Seattle Area Drum Teachers

James Borchers

James is a composer and musician with vast experience in multiple genres of music. Many prominent contemporary music ensembles have performed his compositions and he has performed as a musician in many different settings throughout the United States and abroad.

As an active and versatile music educator he has taught numerous courses at the college level including music theory, music technology, world music, class piano, and percussion ensemble. He has also taught a variety of classes and workshops for elementary to high school age children. He is currently the instructor of music at Skagit Valley College. 

Through his teaching, James hopes to inspire students in the pursuit of an individual creative voice that will meaningfully contribute to the larger music community. 

Wesley Speight

Wes Speight, a singer/songwriter originally from Tennessee, has played many of the venues in Seattle WA and Nashville TN and has toured to places such as Vancouver BC, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Louisville KY, Manchester TN and Manhattan NY. His music varies widely from bluesy to tribal to acoustic rock.

Speight's music career began in his teens, dabbling at piano and drums. He bought his first guitar at 19 and "started writing bad songs right away." He has since become a bit of a musical virtuoso, adding harmonica, bass, synthesizer/keyboard, mandolin, and percussion to his list. He is also a creative film maker who aspires to compose the musical score for a film someday. Music, says Speight, "is my reason."

Speight's first album, Please EP, was released in 2008 under an independent label. Since then he has released 4 more full length albums independently: 2011's Lie & Wish, 2012's Hackneyed and 2014's Transmigration. In addition to teaching guitar, piano, and percussion, Wesley teaches songwriting through the University of Washington Experimental College.