Founded by internationally renowned drummer and percussionist, Aldo Mazza, KoSA was developed as an offshoot to world-class percussion workshops held in Vermont and Cuba. Now in its sixth year, the school has grown steadily in that time and Mazza would like to see KoSA play a leading role in local music instruction.

“We started this academy as the focal point for all our international activities, meaning a place with all the top of the line instruments we would ever need. An ideal situation, where we have a great program connected to the music industry, top level people coming in and a real network… kind of like a Berkley north,” he said.

Billed as a drum and percussion center, KoSA (a take on “la cosa”, Italian and Spanish for “the thing”) also offers lessons in guitar, bass and voice. In addition, they’ll be rolling out new ensemble programs this year, with their “Band Match” option matching students with a band, and then working the group in an organized, supervised way.

“The music programs in schools have been slowly decaying, so there’s a real need for good instruction,” Mazza said.

Benjamin Garant-Pruneau, a drum instructor who has been teaching at KoSA for two years, agrees, and he believes the Academy’s strength is its diversity, which he attributes to Mazza.

“When I first came here I was playing Iron Maiden and Metallica, and he got me to open my mind to a lot of styles. He’s a world musician, bringing together a lot of Brazilian, Cuban, and African roots, and mixing that together,” he said.

Bass player and NDG resident, Michel Semienchuk, had not heard of KoSA before the event, but he was glad a school with an ambitious worldview was developing in his own backyard.

“My first reaction was that it looked like a small ‘mom and pop’ type of place, but I came away really impressed, the owner really knows what he’s talking about. I might take some lessons,” he said.

Shane Barrett, an Australian drummer who only recently moved to the area, was also impressed with KoSA, explaining that he wasn’t sure something similar existed in his hometown of Sydney.

“In Australia most people want to learn rock, or heavy rock, so it’s great that there’s such an emphasis on different styles here,” he said.

Embracing the music of the world may be something new then for many, but Mazza believes KoSA Academy is simply filling a void.

“I think this is something we need here, and Montreal is a good place for it. Certainly there’s enough talent here, and we want to encourage, structure and support that talent with professional guidance,” he said.

“The mission is to have the top of everything.”

For more information on KoSA Academy, please visit: www.kosamusic.com