Christopher Wilson

Assistant Professor of Music, Career Track, Coordinator of Percussion, Assistant Director of Athletic Bands

Dr. Christopher Wilson is the coordinator of percussion at Washington State University where he teaches applied percussion, conducts the percussion ensemble, and serves as Assistant Director of the Cougar Marching Band. In the summer, Dr. Wilson teaches percussion at the Lutheran Summer Music Academy and Festival where he also serves on the national staff as the digital innovations director.

An engaging musician, Dr. Wilson regularly performs at institutions and conferences around the nation. This includes recent engagements at the Percussive Arts Society International Conference, the Idaho Bach Festival, and the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy. He has a passion for presenting innovative recitals and inter-disciplinary collaborations, as well as exploring modern repertoire and popular music transcriptions. He frequently collaborates with his non-percussion colleagues, most notably with his wife and bassoonist Dr. Jacqueline Wilson in Ensemble 337. A sought-after collaborative and ensemble musician, Dr. Christopher Wilson performs as principal timpanist in the Washington-Idaho Symphony and Walla Walla Symphony Orchestras, and previously performed as principal timpanist in the Grant Junction Symphony and as substitute percussionist in the Colorado Symphony.

Dr. Wilson has an active presence in the Percussive Arts Society, where he is the president of the Washington Chapter and a member of the education committee. With the PAS education committee, he chairs the PASIC FUNdamentals subcommittee and has contributed significantly to the PAS Classroom initiative. An in-demand educator, Dr. Wilson has given workshops and assemblies at hundreds of K-12 schools throughout the country. His current research area stems from his dissertation which analyzed the ability of commonly used band method books to prepare beginning percussionists for modern Grade 1 repertoire. Dr. Wilson has subsequently presented his research at NAfME state music educator conferences in numerous states as well as at the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy.

Wilson received his Doctor of Arts from the University of Northern Colorado studying percussion performance with a secondary area in wind conducting. He is also a graduate of the Boston Conservatory and Eastern Washington University. His principal teachers include Gray Barrier, Nancy Zeltsman and Martin Zyskowski. Dr. Wilson is a proud endorser of Adams Percussion, Encore Mallets, Pearl Drums, and Salyers Percussion.

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