John olsson

TEACHING ARTIST

 John Olsson is a highly accomplished drummer, musician, educator, producer, performer, and live dance / movement accompanist with over 30 years of professional experience. Since 2016, he has accompanied dance classes at Colorado Ballet. Now serving as a dedicated musician and educator for Colorado Ballet’s Education and Outreach department since 2022, he enjoys bringing rhythm, artistry, and creativity, along with the countless added health benefits that the arts naturally develop and deliver to the next generation of musicians, dancers, and all people. His extensive background as a dance accompanist includes over 15 years at the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Academy, where he has supported a multitude of dance styles, in a addition to multiple travels to West Africa and other parts of the world with years of immersion in practicing the many synergistic correlations between music and movement.

An expert in percussion education with over 20 years experience, Mr. Olsson holds seasonal adjunct faculty positions in higher education, teaching world and contemporary drumming and music at Metropolitan State University, DIME-Denver, and serving as a professor of concert percussion pedagogy at Colorado Christian University, while primarily running his own private music and drum teaching studio. His commitment to community education has been further reflected in his work teaching general music across multiple Denver Metro area schools over a span of many years. A Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA.) alumnus, his global studies in West Africa and long-standing partnership with the Koffi Togo Cultural Center Foundation inform his unique approach to rhythm and culture. John continues to perform regularly with multiple area churches as well as with a variety of nationally acclaimed bands in concerts, wedding venues, and jazz clubs, as well as in numerous musical theater pit orchestras, including at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. John remains very passionate about his livelihood to make music and share engagement with others while being forever enthralled with the tremendous healing benefits and vast awareness that the symbiosis of music and movement brings to all living beings! For more information; check out John's music label, Sunday Special Studios, and JohnOlssonMusic.com.