Greetings, fellow drummers! I’m very excited to introduce Upbeat Outreach to the drumming community. My name is Mike Wrench, and I am a drummer and clinician whose passion is exploring the endless abilities in the realm of drumming. You can find me speaking and teaching at events from Rich Redmond’s Drummers Weekend to my local YMCA and regional development centers.

As someone who is passionate for drumming and understands the difficulties of a personal disability like ADD/ADHD and anxiety, I would go to work feeling like I didn’t belong. I questioned if my life was going anywhere and had anxiety burden me each day. I needed to do something about it, so I stepped out of my comfort zone to pursue my dream. Doing so gave me the courage and wisdom to look beyond myself, and thus Upbeat Outreach was born. Our main mission is to help students with disabilities use percussion instruments as a means of communication, therapy, and an expression of what individuals hear and feel in their heart. Its mission is to reach children and adults with the same common goal—understanding the beauty in how we are all different.

When given an opportunity to be expressive, nothing can get in your way. Playing the drums is like no other experience in my opinion. Using this instrument has saved my life in more ways than one.

With that, I am very enthusiastic about traveling to your location to work with your students, patients, parents, teachers, and aides. This program is utilized by many walks of life. The direct impact of drumming in my life carries over to my students. Having my own struggles has helped me to develop effective, therapeutic means of overcoming the obstacles of physical, emotional, and mental handicaps. Cheers to your drumming future! Advertisement

Visit Mike Wrench and Upbeat Outreach at www.upbeatoutreach.com, www.facebook.com/mikewrenchdrummer/, and www.mikewrench.com/mission.html.