Alba International Music (AIM) Academy is launching soon in the US, growing out of its Philippine-based origins, the Michael Alba Drum Program (MADP). Any musician who has heard, seen, and followed the legendary Filipino drummer Michael Alba would be excited of the news. Now MADP is expanding its presence to offer its sough-after music program to musicians all over the world!
But what makes AIM Academy special? To understand the “phenom” of this newly instituted school, we need to take you back to where it all started.
Who is Michael Alba
Michael Alba is one of the most sought after session drummer in the Philippines, a land teeming with world class musicians and singers. Mike Alba is on top of the food chain, so to speak, and has built a name that is synonymous to quality and reliability. He plays for local artists like KZ Tandingan, Regine Velasquez, Ogie Alcasid, and Lanie Misalucha, just to name a few. He is also a known studio drummer recording tracks for many notable artists in the Philippines. A graduate of LA Music Academy, he has built a career not just centered on drums but also in music arrangement and doing musical scores for TV shows.
But that’s not all. He is a respected clinician and drums teacher and this is the genesis of his famed Michael Alba Drum Program or MADP.
Michael Alba Drum Program
M.A.D.P. is one of the country’s premiere drum schools that has produced many of the Philippine’s top session drummers. Notable graduates of MADP includes SouthBorder drummer and a prolific session drummer himself, Joseph Marco Concepcion, the legendary Benjie Mendez, drummer of Franco, Victor Guison, and many more. It has proven to be one of the most effective, credible, and successful drum programs ever in the music education industry.
Mike Alba built this school from scratch with materials all made by him. The syllabus is designed to make professional drumming more accessible to people who are motivated enough to pursue it. While many claim it to be a “tough” program, the lesson progression is set so well that drummers grow into the program and become better overtime.
MADP then came up with a groundbreaking program called the “MADP 3-Day Masterclass” and this has drawn hundreds of drummers all over the Philippines (new schedules are set for Canada and New Zealand) to learn the drums together with their peers. The result is a hybrid model of a drum camp/clinic/technical impartation rolled into one. The atmosphere is fun and electric, the learning sessions are full of sustenance and the bonding between musicians is incomparable. This is the “magic” of the MADP Masterclass, which has propelled Mike Alba’s popularity.
Just a few years back, MADP also expanded to different music departments – keyboard, guitar, bass, and voice. These departments are built on the same platform that the original drum program was built – to make it easier and accessible for musicians to access simplified music education. This is to ensure growth in music and readiness to take on the challenges of professional musicianship.
Transitioning to AIM Academy
The Initial success of MADP in the Philippines has proven to be very limited for the opportunities and potential of the program. This is the reason why AIM Academy was made and decided to be based in the US. Now with its global reach, more drummers and musicians alike can access the quality education this new music school can offer top its students which includes music professionals who want to pursue continuous advanced music education.
This transition marks the birth of a better and bigger MADP in the world stage. With Michael Alba as its program director, the sky is the limit for its future growth. But what makes AIM Academy special? The answer might surprise you. It’s music wellness. As Mike Alba traveled the country for the 3-day Masterclasses, he saw how music impacts people not only at the skill level of a musician but also his wellness as a human being. He have seen Masterclass participants turned their life around for the better just by attending the live event.
And so AIM Academy is not just an expanded MADP, it is a program refined for more people not just to learn music but to improve their lives for the better. This makes this global move exciting.
