The New School Content.
For over a quarter-century, Amir Ziv has been a cornerstone of The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. His tenure is defined by the creation of the institution’s core drum curriculum—a rigorous, comprehensive system that has become the blueprint for modern improvisational training in New York City.
Architecture of Sound Philosophy.
As the designer of the Drum Sight-Reading and Percussion Ensemble programs, Ziv’s approach moves beyond traditional technique. He teaches the Architecture of Sound: a philosophy grounded in the belief that a master musician must first be a master listener, capable of identifying and navigating the "harmonic rhythms" present in any musical environment..
Student Success
The impact of Ziv’s teaching is best measured by the success of his students. Graduates of his programs at The New School have gone on to define the sound of the 21st century, performing and recording with global icons including Kendrick Lamar, St. Vincent, The Mars Volta, Kamasi Washington, and Snarky Puppy.
LAAP.
In addition to his academic leadership, Amir is the founder of the Living Arts Apprenticeship Program (LAAP), an immersive program dedicated to deepening artists’ expression, practice, and way of life. The ultimate goals of the program is not only improvement in technique but a nature-based expansion of awareness, a deepening of artistic point of view, and a reignited commitment to making lifelong contributions in their chosen field.