Fred C. Beyer High School
Band & Color Guard Staff

Murray Gusseck has been a musician since the age of 7 when he studied piano and violin. At age 15 he took up playing the drums and has been performing in bands ever since. Murray made his mark as a teacher and composer with the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps, of which he was both a performer and instructor for over 15 years. He became nationally known for a unique compositional style, a signature sound, and a propensity for achieving a smooth drumset-oriented approach to this musical genre. He is the author of Parking Lot Etudes and co-author of Fresh Perspectives For The Modern Drumline, published by Tapspace Publications, both of which have grown to be mainstream publications in the world of marching percussion.

Murray attended San Jose State University in San Jose, CA as a music major specializing in world music. During this time he studied with Dan Sabanovich, Hafez Modirzadeh, Royal Hartigan, and C.K. Ladzekpo. In 1998 he joined up with schoolmates Nima Rezai and Dan Heflin to form “Merge,” an eclectic world fusion trio consisting of Chapman Stick, sax, and drums. The group toured and performed in northern and southern California for several years, producing their self-titled CD “Merge".

Currently Murray lives in Vancouver, WA where he can play his drums and see more quality films. He is sponsored by Pearl Drums, Remo drumheads, Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth drumsticks, and Xymox practice pads.