U.S. Winner Takes Home Top Prize In Shure “Drum Mastery 2019” Contest

CHICAGO, July 9, 2019—Renowned session drummer legend Ash Soan and an all-star drummer jury selected the winners of “Drum Mastery 2019,” a Shure contest aimed at giving unsung percussionists the glory they deserve.

The grand prize goes to Daniel Kelly II, a drummer from Hampton, Virginia, in the United States. Daniel’s creative approach and colorful rhythmic styles won over the jury. His playing styles include Gospel, Jazz, R&B, Rock, Latin, and even Classical.

Kelly will receive a five-day, all-expense paid trip to London, where he will take part in a masterclass with Soan and a drum-miking workshop with a pro studio engineer at Metropolis Studios. His prize also includes $5,000 worth of Shure gear.

Second place goes to Matthias Knorr from Germany, while Carlos Arturo Hernández Cubillos from Colombia placed third. They will receive $3,000 and $1,000 in Shure gear, respectively.

"This was not easy as there were so many amazing candidates," said Taylor Gordon, U.S. jury member who helped decide the winner. "I'm inspired."

Kelly topped a field of more than 1,000 video submissions from 38 countries. Drummers were required to showcase their skills by playing solo without any musical accompaniment. Videos uploaded to the contest website (drum-mastery.shure.com) had to collect at least 50 votes from the public to be considered for further judging.

After Shure determined 38 Country Winners, the jury consisting of Ash Soan (UK), Taylor Gordon (US), Tobias Derer (GER), Takashi Kashikura (JPN), and Shiguang Cui (CHN) selected the top three finalists. Each Country Winner received a prize package, including a Shure MV88+ Video Kit and a pair of Shure SE215 Sound Isolating™ Bluetooth Earphones.

"Congratulations to our top three winners, and thank you to everyone who took part in the contest,” said Jens Rothenburger, Director of Global Marketing for Musician and Consumer Audio at Shure. "We were truly impressed by the high quality of submissions."

Kicking off at NAMM 2019, the contest accepted submissions from January 24 to April 15, 2019. The public voting period ran through May 6, 2019. The contest was open to drummers from Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China (including Hong Kong), Colombia, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Turkey.

For more information on all of the winners, please visit https://drum-mastery.shure.com/app/winners.