Andrew Spencer holds the position of Professor of Percussion at Central Michigan University. An active recitalist and clinician, he has performed as a soloist in the United States, Poland, Japan, Canada, and Costa Rica. In 1999, he released Slender Beams, a recording that features works by composer Dave Hollinden. Spencer has also premiered works by David Gillingham, Mark Polishook, Samuel Adler, Robert May, and Henry Gwiazda, among others.
Equally experienced in orchestral performance, Spencer is the Principal Timpanist for the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, and the Principal Percussionist for the Midland Orchestra. Additional positions have included timpanist and principal percussionist positions with the Yakima Symphony Orchestra, Cascade Festival Orchestra, Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, and Fargo-Moorhead Civic Opera Company. He has performed with the Oregon Symphony, Spokane Symphony, and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. In addition, he has performed with numerous chamber ensembles throughout the United States, and plays drum set with the Central Michigan University Faculty Jazz Ensemble, with whom he has recorded the albums Caught In The Act and Conspiracy Theory.
Spencer received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in percussion performance, and studied with Dr. Terry Applebaum at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in percussion performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he studied with John Beck. In addition, Eastman granted Spencer the coveted Performer's Certificate as a percussion soloist.
