Students at a York secondary school were ‘Rockin’ All Over the World’ this week when world-renowned, former Status Quo drummer, Jeff Rich, dropped in to lead an unforgettable drum and percussion workshop.
Jeff hosted the high-energy workshop for 200 lucky Millthorpe School students, who all came together in a rousing number at the end of the session.
Jeff, who spent 16 years touring globally and recording 14 albums with Status Quo, shared stories from his career – including playing to 250,000 fans at Knebworth – and offered students a unique insight into life as a professional musician.
During the workshop, Jeff explained how he got into the music business, from playing in bands in school to playing and recording with many famous artists including Stretch, Judie Tzuke, The Climax Blues Band, Def Leppard and of course, Status Quo. He then talked about the development of the drum and the technological changes that have developed through the centuries. The students also got to see and hear Jeff play a range of different drums, including African drums, old European military drums and a modern snare drum.
Jeff treated the students to an expert solo performance which wowed the audience, and a few students had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try out his personal drum kit.
Alice Longbottom, Subject Lead: Music at Millthorpe School said “What an incredible workshop! Jeff is so skilled and knowledgeable – it was such a treat to hear him play and listed to his story. The highlight for me though was the grand finale, where all 200 students played percussion instruments alongside Jeff on the drums. It was simply fantastic! Huge thanks to Jeff for giving our students such an amazing opportunity.”
Isaac Else, a Year 10 student at Millthorpe added “This was a really fun session. It was one of the best school days so far for me! I loved that Jeff explained the chronological development of the drums and that everyone got to have a go at playing. I’m a drummer, so it felt amazing to be able to play for such a great drummer and get positive feedback from him. It was really fun having hundreds of people making noise together!”
Millthorpe’s Acting Principal, Kavina Rothenburg said “We’re so grateful to Jeff for hosting this workshop, which was a perfect mixture of fun, interesting facts and of course, music! Experiences like this don’t just enrich our curriculum – they create lasting memories for our students. We feel very fortunate to have had Jeff share his passion and expertise with us.”
2 May 2025
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