Chris Hodges

Founder & CEO | Drum Tutor

Chris’ passion for drumming was ignited at the age of 12 via inspirational trip to Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club to see legendary New Orleans funk artist Dr John. Shortly after the gig at Ronnie's he started taking drum lessons, and soon busied himself transcribing Hendrix tracks with the help of his teacher. On leaving school, Chris was told that if he was serious about drums there was only one person to see - Bob Armstrong. People often say that he looks really relaxed when playing the drums.  This all stems from nine years of hard graft with Bob, who proved to be a mentor not only to Chris, but to a whole generation of London’s aspiring young drummers.

Following Higher Education studies at the University of Bristol, Chris moved to London and founded The Rhythm Studio, a contemporary music school in West London, and simultaneously embarked on a session drumming career. During this period, Chris recorded two studio albums his band Royal Treatment Plant, Halfway To The Sun and Hope Is Not Enough, a celebrated album of the week on Huw Stephens' BBC Radio 1 show.  As well as studio work, a busy live schedule with electro-pop artist Bright Light Bright Light took Chris on tour supporting Ellie Goulding, onstage at Hammersmith Apollo, Bestival and Koko, and overseas to perform SXSW festival in Austin.

A passion for music education, a love of teaching and an inspirational collection of like-minded colleagues, resulted in the development of a unique community at The Rhythm Studio where young musicians discover a place to belong.  In 2011, Chris founded The Rhythm Studio Foundation, a registered charity that works alongside The Rhythm Studio to widen access to music education opportunities via scholarships, contemporary music programmes for schools, and workshops on the paediatric wards at London hospitals. Meanwhile, Chris spent 10 memorable years on the board of trustees of music for social action project Nucleo, and launched The Rhythm Studio’s state-funded sixth form programme, a vocational course that enables young people to pursue their dreams of working in the creative industries.

Chris continues in his role as CEO & Founder of The Rhythm Studio, teaching drums and overseeing the running of the school’s sixth form programme, after-school and weekend classes, holiday camps, and the community work delivered by The Rhythm Studio Foundation.