Val Hamilton started playing the drums when he was just three years old. Now, more than ten years later, Val is a student at Thurgood Marshall High School in San Francisco. He has a drum set at home, where he practices whenever he has time, and he says he also likes to "make beats."

When he was a student at James Lick Middle School, he took a drumming class with Music in Schools Today's Achieving through Music Program Director Deb Bradway. Through that program, Val was one of five students selected to attend Arthur Hull's Village Music Circles Facilitators Workshop at Camp Mokuleia on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii. This trip was funded by a generous grant from SAMHSA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

The goal of this workshop is to have the students go back into their communities and lead drumming circles with other youth. Val recently led a group of Achieving Through Music students at the Revival Music Festival at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park in front of hundreds of people (photos above).

Val's favorite music to play and to listen to are Rap and Gospel. His favorite Rap star is Master P, and his favorite Gospel musician is Kirk Franklin. Someday, Val would like to be a professional producer of both Rap and Gospel music.

The people who have been the greatest inspiration to Val are his brother, his mother and his grandmother. We look forward to hearing more from Val as he moves forward with his musical experiences!