Yesterday’s opening number in the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra’s first concert of the season was “Raise the Roof” by Michael Daugherty, featuring the orchestra’s principal timpanist, Brad Davis. This was certainly a new one for me, and perhaps I’m showing off my musical ignorance by saying that I had never heard of a timpani concerto before. However I was blown away by the sheer virtuosity of both the piece and the player!

Here’s his bio on the University of Hawaii website:

Brad Davis is the Principal Timpanist of the Hawaiʻi Symphony Orchestra, a position he has held since fall of 2019. Prior to joining the HSO, Brad was Section Percussionist with the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra and Associate Timpanist with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.

Comfortable in a wide variety of performance settings, Brad has played with diverse ensembles throughout the country. He has been Guest Principal Timpanist with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Lexington Philharmonic, and the Terre Haute Symphony, and performed as Principal Timpanist with the Orchestra of the Americas during the 2018 European Tour. In addition, Brad has performed as a percussionist with the Louisville Orchestra, the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, Apollo Orchestra, the Smithsonian 21st Century Consort, the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic, and the Peacherine Ragtime Society Orchestra. He has worked under the baton of conductors including Osmo Vänskä, Giancarlo Guerrero, JoAnn Falletta, Michael Stern, Thomas Wilkins, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Krzysztof Penderecki, Ton Koopman, and Carl St. Clair. Brad can be heard on multiple recordings through NAXOS and Linn Records.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find a video of Brad playing this piece on YouTube, but here is the University of Michigan Symphony Band, with Arlo Shultis, timpanist. Yesterday’s performance was equally virtuosic and exciting!

FUN FACT! Did you know I played the timpani in 7th grade orchestra? I was absolutely TERRIBLE at it!