Timpanist Kent Barnhart has played with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra since 2003. An energetic performer, he lives and teaches in Chicago and also serves as the South Bend Symphony Orchestra's Principal Percussionist, a post he has held for the last 15 years. He plays regularly in the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra's percussion section, and has also appeared with several regional ensembles including the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra and the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra. He has been featured as a soloist for 'The Glory and the Grandeur' in South Bend, & also won the concerto competition at Penn State University where he earned his Masters in Performance. He has provided percussion tracks for a variety of recording artists, & has played a diverse range of styles including opera, musical theater, folk, rock, jazz, and rhythm & blues. He enjoys making percussion instruments that fit the requirements of the music, & always travels with a set of sticks and mallets in order to try out anything that might make an amazing sound.
