by Lauren Vogel Weiss

Thomas Scott Schneller, a former president of the Wisconsin PAS chapter, died unexpectedly in a car accident on Nov. 6, 2022 following a concert with the Dubuque (Iowa) Symphony Orchestra.

For more than four decades, Schneller was the timpanist and principal percussionist with the Rochester (Minnesota) Symphony. “His knowledge of the use of percussion in the orchestral repertoire was encyclopedic,” Jere Lantz, Artistic Director of the Rochester Symphony, stated on their website. “He took great care to be sure that at each moment we were using just the right instrument with the right sound to make our performances authentic and effective. We will miss Tom as the anchor of our percussion section.”

Born in Detroit, Michigan on Feb. 23, 1947, Schneller attended the Interlochen Arts Academy and National Music Camp in the early 1960s before graduating from Wayne State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music education. Following several years as a member of the United States Military Academy Band at West Point, he continued his education at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam in New York, where he received his master’s degree in music education and music performance.

James Petercsak, head of the percussion area at the Crane School and Past-President of PAS, remembered his former student. “Tom had a great amount of talent. He was a wonderful and gifted musician, and an extremely knowledgeable performer. I will always be grateful for our friendship.”

In 1980, Schneller moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he played with the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra. Over the decades, he taught at numerous public and private schools as well as several universities, including Winona (Minnesota) State University and Wisconsin Lutheran College. Many of his students went on to become successful musicians and educators. Schneller also returned to Interlochen in the late 1970s to teach.

Zubin Hathi, Principal Timpanist with the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra, wrote about his percussion colleague on a Facebook post. “I first met Tom in 2014 when I was a student at the Interlochen Arts Camp. He attended a number of our orchestra concerts that summer and made it a point to find me afterwards to give me feedback on my playing. I learned an incredible amount from him, even during those few short conservations. He was a true gentleman and wonderful musician.”

Dr. David P. Eyler, Professor of Music and Director of Percussion Studies at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, remembered meeting Schneller in 1988 at the first Day of Percussion Eyler hosted. “He drove up from Winona, and attended several more DoPs over the years. It was always great to reunite at PASIC where we would discuss timpani performance and techniques, as we both had a love for the instrument and its history.” Eyler also recalled buying Kori Percussion products through Schneller when Tom worked for Custom Music in Michigan later in his career.

Schneller was also involved in rudimental drumming, presenting numerous sessions and performances at many Wisconsin Days of Percussion over the years. He also made regular trips to the East Coast to participate in various musters.