Tommy Dobbs, DM
Associate Professor of Percussion
Music
Music - Instrumental
Music - Percussion
Biography
Dr. Tommy Dobbs is the associate professor of Percussion at ÂÜÀòÊÓƵ University and a member of the Percussive Arts Society’s University Pedagogy Committee. Prior to his appointment at ÂÜÀòÊÓƵ, he was the Assistant Professor of Percussion at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith for seven years. He received his Doctor of Music and Master of Music degrees in Percussion Performance from the Florida State University, and his Bachelor’s degree in Percussion Performance from the University of North Florida.
An active performer and educator, Tommy has performed recitals and given master classes at universities and secondary schools throughout the United States and abroad. Tommy is currently the principal percussionist for the Fort Smith Symphony and a member of the Wind and Wood Duo, an Arkansas based clarinet and percussion duo. During the 2021/2022 season he looks forward to presenting a clinic at The Percussive Arts Society’s International Convention (PASIC); a presentation and performance at The National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors Conference; the release of a new album with The Wind and Wood Duo, entitled Strange Dreams; and the release of his first solo album, entitled Amalgamation.
Highlights from his 2019/2020 season include presenting a clinic, Accessories After the Fact: How to Prevent Criminal Sounds Within Your Percussion Section, at The Midwest Clinic in Chicago as well as a performance at the 2020 NASA Biennial in Arizona and the 2020 ClarinetFest in Reno, and the release of a duo album with the Wind and Wood Duo, entitled Reimagined Possibilities: New Works for Clarinet and Percussion.
He has performed and presented at conferences such as The College Music Society (International, National, and Regional), the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors Conferences (International and National), the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, Various Day of Percussion Conferences, The World Saxophone Congress in Croatia, the International Navy Saxophone Symposium, various College Band Directors National Association Regional Conferences, and various American Bandmasters Association Regional and National Conferences.
Previous appointments include, serving as acting principal percussionist for the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra (Florida) and principal timpanist for Sinfonia Gulf Coast (Florida) in 2013/2014 as well as section percussion/assistant timpani for the Georgia Coastal Symphony, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Tallahassee Ballet, and Sinfonia Gulf Coast. He was also the recipient of the prestigious EMF Percussion Internship with The Eastern Music Festival, where he performed as Section Percussion in the 2014 EMF Festival Orchestra under Gerard Schwarz.
In 2014, he performed in Carnegie Hall as a member of What Is Noise, a cutting-edge new music ensemble dedicated to the music of living American composers. Previously, in 2008, he performed in Carnegie Hall with the University of North Florida's Wind Ensemble. Tommy was a member of the Florida State University Percussion Ensemble in 2011, when the group won the Percussive Arts Society International Percussion Ensemble Competition, and he can be heard on the ensemble's recording, Volume Two: Not Far From Here.
Other recording credits include The Music of Florence Price with the Fort Smith Symphony on NAXOS, Omar Carmenates’ critically acclaimed The Gaia Theory on New Zealand's Rattle Records, Adam Silverman's Percussion Music on Calabaza Records, and the recently released, The John Psathas Project Vol. 1 on Rattle Records.
He is an endorser of Pearl/Adams Corporation, SABIAN Cymbals, Innovative Percussion Inc., and Grover Pro.
