Ellen Mayer is a German percussionist, educational author and teacher. She grew up bilingually thanks to her English mother and started playing music at the age of 6. After finishing school she studied latin percussion at the ‘Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst’ in Mannheim, Germany with Prof. José J. Cortijo. Ellen Mayer was awarded a scholarship to study Brazilian percussion with Prof. Jorge Sacramento in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. She also travelled to Havana, Cuba to take lessons with Tomás ‘El Panga’ Ramos.

As a percussionist she toured with Robin Gibb (Bee Gees) and Pete York (The Spencer Davis Group) and the interactive drum show ‘Drum-Conversation’. Ellen Mayer has published a series of 4 educational books for Schott Music called ‘World Of Percussion Conga’, ‘World Of Percussion Bongo’, ‘World Of Percussion Cajón’ and ‘World Of Percussion Djembé’.

She teaches at the music department of the „Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität“ in Munich and the „Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst“ in Mannheim, Germany.

Ellen Mayer is a member and advisory council for ‘Percussion Creativ’ the German drum community and sponsored by Meinl Percussion and Meinl Cymbals.