Frank Shaffer, Associate Professor of Percussion, received his Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from Duquesne University while performing with the Pittsburgh Symphony. In New Haven, Connecticut he received his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from Yale University while performing with the Bridgeport and New Haven Symphonies. His principal teachers include Eugene Fabrizi, William Schneiderman, and Fred Hinger. He has also participated in masterclasses with Leigh Howard Stevens and Cloyd Duff. Dr. Shaffer has served on the planning committees of the Percussive Arts Society International Conventions for 1989, 1996, 2001, and 2004. He was also percussion consultant and English translation editor for Chilpachole de Arpa, a bilingual harp method based on the traditional music of Veracruz, Mexico. In addition, Dr. Shaffer was a member of the Festival Marimba Orchestra at the West Point Music Festival in March of 1998. From 1999 to 2008, he served as orchestra sub-chair on the Percussive Arts Society Health and Wellness Committee, and contunues to serve as mallet sub-chair in 2009. Elected president of the Tennessee State Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society in 2004, he was re-elected in 2006. In May of 2007, he played in a faculty recital and gave Master Classes at the East China Normal University and the Shanghai Conservatory in China. In December 2007, he was invited to perform in the Festival Virtuosi Orchestra in Recife, Brazil. He performed and taught at the Sewanee Summer Music Festival from 1979 –2008, and served as Associate Director of the festival from 2001-2006. Dr. Shaffer has been principal timpanist of the Memphis Symphony since 1975 and a percussionist with the Iris Orchestra since 2000. He has actively participated in the Memphis Symphony’s community engagement projects, including the Soulsville Charter School Mentoring Project, Leading from Every Chair, and Opus I.