The timpani are among a symphony orchestra’s most exciting instruments. There’s nothing quite like a musician pounding away on wide kettledrums made from copper. But aside from the occasional dramatic ...

Use the tabs below to find out about each section of the orchestra, watch video clips, and read interviews with musicians. What is a percussion instrument? Well, in the simplest terms it's something ...

Before the timpani became an orchestral instrument, during the Civil War, people used to play on the horseback. This type of drum has a skin which is called head and it is stretched on a large bowl ...

Pity the poor percussionist who needed to rent a timpani last Saturday night! Most of Vancouver’s kettledrums—nine, in total—could be found at the Orpheum Annex, with six of them in a neat semi-circle ...

This weekend, the Philadelphia Orchestra launches its 2012-2013 season with Verdi’s “Requiem,” a piece the orchestra hasn’t taken on in many years. The selection should highlight the talents of the ...

Markus Rhoten started learning piano as a toddler in Germany, "but I would always go to the low notes. I had an affinity for bass," he said. So his parents started him on drum lessons when he was 5.

The Auburn Chamber Orchestra announces the Keep the Beat! fundraising campaign for the purchase of four timpani drums. Donations from citizens, art patrons, foundations and corporations will provide ...

Goedicke had a collection of more than 200 pairs of timpani sticks, famously selecting those for each orchestral entry from a huge tray like a high-class dentist selecting his tools. Only one pair in ...

The Maryland Symphony Orchestra continues its Masterworks Series with "Sacred Structures" on Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. in the historic Maryland Theatre in downtown Hagerstown. "Sacred ...

Their natural habitat might be the orchestra, but that doesn't mean the timps don't also have a place in more contemporary contexts… When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an ...

Can you tell us a little bit about your journey as a professional musician and how you joined BBC Philharmonic. I went to school in Liverpool and was able to take advantage of free percussion (and ...