Tim Palmer

Tim joined Birmingham Conservatoire as a Percussion student, enrolling on the BMus(Hons) course in September, 2000. He had much success in various Conservatoire competitions including first prize in the Annual Birmingham Conservatoire Percussion Competition and first prize in the Doris Newton Music Club Prize. Tim was also a prize winner in the John Ludlow Philharmonic Concerto Competition for his performance of Joseph Schwantner's Percussion Concerto. For this competition he was granted permission by Schott Publications and Joseph Schwantner to commission an arrangement of the Concerto for two Pianos and solo Percussion. Tim performed the World Premiere and this arrangement is now published by Schott Publications and performed numerous times around the World.

In June 2004, he gained his Bachelor of Music degree with first class honours and was awarded the BMus prize for outstanding achievement. He then went onto complete his AdvPgDip (Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in Performance) with distinction at Birmingham Conservatoire.

Tim has played an active role in music around Birmingham, and has performed with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and the Royal Shakespeare Company. 

Since leaving the Conservatoire as a student, Tim has forged his own career performing with one of the world’s leading Percussion Ensembles, ‘Maraca2’. The duo have toured extensively throughout the United States, South America and Europe. Highlights include the International Percussion Festival in Patagonia, Argentina and a performance at the opening concert of the BEMUS International Music Festival, Belgrade, with the RTS Serbian Radio Orchestra, which was broadcast on Serbian TV and a headline Concert at the Percussive Arts International Convention in Indiana.  He has also represented the United Kingdom at the Minnesota International Marimba Competition. In addition, his group co-wrote the music and performed for the Opening Ceremony of the European Indoor Athletics Championships held at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, UK.

Tim also engages in a wide variety of diverse activities and is the owner of his own percussion educational website www.percussionmusiconine.com. The website provides information on over 6000 compositions to students and teachers across the World. The site is promoted and supported by the University of Central Missouri, Southern Utah University, University of Tennessee at Martin, University of Minnesota at Duluth, University of Southern Mississippi, Sacred Heart University and University of Kentucky. The website currently viewed by around 200 percussionists on a daily basis, is regarded as a leading resource for percussion literature.