About The Collector

Michael Lloyd Curotto was an early Christmas present to Duke and Rene Curotto on December 23, 1949 in San Mateo, California. He started playing drums in November of 1959, decided that he wanted to be a professional drummer at age 12 and began teaching privately in 1963.

He has studied with many of the top drumset and percussion teachers in the San Francisco Bay Area and received a Bachelor's Degree in Percussion under the expert teaching of Anthony Cirone from San Jose State University in 1972. Since then he has kept a busy private lesson-teaching schedule (50 + hours a week) at The Gelb Music Teaching Institute in Redwood City, CA and continues to freelance as a drummer in the SF Bay Area.

He currently resides in San Carlos, California with his wife Nga and 17-year-old daughter Angela. The vintage snare drum collecting "bug" bit in March of 1995 after a trade with vintage drum collector/dealer and friend Sam Adato in San Francisco, CA. Mike's vintage snare drums can be seen in the monthly "Classic Column" of Drum! Magazine. Mike is also a contributing author for Not So Modern Drummer Magazine and Classic Drummer Magazine and his snare drums and articles have been featured in Harry Cangany's "Collectors Corner" in Modern Drummer Magazine. As of this printing The Curotto Collection numbers 425 + vintage snare drums....and counting.

Mike Curotto

March 2006