International Drum Month - Theresa McCoy Spotlight

Our percussion section finale brings a lovely interview with Theresa McCoy, our principal timpanist.

I live with my husband, Sean, just outside Jacksonville. We have three grown daughters–all of them off on their own adventures. I got my music degree in Music Performance at CSU, Northridge…a long time ago! After a decade of free-lancing music in the Los Angeles area, Sean & I moved back to the Rogue Valley to start and raise a family. In addition to filling my life with as much music as possible, I work as the Director of Marketing & IT for KDP Certified Public Accountants, LLP.

I didn’t really set out to “pursue” timpani. I think it pursued me! While living in Los Angeles, I had the opportunity to study with some really fine timpanists (William Kraft and Mitchell Peters, both timpanists with the L.A. Philharmonic, as well as Karen Ervin.) They recommended me to some local orchestras and launched me into that world.

I really enjoy the experience of creating incredible music with my peers and sharing it with our audience. That time in the concert hall is sacred and inspiring. The synergy between the musicians and audience is something that only happens in a moment with all of us in space and time together.

I am a voracious reader, I garden, I love cycling, and I dabble at philosophy and art.

Timpani were originally an instrument of warfare. They were played in battle to strike fear in the hearts of the enemy. Perhaps that explains why some have told me that timpani mallets are a weapon in my hands.