Student Percussion Group Encourages Teamwork
What do you do when you find some instruments in a storage closet at a local elementary school? If you’re Diane Downs, you create The Louisville Leopard Percussionists.
The Louisville Leopard Percussionists is a nonprofit organization offering comprehensive music education to students in grades K-12 from schools around Louisville, Kentucky. Using percussion instruments, the faculty strives to inspire creativity, discipline and teamwork in young musicians.
The Leopards began as The Fabulous Leopard Percussionists in 1993 after some instruments were found in a storage closet at ML King Elementary School. In the fall of 2003, The Louisville Leopard Percussionists launched as a freestanding community non-profit organization, committed to providing the exciting and enriching Leopard Percussionist experience to all children in the Louisville community.
The organization was started by accident by Diane Downs, Director, Artistic and Executive Director. “I was teaching 2nd/3rd grade at ML King Elementary School in Louisville and was searching for some bulletin board paper. I opened a closet and found a stack of small mallet percussion instruments packed in the corner,” said Downs. She pulled out the instruments and put them into her classroom. Later, she asked the kids if they wanted to play a concert. She said, “Our first gig was at a PTA meeting. Then we played for someone’s grandma at the nursing home, then the mall, then it pretty much exploded from there.”
Using the tagline, “Ordinary kids transformed by an extraordinary musical experience since 1993,” the group looks for everyday, ordinary children from every race, class and color. Children without special advantages or prior musical experience are welcomed. ”We are looking for kids who want to learn,” Downs said.
“Some kids come to us with prior musical experience and ability. Some kids come with no prior experience, and no knowledge of their abilities, but they have the desire to learn. They may be talented, but they just haven’t had the opportunity to find out.”
-Diane Downs, Director, Artistic and Executive Director
The group encourages children to join who possess a good attitude, good temperament and a level of resilience and maturity that will allow them to bounce back if they don’t get the technique right away. They search for students who fly under the radar and may not have outwardly special skills. “After joining The Leopards, they will be transformed into something different. Their confidence and self-esteem grow as their experience in The Leopards grows,” Downs said.
The group was created to enrich the lives of the members. Promoting the kids is the main focus, as every child is a learner, teacher, teammate and coach. The staff actively engages members in helping, teaching and learning from one another. Downs said, “It’s not about the adults – it’s about the kids. The adults are present to cultivate, coach, inspire, and empower the kids and help guide them to the highest potential. We want the kids to be the face of the group.”
The staff promotes an environment characterized by safety, trust, high expectations and positive peer pressure. No one in the group is a star. Kids rotate around so that they experience different parts and different instruments. Sometimes the top learners must take a backseat while weaker players learn to be stronger.
An important aspect of the operation is student-driven. “We try to give the kids ownership in their group,” said Downs. “Anything that can be done by the kids, should be done by the kids. From picking songs, writing their own solos, writing their own drum parts, ideas about the structure of the songs, kids should have an opportunity to have input on all of these areas,” she said. The students pick T-shirt colors, design the back of their shirts, teach summer camp and have a hand in picking the next generation of Leopards. Peer mentoring and support are emphasized as older students teach the younger and advanced performers and help those who have not yet mastered their parts. “We promote peer teachers which allows the weaker player to accomplish a goal and a stronger player to contribute to someone else’s success,” Downs said.
Students come from 53 different Louisville zip codes and 145 different schools in and around the metro area. They accept students into our programs beginning in 2nd grade and the students can stay through high school.
An organization of this magnitude doesn’t happen without a large staff.
Diane Downs is the Founder, Artistic and Executive Director. Ensemble directors include Luke Anderson, Wes Greer, Jackie Royce, Max Neblett, Dani Markham, Pete Jones and Demond Smith. Elijah Smith is the Drum Set Specialist. Zoey Mullins and Allison Cross fill the role of Assistant Ensemble Directors. Additional staff include Caroline Taylor, Operations Director David Williams, Dan Dorff, Mason Allen, Kelsey Lee and all summer camp staff members.
The goal of the group isn’t to produce high-quality musicians, although they do, but to produce high-quality individuals. “Through music, we try to teach the kids life skills they can apply to other areas,” Downs said. The faculty encourages the process of working through a problem through rehearsal, fine-tuning the problem with more rehearsal, editing the challenge with even more rehearsal, presentation during performances and gigs and finally rewards of acknowledgment and other cool opportunities. They focus on all the attributes they need to navigate as adults: teamwork, perseverance, creativity, discipline, community building, confidence, cultural awareness and inclusivity.
The organization has many performances throughout the season, including outdoor festivals, private events, concerts and presentations at music conventions. They typically perform 15-20 shows per year. They have different performing groups. The main group is Advanced & Beginners (A&B) in 2nd-6th grade. Our Steel Drum is made up of students in 7th-11th grades, often accompanied by the A&B students on gigs. A smaller group, Scene 7, is made up of seven middle school students who choose and arrange their own tunes and gig often.
