Jake Harpster currently holds the position of Percussionist, Assistant Principal Timpanist for The U.S. Army Concert Band “Pershing’s Own” in Washington, DC, where he has been since 2016.
Prior to his position in “Pershing’s Own,” he served as a percussionist in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and held the ACA Timpani Fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival. As a performer, Harpster is known for his diverse background. In the Broadway idiom, Harpster has presented concerts across the globe. He was the featured Marimba Soloist and Percussionist for the Tony and Emmy Award-winning production “BLAST.” With this cast, he toured the United States, South Korea, and all forty-seven prefectures in Japan. As a marimba soloist and chamber musician, Harpster has won national competitions – including the 2010 Yamaha Young Performing Artists Competition – and has presented concerts throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. An enthusiast for contemporary music, he actively commissions, premieres, and records many new works each year.
As an educator, Harpster is currently the Director of Percussion for The Capitol Symphonic Youth Orchestras in Washington, D.C. He has previously taught the percussionists of the DCI World Champion, and Fred Sanford Percussion Award-winning Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps, presented masterclasses at universities throughout the U.S. and Canada, and has taught at various nationally recognized high school programs such as Center Grove (IN), Coppell (TX) and Marian Catholic (IL).
Harpster received his Master of Music in Percussion Performance with related fieldwork in Contemporary Music Performance from the University of North Texas where he also served as a Teaching Fellow. He received his Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Upon graduating from Indiana, Harpster was awarded the prestigious Performer’s Certificate.