Jim Tiller

Jim Tiller

Instrument: Percussion, Timpani

With the RPO since: 1995

My earliest musical memory is of my father playing the guitar when I was a child.

I knew I would make music my career when I was so inspired as a student at the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts in 1983.

Most influential teachers: John Beckford at Furman University, Jim Hall at University of South Carolina and John Beck at the Eastman School of Music

Favorite composer and/or period: Prokofiev, Romantic to present

What do you enjoy most about performing? Communicating without ever saying a word, sharing with an audience.

What is your favorite part of being a member of the RPO? The great people that make up the organization, and how the orchestra continues to raise the level of performance!

When I'm not onstage, you might find me teaching percussion students, jogging, or playing tennis. I love sports of all sorts.

I love to dine at The Spring House and Charlie's Frog Pond.

My favorite things about Rochester are good friends, great music and the fall season.

What do you think is the Orchestra's most important role in the community? Bringing quality music to ALL people

Biography

Hailed as a dynamic and versatile performer, Jim Tiller joined the Rochester Philharmonic as principal percussion in 1995. He subsequently made solo appearances on nearly all of the RPO performances series, and will join the orchestra again in March of 2007 for Joseph Schwantner’s Percussion Concerto. His performances have uniformly been met with critical acclaim. Active in virtually all musical genres, Mr. Tiller is a frequent performer on chamber music and recital series. Jim Tiller is a member of the faculties of SUNY Geneseo and Houghton College. He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and the Eastman School of Music.