Steven Angel is the founder and President of the Drumming for Your Life Institute (DFYL) a non-profit organization based in Santa Monica. He is the creator of all DFYL programs which are dedicated to using the power of rhythm to help children and youth develop academic, emotional, and social skills that they need to succeed in school and in life.
Steven started playing the drums at age three. He was a child prodigy and his first performance was sitting in with the legendary Buddy Rich’s band at age six. By age 12, his band was opening for Herman’s Hermits and The Animals, playing for crowds from 5,000 to 25,000 a night while touring the US and Canada. At age 16, Steven recorded with Jimi Hendrix.
In 1998, Steven created the Life Skills Drumming Program to help at-risk youth deal with impulsive behavior and learn self-empowerment. The Los Angeles Times, CNN, and NBC, ran in-depth coverage on his work. Shortly after, Steven created the Rhythm of Learning in-classroom program, which uses rhythm and other techniques in all subjects to help students achieve higher grades and improve their behavior. Since 2002, Steven has implemented the Reading and Rhythm Program as an in-school and after-school program. Steven has successfully trained facilitators who have worked in over 40 schools, juvenile halls, and detention camps. The Drumming for Your Life Institute has contracts with the Los Angeles County Office of Education, Department of Mental Health, Los Angeles Unified School District, Soledad Enrichment Action, and other notable organizations.
Through generous grants, Steven facilitated the Rhythm of Learning Professional Development workshops reaching more than 1,200 teachers over a five-year period. Additionally, Steven has worked with patients recovering from addiction, trauma, and mental illness at Moonview Sanctuary, Bridges to Recovery, The Los Angeles Veteran’s Hospital, Olive Vista, the Mary Lind Foundation, and the Genesis House. Through drumming, patients with addiction and/or mental illness are able to express and heal deep emotional wounds in a short period of time. Patients gain a better understanding of their behavioral patterns and develop the ability to change their relationship to those patterns.
Steven and his team are presently in the process of starting their own charter elementary school, The Rhythm of Learning, in the MacArthur Park area of Los Angeles.
For his work in education and therapy, Steven is listed in the Marquis Who’s Who in America and the Marquis Who’s Who in the World.