A native of Millbrook, New York, Tom Freer began his percussion and timpani training seriously at age nine with Jim Atwood, a former student of Cloyd Duff. By age fifteen, he won an audition to become principal percussionist with the Asheville, North Carolina Symphony, and then principal timpanist at age 16. Tom attended the Cleveland Institute of Music where he was accepted as Cloyd Duff’s last student before retiring. While in school, Tom formed a band called the Exotic Birds with, Stabbing Westward drummer, Andy Kubiszewski, Pittsburgh Symphony timpanist, Tim Adams, and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. This was an original alternative band that toured with Culture Club and opened for many major acts of the time such as The Thompson Twins, Psychedelic Furs, Paul Young, Big Country, Modern English and others. In 1986 Tom resigned from the rock scene and headed to Stockholm Sweden, to become principal percussionist and assistant timpanist of the Norrkoping Symphony Orchestra. After one year there Tom became principal timpanist for the Fort Wayne Philharmonic for two seasons and then principal timpanist of the Alabama Symphony in Birmingham for two seasons. He then settled in with the Cleveland Orchestra as assistant principal timpanist and section percussionist, where he has remained f since 1991. He’s a frequent clinician and guest artist, and is Coordinator of Timpani and Percussion studies at Cleveland State University. Tom can be heard on over twenty recordings with the Cleveland Orchestra on the London/Decca and Deutsche Grammophon labels. He also was recently featured on the cover of Pearl Drums’ 2006 Educational Product Catalog.