renard Luke, Chris White and Arthur Thompson.

Steve is an endorses Remo Percussion. He uses Remo hand percussion instruments and Remo heads.

Email: biondos@ulv.edu        Web site: www.stevenbiondo.com