John R. Hearnes received his first pair of drumsticks in 1989 when he joined band in Cape Girardeau, MO. He studied percussion under Mark McHale and Mark Ellison. After graduating from Central High School, John studied at Southeast Missouri State University under Dr. Daniel Dunavan, then earned a BME from Middle Tennessee State University where he studied under Lalo Davila, David Brochocki, Andy Smith, and Julie Hill. John began arranging and composing for Row-Loff Productions in 2002.  He is the author of The Mallet Player's Toolbox, a beginning method book for mallets (www.malletplayerstoolbox.com).

John is currently a middle school band director in Rutherford County, TN, a job he has held since 2001.  John is a composer, performer, educator, clinician, adjudicator, and most importantly, still a student on all facets of percussion. He lives in Murfreesboro, TN, with his wife and their two sons.