The biggest show of the year is their annual BiG GiG at the historic Brown Theatre in Louisville. Over 170 students are on stage, not a recital, but more of a concert and party. The 2025 BIG GIG is slated for Sunday, April 13, at 2 p.m.The group has a list of accomplishments a mile long, including:
- HBO Special where they traveled to NYC to be the warmup band for the Chick Corea Trio. Leopards Take Manhattan
- Jimmy Page shared their Zeppelin video
- A TedX Convention and played at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
- Viral video playing Crazy Train
- Performing for Ozzy Osborne and his kids and appearing on Ozzy & Jack’s World Detour
- Warm-up band for My Morning Jacket
- Playing with some of the world’s greatest musicians including Ndugu Chandler (Weather Report, Santana, Michael Jackson), Louie Bellson, who wrote a song for them, and Joe Morello, who they played Take 5 with.
You can find many more gigs listed here.
“But some of our very greatest accomplishments are what is happening within our kids,” said Downs. “The excitement (and fear) of playing their first gig – but they did it! – the leadership they display as they grow up in our group, finally understanding how a blues progression works, playing the solo of a lifetime, getting all four legs/limbs to do something different when playing the drum set … those are MAJOR accomplishments that outside people may not see. But we do,” said Downs.
Equipment for the group comes from many places, including lots of donated drum sets. They endorse LP (Latin Percussion), Sabian Cymbals, Evans Drum Heads, Vater Sticks and Yamaha and write grants when new equipment is needed.
Diane has helped a LOT of groups get started, facilitating phone calls and Zoom sessions with people all over the world. To her, it’s all about kids playing music, so she will help anyone interested in starting a group. Other similar groups include We Got The Beat in Fresno, CA, The Vienna Jammers in Vienna, VA, and The Groove Cats in NYC. She has also helped other groups get started in Arkansas, Texas, South Carolina, Florida and England. Downs is currently working with directors in Lexington, KY, and Cincinnati, OH, to start similar programs.
“We don’t have a ‘method’ book. I help people with resources and ideas, where to get stuff, where to get music . . . then they develop how they teach,” Downs said. “I am an alternate learner and had to develop this method based on how I learn and what I knew,” she said.
“You’re a better teacher if you teach your strength so I encourage people to figure out what works best for them – just because it works for me doesn’t mean others can understand it. I’m not a strong music reader so I rely more on hearing and feeling so that’s how Leopards developed.”
-Diane Downs, Director, Artistic and Executive Director
Most children who enter Leopards don’t know how to read music; rather, they have a desire to play. Some learn to read through their school band, but Leopards’ focus with the player is on how the music works: how it is put together, form, theory, age-appropriate phrasing, listening, improv and why music works. The teaching staff is free to teach their strength. The only Leopard requirement is that all music must be memorized when doing gigs.
Since the beginning, The Leopards have taught thousands of students and performed all over the eastern United States. They have appeared at state, national and international conventions in locations including Atlanta, Dayton, Chicago, Indianapolis, Tampa, Columbus, Orlando and Cincinnati. They have opened twice for My Morning Jacket in Louisville, have made five appearances at The Percussive Arts Society International Convention, and played at the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival in Washington, D.C., the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, a TEDx convention in Kansas City, the Superdome in New Orleans and the Forecastle Festival in Louisville.
Understandably, a group with this much instruction requires a budget, partially funded by student fees. Tuition is on a sliding scale based on each family’s budget. Families pick how much they can pay per month. They also have scholarship opportunities available. No students are turned away, despite the family’s ability to pay fees. As with any non-profit organization, grants and donations are vital to the group.
The annual BiG GiG is their major fundraiser that includes a raffle with incredible prizes. They also participate in Give for Good Louisville each September, an annual community day of giving. The group charges minimal amounts for gigs to cover staff pay and instrument transportation.
TO DONATE: Donations can be made through the website.
More about The Louisville Leopard Percussionists
Our mission is to provide a comprehensive musical experience for children that enriches lives and builds community.
Our vision is for participants of diverse backgrounds to develop music appreciation, performance skills, proficiency on a variety of percussion instruments, and learn to improvise, compose, and teach music, and to care for their instruments. These skills build creativity and self-confidence and teach life-long values of personal discipline, cooperation, leadership, responsibility, and community.
Timeline
1993
Found a closet full of instruments at ML King Elementary in West Louisville. Started rehearsals in November 1993 with 24 kids as part of Diane’s regular program class of 2nd and 3rd graders.
1994
First gig at a PTA meeting. The group was officially named The Fabulous Leopard Percussionists – Feb. 10
1995
Gig at Governor’s Mansion, March 3
First newspaper article, March 10
UofL basketball game halftime performance, Dec.
1996
Concert at The Kentucky Music Educators’ Association, Feb. 8
First graduating class of 5th graders, 8 kids, May 1996
Diane received the ExCel Award for teaching excellence, May
1997
Performance at the Indiana State Music Educators’ Association, January
Atlanta International Band & Orchestra Conference, March 12
1998
Received a letter from Carlos Santana, March 10
Played for Coretta Scott King, March 20
Performances at The Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) in Orlando, FL. Two shows on November 4-5
1999
The Percussive Marketing Council declares 1999 the Year of the Leopard.
