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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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.

Conductor Elizabeth Young said the orchestra was able to secure the set of four giant kettle drums, worth more than $20,000, thanks to the generosity of the Queensland Government and the Gambling ...

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 ...

Composers have been writing music for the group of instruments we call an orchestra for the last four centuries. Endlessly adaptable and always evolving, an orchestra can be made up of 20 players or ...

Choosing the best timpani mallets for the kind of music you’re playing is vital. Different styles of timpani mallets determine the tone you’ll produce when you play the timpani. With well over two ...