Behind the Music: Willie Rast

Willie Rast was born in 1979 in Leesburg, FL, and moved to Wildwood shortly after. He started playing drums as soon as he could walk. He learned everything about the music business from his father Jim Rast, who was an established professional musician in the Central Florida area. Playing music all through middle and high school, he moved to Annapolis, Maryland, on a college lacrosse scholarship. After two years, he returned to Orlando to begin his music degree at Valencia Community College and completed his bachelor's degree at Rollins College in Winter Park. After college, he joined the band that his father had founded before he was born, eventually assuming leadership of the band after his father retired in 2022. Aside from his band, Willie was a performer in the Disney band British Revolution as well as the Studio Brass Band at Universal Studios. As the leader of many tribute show bands, he has performed all over the world, including Canada, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas, and even did two USO tours for the US Armed Forces in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar as part of their 4th of July celebrations. Aside from a busy touring and playing schedule, he runs a thriving percussion studio, teaching between 25 and 30 private percussion lessons a week during the school year, and serves as a percussion clinician for Lake, Orange, and Seminole County public schools. 

When he is not playing music, he enjoys watching ice hockey, traveling, cooking, and spending time with his family. Willie lives in Mount Dora with his wife, Aliza, and their children, Ben (18), Jocelyn (16), and Paxton (5). Willie enjoys being a part of the music team at New Life, as all the musicians are some of the best players in the area, and it keeps him on his toes being the drummer for such a large choir and orchestra. One of his favorite things about Sunday mornings is driving through Wildwood, where he has many childhood memories. He is excited about the congregation's growth and the worship music program at New Life.