Performance at PASIC in Columbus, OH with Louie Bellson, October 28
2000
Performance at The International Association for Jazz Education Convention in New Orleans, LA, January 14
Recorded our first CD, Peace, Love, & Drums, April
First summer camp, July
Performance at The Midwest Clinic in Chicago. We were the first elementary aged group to every perform. December 22
2001
Performance at The Kentucky Music Educators’ Association, Feb. 9
Diane received UofL/Rick Pitino “A Hero Among Us” award, December 3
Recorded our 2nd CD, More Peace, Love, & Drums, December
2002
Diane received the 2001 Governor’s Award in the Arts in Education, February 20
Played with Wynton Marsalis in the KY Center lobby for the Kentucky Author Forum
King’s principal Mae Kennerly died, July 20. This marked the end of the FLP
Diane traveled to Cincinnati to meet Carlos Santana, July
First Big Gig at First Unitarian Church, November 24
2003
Performance at The Florida Music Educators’ Association, January 8-11
Night of Original Tunes at UofL ~ Our Farewell to King Concert. May 22
Diane and the Leopards left King Elementary
Incorporated into a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Summer
Started The Louisville Leopard Percussionists. Accepted our first group of community kids, rehearsing at UofL School of Music, September 2003
Received a $2,500 grant from Carlos Santana’s Milagro Foundation, October 2
Performance at PASIC in Louisville with Joe Morello, Emil Richards, Brad Dutz, and Zoro, November (Played Take Five with Joe Morello)
Recorded 3rd CD, New Spots, November
Big Gig at Memorial Auditorium, December 7
2004
Played for the premier of Pulse – A Stomp Odyssey, March
Cover and feature article in Teacher Magazine, August/September
Received Louisville Arts Council Community Award in Music
First Big Gig at The Brown Theater, December 5
2005
Performance at The International Association for Jazz Education Regional Conference in Chicago, IL, April 9
Diane received the Today’s Woman Most Admired Woman in Education Award, May 4
HBO came to summer camp, July
Released 4th CD Fresh Beats and 5th CDBeyond Leopards, May
2006
Performed at The International Association for Jazz Education Conference in New York City as part of our HBO documentary, January 14
2007
Released 6th Leopards Live CD, 2005-2007
2008
HBO’s The Leopards Take Manhattan: The Little Band That Roared released. Premier at The Palace, January 24
Performed with/for the World Championship Jump Rope Team, March 2
Diane received Cable’s Leaders in Learning Award, Washington, D.C., April 18
Performed on the Great Lawn as the warm-up band for My Morning Jacket, August 16
Performed at The Duke Ellington Jazz Festival in Washington, D.C., October 4
2009
Performed with The Louisville Orchestra. Three of our pieces were arranged for the orchestra and they played with us, January 24
Started The Steel Leopards and Leopards Lite, September
Released 7th CD Get Spotted
Performance at PASIC in Indianapolis, November 14
2010
Louisville Magazine listed us at #8 of 50 Things Every Louisvillian Should Do
2011
Performance at The Jazz Education Network Convention in New Orleans, January 8
2012
Performance at the opening night concert for The Jazz Education Network Convention in Louisville, January 4
Released 8th CD In the Spot Light, 2010-2012
2013
Performances in Chicago area schools, April 3-6
2014
Nothing notable happened – just a regular year of rehearsals and gigs
2015
Diane received The Louisville Arts Reach Living the Vision Award at the Keepers of the Dream Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration at the KY Center for the Arts, January 18
Zeppelin Explosion (Jimmy Page shared our Zeppelin video), February 20
Performance for Prince Charles & Camilla at The African American Heritage Center, March 20
Ozzy Osborne sent us $10,000 after seeing our Crazy Train video, April 27
Leopard member Audestie Butler received a $15,000 college fund as part of Knock Knock Live (TV show) where she was featured as a Leopard, July 30
Performance in Kansas City, MO at the TEDxKC Convention, August 28
2016
Performance at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH, June 11
2017
Started our Middle School Ensemble, September 2017
Participated in the “I Go Downtown” video promoting the best of Louisville, July 31
2018
Diane received the John LaPorta Jazz Educator of the Year Award at The Jazz Education Network International Conference in Dallas, TX, January 4. The award was represented at The Berklee College of Music Jazz Festival in Boston, MA, February 11
2019
Performance at the Ohio State Music Educator’s Convention in Cincinnati, OH
2020
No public gigs due to COVID. Focused on small group rehearsals and made 22 videos
2021
Still COVID. Very few gigs
2022
Performed as the Warmup Band for My Morning Jacket
Tied for 1st place with Drag Daddy Productions for the Best Performing Arts Group in Leo’s Readers’ Choice Awards
2023
Celebrated our 30th Birthday
Started Leopard Learners – drumming and tutoring partnership
2024
Moved to a new rehearsal space
Started group drum set classes
Runner Up for a Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Ethics
