About Timothy Feerst

A native of Northern Virginia, Dr. Tim Feerst is Director of Percussion Studies and Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Northern Colorado.  Prior to his appointment at UNC, he served on the faculties of the University of Texas Permian Basin, the University of Texas at Tyler, Trinity Valley Community College, the University of Utah, and North Central Texas College.  Dr. Feerst holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Percussion Performance from the University of North Texas.  He also holds a Master’s in Percussion Performance from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor’s in Music Education from George Mason University.  His teachers include Mark Ford, Christopher Deane, Paul Rennick, Ed Soph, Ed Smith, Michael Drake, José Aponte, Thomas Teasley, Thomas Burritt, Tony Edwards, John Kilkenny, and John Spirtas.

Hailed by the Dallas-Ft. Worth-based performing arts magazine Theater Jones as having "the most beautiful, long, and evenly sounding timpani rolls," Dr. Feerst has performed with ensembles including the Greeley Philharmonic, the Fort Collins Symphony, the Amarillo Symphony, The Dallas Winds, the Dallas Symphony Chorus, the West Texas Symphony, the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra, Voces8, Sō Percussion, and the American Festival Pops Orchestra.  Additionally, he was a founding member of the Winter Guard International (WGI) Finalist George Mason University Indoor Percussion Ensemble and marched center snare in 2009.  Dr. Feerst has recording credits with The Southern Music Company, The Dallas Winds, Ryan Anthony and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and the North Texas Wind Symphony.  He also recorded drums and percussion for indie artist Erica Lane's single "The Friendly Beasts," which reached #37 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary (AC) chart during the Holiday 2022 season.   

As an educator, Dr. Feerst has instructed at a variety of public schools in Texas, Utah, and Virginia.  He frequently serves as an adjudicator for organizations such as USBands, the Intermountain Percussion Association (IMPA), the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA), the Utah Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society, TMEA, the Texas Educational Colorguard Association (TECA), and the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors Association (VBODA).  In addition, he has presented research and clinics at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the National Association for Collegiate Wind and Percussion Instructors Conference, the College Music Society National Conference, the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy, and various music educators conventions such as Colorado, Texas, and Hawaii.

Dr. Feerst is an advocate for new works for percussion and has commissioned, premiered, and participated in several consortiums for music by composers such as Quinn Mason, Gene Koshinski, Corey Robinson, Jenna Wright, James Wood, Brian Nozny, Brett William Dietz, Nathan Daughtrey, Marc Mellits, Alejandro Viñao, Ivan Trevino, Joe W. Moore III.  He also premiered Jeffrey Emge’s composition “Morning on Tai Mountain” for Alto Saxophone and Snare Drum with Sarah Roberts at the 2021 North American Saxophone Alliance Region IV Conference.  

Active in the Percussive Arts Society (PAS), Dr. Feerst has been published in Percussive Notes, the official research journal of PAS, and currently serves on the University Pedagogy Committee and is Vice President of the Colorado Chapter.  He has also made writing contributions to The Instrumentalist and the percussion education website, DrumChattr.com.  Additional professional memberships include the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and the College Music Society (CMS).

Dr. Feerst proudly endorses Pearl Drums/Adams Musical Instruments, Black Swamp Percussion, Vic Firth and Balter sticks and mallets, and Zildjian Cymbals.