Meet Our Musicians: Barry Dove, Principal Timpani

Barry Dove, a native Baltimorean, is acclaimed as one of today’s outstanding percussionists and timpanists.

The Washington Post’s critic cited Dove’s “…superhuman dexterity [which] made his marimba seem to play itself…Barry Dove [is] a marvelous player… Barry Dove played with assurance and amazing agility…Exceptionally virtuosic marimba playing… Barry Dove brought wit and impressive voltage.”

The Baltimore Sun critic cited “Barry Dove gave a calmly virtuosic, highly expressive account of the demanding solo part.”

He received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education, his Performer’s Certificate, and his Master’s degree from the Peabody Conservatory of Music.  Mr. Dove also attended the University of Ghana in Accra studying West African drumming styles of the Ewe, Akan and Dagarti people.  In addition he has  studied at the University de la Havana with special interests in Santeria Bata drumming.

Mr. Dove’s primary teachers have been Buster Bailey, Fred Begun, Shirley Givens, Jonathan Haas, Dennis Kain, Dale Rauschenberg, Berl Senofsky, Leigh Howard Stevens, Scott Stevens, Glen Velez, Sandip Burman and Ganesh Kumar.

He is the Principal Percussionist of the Washington Contemporary Music Forum, Principal Timpanist of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Key West Symphony Orchestra and is a section percussion player with Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra.  Mr. Dove also plays and has toured with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and is a percussionist for the National Theatre Playbill in Washington DC.  Mr. Dove is vibraphonist of the Barry Dove Jazz Quartet and founder of Global Percussion Trio and has been a percussion instructor at University of Maryland Baltimore County and Loyola College.

In 1987 Barry Dove was the First Prize Winner in the Yale Gordon Concerto Competition, a prize which included a solo performance with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra in May of that year.  He has also been a soloist with the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Roberts Hopkins Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra and the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra.  Mr. Dove has been heard as a recitalist at Franklin and Marshall College, Hood College, Levine school of Music, Loyola College, The roberts Hopkins University Shriver Hall, Strathmore Hall, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, Bucknell University, Western Maryland College, Music in the Great Hall, the Walden School of Music and the Walters Art Gallery.

Mr. Dove has recorded his debut CD “Global Percussion Trio 2005,” Judith Lang Zaimont’s Hidden Heritage on Arabesque CD, Dominick Argento’s A Water Bird Talk, Baltimore Chamber Live and Robert Macht Suite for Javanese Gamelan. He also records for National Geographic Explorer Channel, The Learning Channel, The Discovery Channel, a PBS special with Wynton Marsalis, Denyce Graves, Take 6, Patti LaBelle and numerous radio and television jingles. Mr. Dove has toured with Linda Ronstadt and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He is active as a recitalist/clinician and is a Gordon Artist.