Alex Salvador has been playing hand drums since 1997 and has studied under various drumming teachers including internationally renowned Djembe Master - Famoudou Konate from Guinea, West Africa.
Originally from the Philippines and residing in Townsville for over 16 years, Alex has contributed to the growth of the drumming scene in Townsville and surrounding regions through his establishment of two percussion groups - TUMBADORAS and WASSA, founding of the Full Moon Drum Circles and through his involvement with various events in the community including the Cultural Fest, Festival of Drums (as part of the Queensland Biennial Festival of Music) and countless other percussion related events and concerts in the region.
He has also conducted numerous drumming workshops (djembe and congas) and drum circles throughout North Queensland in the past few years.
Alex's passion for drumming has seen him travelling around Australia and even as far as Papua New Guinea where he performed with his group - WASSA for the Hiri Moale Festival as part of a delegation from Townsville.Alex has also traveled to Ecuador, Brazil, Tunisia, Cuba, Guinea, Morocco, USA and parts of Europe where he witnessed first hand the use of traditional hand drums in its cultural context.
He is currently employed at James Cook University as the AusAID Liaison Officer - a position that he holds full-time - working with International Students who have received scholarships to study at JCU from all around the world.
One of Alex's future goals is to teach West African Percussion in schools all over North Queensland and his month-long stint in West Africa in 2003 has provided him with good solid knowledge of the drumming culture of Guinea. His current leadership of the drumming group WASSA also holds testament to his abilities and skills in the art of West African Drumming. Alex holds group workshops or individual lessons on Djembe, Dunduns and Congas.
Alex's first instrument is the piano which he has been playing since he was eight years old and in his young life has picked up other instruments including guitar, didgeridoo and a variety of drums and percussion instruments.
