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Virgil is known amongst professional drummers
as a technical virtuoso, having developed incredible
power and flexibility (whilst playing traditional
grip), mastered polyrhythyms, odd-time playing
and intricate phrasing, attained blinding quickness
and powerful, metronomic precision - all with
a rare attention to showmanship and visual playing.
While currently carving a career in Los Angeles
while maintaining his busy schedule of clinics,
Virgil's diverse influences of rock, jazz, and
fusion from the likes of Miles, Coltrane, Buddy,
Deep Purple, Carl Palmer, Zeppelin, The Police
and Soundgarden all contribute to his tremendous
performance.
But it is no secret that it's Virgil's feet that
have gained him the most attention, both in Australia
and internationally. Having developed incredible
speed both with single and double-stroke rolls
on the bass drums, he is able to hold complex,
often odd-time and syncopated ostinatos at ridiculous
tempos with his feet whilst soloing freely and
musically with his hands.
Donati is beginning to be recognized as one of
the true enduring masters - hence this quote from
Modern Drummer Awards' Hall of Famer Dave Weckl
- "I mean look at Virgil. Imagine how much
you'd have to practice to get that good!"
Since moving to the United States, Virgil has
joined Derek Sherinian's L.A. prog-metal group
Planet X, and either with this group or solo,
he's been causing heads to turn and jaws to drop
across the country, on the clinic trail, and setting
new performance standards for the L.A. studio
scene.
Click here to visit his official website!
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