Bateria (Drumming) Teachers

Our fantastic Bateria (samba drumming) teachers are brilliant at getting you to play samba in London within minutes of joining any of our classes! You don’t need any musical experience, and it is a fun way to learn a new skill, bang on some drums and make new friends!

Bateria (Drumming) Teachers

The London School of Samba started with just a bateria section (drumming only) and quickly expanded to hundreds of members. Each week the bateria practice their skills and timing with other members so that they are ready for performances throughout the year. Leading up to the Notting Hill Carnival, the bateria concentrates on the current year’s theme song.

The London School of Samba is always looking for experienced players to join the Samba Show Bateria! For more information about how you can learn, perform and be a part of the fun lovely samba-mad people of the London School of Samba send us an email to Bateria Show Band at [email protected]

Anyone with some serious samba or drumming experience is welcome to come down and join in with the fun, additionally, we run weekly workshops for both beginner and experienced drummers. Joining the London School of Samba Show Band comes with a steep learning curve, so natural ability and a commitment to learning all our material is a must!

Read on for a little more about our current Samba Drumming teachers and their experience.

Mestre Fred

Mestre Fred is the Musical Director for the London School of Samba. He has been involved with many of the samba (and samba fusion) groups in London, including being the founder of Casa da Cachaca, a founding member of B-Loco, Bloco Vida, Chapa Quente, Verde Vai and Sambal. He has also been the musical director of Barking Bateria, Queijo Processado and Rhythms of Resistance. As well performing with Rhythms of the City, Sambattalion, Tropicalia Show and toured with famous Rio bloco ‘Monobloco’ on their UK tour in 2007.

He has performed with our Madrinha (Godmother) samba school from Rio de Janeiro, Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel at carnival in 2010. Additionally, their sister school Unidos de Padre Miguel in 2012 and Sereno de Campo Grande in 2008 as well as delivering samba drumming workshops across the globe.

Mestre Mags

Mags is one of the bateria directors. He was Musical Director between 2000 and 2007, leading the bateria at events in Algeria, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and 8 times at Notting Hill Carnival (NHC). He led the bateria when it won the Samba category for the first time in the 2006 HNC and introduced the use of effective choreography in front of the judges at NHC the same year.

A performer in bands since 1980, he founded LSS via Batucada Mandela in 1990. He has been an active member of the gigging bateria since 1991, and has performed 30 times at the Notting Hill Carnival. He began teaching at LSS workshops in 1995.

As well as being a member of the various committees that ran LSS for many years, he was also responsible for delivering the LSS Outreach drum workshops in schools between 2000-2010 and was Outreach Director 2007-2010. He has taught samba in both primary and secondary schools in 22 London boroughs and has helped set up numerous samba groups in schools across London.

Currently, he works as a music teacher with various music services in London, and is Musical Director of Bloco Maluco, a group the LSS became Madrinha (Godmother) to in 2014. He has played with a samba school at the carnival in Rio, and various blocos in Salvador.

He has been Carnival Director three times – 2017 (when the LSS won the carnival), 2022 & 2024.

He has been the historian and archivist of the school since 1995 and has established the LSS Historical Archives on Flickr and a music archive of the school on Bandcamp.

He is currently the longest-serving member of the London School of Samba and a Life Member of the school.

Kitty Brown

Kitty joined us from Essex Samba back in 2012 where she performed and also directed the bateria with them.

Starting on caixa (small drum) she quickly made her name on tamborim and began to learn the other samba instruments within the bateria of LSS. Appointed Bateria Director in 2017, Kitty has excelled in her field. Kitty also plays with Casa da Cachaca in London.

She has appeared on many stages ranging from All Points East and the Olympic Closing Ceremony and often travels the planet visiting other samba schools and blocos spreading the feeling of community to the samba world.

Phil Niklowitz

Phil joined our group in 2009 just missing out on Notting Hill Carnival and our 25th anniversary that year.

Starting on caixa he quickly made his name on Surdo (particularly terceira) and began to learn the other samba instruments within the bateria of LSS. Appointed Bateria Director in 2017, Phil has excelled in his field.

