Ben Schwartz is currently a Music Technology teacher for the Newark Public Schools. While earning a Music Education degree at the Mason Gross School of the Arts (Rutgers), Ben studied classical percussion with marimba virtuoso She-e Wu, and also studied with DCI hall of fame inductee Dennis Delucia. A gifted musical arranger, Ben has worked with some of the top names in the drum corps world, including Jim Prime Jr. and Larry Kerchner. He has taught and arranged music for several competitive high school Marching Bands and Drum and Bugle Corps in the United States. As a performing musician, Ben keeps an active freelance career as a drummer and percussionist and leads his own small jazz group, Men of Jazz. He has been coached by some of the top jazz musicians in the world, including Stanley Cowell, Ralph Bowen, Tommy Igoe, Andy Eulau, Tim Horner, and Bernard Purdie. Ben has won the DCA I&E Drum Set competition 3 times in 2006, 2009, and 2010. In 2012, Ben represented New Jersey in School, Band, and Orchestra Magazine as one of the "50 Directors Who Make a Difference" and was awarded the Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction in 2019. Ben proudly holds an M.A. in Music Education from New Jersey City University. He resides in Woodbridge Twp., NJ with his beautiful wife Robyn, and his daughter Skylar and son Zachary.