Genis, Timothy “Tim”

Timpanist who attended Juilliard and the Eastman School of Music and studied with Raymond Froehlich, Barry Jekowski, and Jahja Ling.

He started out on the piano and gravitated to percussion while a member of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. In 1981, he helped christen Davies Hall with “Symphony No. 8” by Gustav Mahler, which was performed by the SFSYO and San Francisco Boys’ Chorus.

He joined the Honolulu Symphony in 1991 and the Boston Pops in 1993, just in time for a tour of Japan. Eventually, he became the principal timpanist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Other groups with whom he has performed include the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Philharmonia Virtuosi, the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra, and the Rochester Philharmonic.

On 17^th November 2005, the BSO appeared at Symphony Hall where they performed George Perle’s “Transcendental Modulations” and Gunther Schuller’s “Spectra”.

They teamed up with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus in January 2006 for a performance of Missa solemnis by Ludwig van Beethoven.

On 10^th March 2006, they were at Verizon Hall for Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 7 in A, Op. 92”, Elliott Carter’s “Three Illusions”, Peter Lieberson”s “Neruda Songs for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra”, and Richard Strauss’s “Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, Op. 28”.

They celebrated Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s 250^th birthday with his “Serenata notturna” and “Violin Concerto No. 5 in A” in April 2006.

On 15^th March 2007, they performed Mahler’s “Symphony No. 3”.

They were joined by Yo-Yo Ma on 4^th August 2007 for Antonin Dvorak’s “Cello Concerto”, which was followed by his “Symphony No. 9” (“From the New World”).

On 11^th May 2008, they performed “For Aaron” by Lukas Foss, “Plain Song, Fantastic Dances” by Michael Gandolfi, “Serenata Notturna” by William Bolcom, and “Zhuang Zhou’s Dream” by Osvaldo Golijov.

They offered up Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 9” on 23^rd August 2009. On 5^th November 2009, they reprised his ninth symphony and opened with his eighth at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts.

In May 2009, the Boston Pops gave the world premiere and first live performance of John Williams’ “Concerto for Viola and Orchestra” and “Stargazers” at Symphony Hall.

They rejoined the Tanglewood Festival Chorus at Symphony Hall for The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers in May 2010.

On 28^th August 2010, the BSO reprised Dvorak’s “New World” symphony on an evening that opened with Johannes Brahms’ “Piano Concerto No. 2”.

He and other members of the Pacific Music Festival faculty gave a recital at Sapporo Concert Hall Kitara on 26^th July 2011. The program comprised highlights from “Eight Pieces for Four Timpani” by Elliott Carter, “Fandango” by Joseph Turin, “Impromptu in D flat major, Op. 86” by Gabriel Faure, “Le Morceau de Salon, Op. 228” by Johann Wenzel Kalliwoda, “Oblivion” by Astor Piazzolla, “Second Solo De Concours” by Theo Charlier, “Trombone Concerto” by Launy Grondahl, “Une Larme pour basse” by Gioachino Rossini, “Valse Miniature” by Serge Koussevitzsky, and “Violin Sonata in B flat major, K. 454” by Mozart.

In addition to serving on the faculty of the PMF, he has taught at Boston University and Tanglewood.

Recordings on which he appears include America, American Visions, The Celtic Album, Chris Botti in Boston, The Great War and the Shaping of the 20^th Century, Holiday Pops, The Latin Album, My Favorite Things: A Richard Rodgers Celebration, and A Splash of Pops.

Sources:

Genis, Timothy “Tim”

Navigation