He has appeared on many stages ranging from All Points East and the Olympic Closing Ceremony and often travels the planet visiting other samba schools and blocos spreading the feeling of community to the samba world.

Stacey Fawcett

Stacey joined our group back in 2016 just missing out on Notting Hill Carnival that year and is a graded percussionist and all-round rhythm fanatic.

Starting on caixa (small drum) she quickly made her name on caixa and moved on to repique whilst learning the other samba instruments within the bateria of LSS. Appointed Bateria Director in 2021, Stacey has excelled in her field.

She performed at the All Points East Festival with the Bombay Bicycle Club plays with Casa da Cachaca in London as well as participating in the Union of the Isles project in Scotland – a UK-wide initiative with sambistas from all over the country.

Erik Wennerberg

Erik joined us from Samba New York!, in 2019 after having just moved to the UK. Erik is from Sweden and he started playing with Uppsala Samba School in Samba São Miguel in 2007.

In Sweden, he also reinforced the baterias of samba schools ABunda and Maravilha do Samba for international carnivals including the Coburg Samba Festival. Erik regularly travels to Brazil where he has played with Me Esquece and other blocos (small samba groups). He plays both samba batucada and pagode and enjoys composing arrangements for both styles. Appointed Bateria Director in 2022, Erik is our latest asset to the bateria director team.

Eoin Travers

Eoin joined us from Beat n Drum Samba in Northern Ireland back in 2013 after having just moved to the UK. He had taught sessions and directed with them

A solid caixa player he then most of the other samba instruments within the bateria of LSS. Appointed Bateria Director in 2020 Eoin delights the bateria with his solid rhythms and true gentlemanship. Eoin also plays with Casa da Cachaca in London.

MUSICIANS (performing)

Xavier Osmir (Inteprete)

Xavier joined the LSS from Academicos do Madueria back in 1997 and is a professional Brazilian singer who home school is Vai Vai in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He sings (and plays the percussion) for many groups in the UK. Including Samba de Bamba UK (London), Samba de Raiz (London), Viramundo (London), Rhythms of the City (London) and Bloco B (Bristol) as well as just playing the percussion for Tropicalia Show and Brazilian Fantasy UK, but to name a few. He is arguably the most notable Brazilian samba singer in the UK with a career spanning 3 decades.

Paul Rumbol (Cavaco)

Paul joined the LSS from Academicos do Madueria back in 1997 and is a professional guitarist and singer. He founded his own group Viramundo and still performs with them today. He also performs with Samba de Raiz as well as other groups and has been a solid member throughout the history of the LSS.

Christopher Mullins-Silverstein (Puxador)

Chris is a former Musical Director. He joined the London School of Samba in 2011. He has previously been a member of both percussion and symphonic groups in the United States. Chris is now part of the team of musicians who play and sing the Samba enredo (Brazilian carnival songs) for the school.

The enredo is the music that accompanies the samba school whilst it parades during carnival. Chris is now an official “puxador” or samba singer for the London School of Samba.

The Puxador is a samba singer who sings the samba theme songs called samba enredos for a samba school. The word “puxar” in Portuguese means to “pull” and it references that the singer sets the tempo and the energy of the song and the group at practice or at a parade.

Vik Choudhuri (Cavaco)

Vik is a former Bateria Director. He joined the London School of Samba in 2011. His samba journey has taken him through the instruments (notably tamborim) before cutting his teeth as a bateria director. But since then he has taken an impressive journey in mastering the cavaco and has played many shows and sessions with his exceptional talents.

John Hicks (Violao / Cavaco)

John joined the London School of Samba in the early 2000’s at Notting Hill Carnival and became a staple of the LSS way. Relocating to Paris, France and joining one of our sister schools Aquarela de Paris, John manages to join us for each Notting Hill Carnival to play Cavaco or violao as well as joining us in Coburg for the International Samba Festival.

John is also one of our Trustees.

Bateria (Drumming) Teachers