Dieter Schodde, Percussion Teacher:

Highly versatile and musical, ​Dieter Schodde hails from Arizona, where he earned both his B.M. and M.M. degrees (cum laude) from the University of Arizona. He studied Percussion Performance with Gary Cook, whose book Teaching Percussion has drawn international acclaim. While there, Dieter held the position of Section Percussion of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, as well as Principal Percussion of the Tucson Pops Orchestra for over 20 years. His other performance pursuits included musical theater, percussion ensembles, jazz bands, and chamber music, highlighted by performing on a Grammy winning recording project “Far in the Heavens”, works by Stephen Paulus.

In 2015, Dieter relocated to New Orleans for three years, where he taught percussion lessons at two universities: Nicholls State University and University of New Orleans, while maintaining an active performing career. Dieter then moved to Baltimore. New challenges included performing with the Mid Atlantic Symphony, serving as principal timpanist/percussionist with the acclaimed group Bach in Baltimore, and teaching private lessons for Menchey Music. Dieter is new to Pittsburgh as of November 2022 and is looking forward to joining the vibrant arts community there. He is currently teaching at the PYCO School of Music in Wexford.