People who impacted the world of percussion

Keiko Abe

Japanese composer and marimba player. Primary figure in the development of the marimba, in terms of expanding both technique and repertoire, and through her collaboration with the Yamaha Corporation, developed the modern five-octave concert marimba.

Remo Belli

American jazz drummer who developed and marketed the first successful synthetic drumheads and founded the Remo company.

Vida Chenoweth

She was the first professional solo classical marimbist, an ethnomusicologist and a linguist from Enid, Oklahoma. First to perform polyphonic music on the marimba and gave concerts all over the world.

John Calhoun Deagan

The J. C. Deagan company has some of the finest mallet percussion instruments every manufactured.

Cloyd Duff

He was the timpanist of the Cleveland Orchestra and was one of the finest timpanists of the twentieth century. Graduated from the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia. Has his own timpani mallets.

Chick Evans

Pioneer of drumhead manufacturing and design. He was the first person to use polyester film to form a drumhead, succeeding in creating a weatherproof head, and ultimately changing the drum world forever.

Vic Firth

Founder of Vic Firth Company that makes sticks and mallets. The headquarter are in Newport, Maine and is the world's largest manufacturer of drum sticks and mallets.

Saul Goodman

He was a timpanist in the New York Philharmonic orchestra from 1926 to 1972.

Ulysses G. Leedy

Founder of Leedy Drum Company that makes snare drum stands, snare drums, heads, xylophones, orchestra bells, and accessories.

Clair Omar Musser

Organized a 100 piece Marimba Orchestra for the World's Fair in Chicago.

Bud Slingerland

"Slingerland Banjo Company", started making drums with "no overtones" with Tone Flange.

Leigh Howard Stevens

He is a marimba artist best known for developing, codifying, and promoting the Stevens technique or Musser-Stevens grip.

Avedis Zildjian III

Started the Zildjian cymbals.

Armand Zildjian

He was the first Zildjian to be born in the United States. Father made him the President of the Zildjian Company.

Robert Zildjian

Armand's younger brother who formed the Sabian Cymbal Company in competition with Armand. Sabian Cymbal Company became the second largest manufacturer of cymbals in the world.