Oakland Symphony Orchestra
Recent engagements have included Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances at Detroit Orchestra Hall, Messiaen's Oiseaux exotiques on glockenspiel, Stravinsky's Firebird Suite, Debussy's La Mer, and De Falla's Three Cornered Hat.
About Spencer Perilloux
Spencer Perilloux is a Detroit-area percussionist, timpanist, and educator whose work spans orchestral percussion, choral and sacred timpani, school percussion programs, private coaching, Detroit Marimba, and digital percussion resources.
Professional percussion work with a clear public home.
The site brings Spencer's performance, teaching, contractor availability, Detroit Marimba work, composition and arranging, and percussion education resources together under one public identity: Spencer Perilloux Percussion.
Training and musical background
Spencer holds a Master of Music in Percussion Performance from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance and a Bachelor of Music in Percussion Performance from Central Michigan University.
Education and training
- University of Michigan
- M.M. Percussion Performance. Percussion study with Dr. Douglas Perkins, Dr. Ian Antonio, Jeremy Epp, and Tom Sherwood.
- Central Michigan University
- B.M. Percussion Performance. Ensemble work included Central Michigan University Symphonic Wind Ensemble under conductor Dr. Chris Chapman.
- Conductors and ensembles
- University of Michigan Symphony Band under Jason Fettig and Dr. Michael Haithcock; University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra under Dr. Kenneth Kiesler.
- Festival study
- Round Top Festival Institute, percussion and timpani fellow, Summer 2023.
- Professional affiliation
- AFM Local 5 member
- Service area
- Metro Detroit, Southeast Michigan, Garden City and surrounding communities, with wider Michigan, nearby Ohio, and nearby Ontario by arrangement where relevant.
Performance bio
Spencer works as a freelance and substitute orchestral percussionist and timpanist across Metro Detroit, Southeast Michigan, and surrounding regional orchestras. Engagements vary by ensemble structure, so the credits below are presented as professional performance engagements rather than permanent roster claims.
Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra
Recent programs have included Mussorgsky/Ravel's Pictures at an Exhibition, Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, Ginastera's Harp Concerto, Copland's Lincoln Portrait, Rouse's Symphony No. 1, and pops programs featuring major film-score repertoire.
Regional orchestral work
Spencer's professional orchestral engagements also include Flint Symphony Orchestra, West Michigan Symphony, Macomb Symphony Orchestra, Warren Symphony Orchestra, Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Symphony Orchestra, Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, and Michigan Sinfonietta.
Choral, sacred, and oratorio work
Alongside symphonic work, Spencer is active in choral, sacred, and oratorio settings where percussion and timpani need to support text, space, choir, conductor, and liturgy with care.
Choral and sacred timpani
Selected sacred and choral work includes St. Patrick Catholic Church in White Lake, Fort Street Chorale, Detroit Concert Choir, Rochester Community Chorus, First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor, and Michigan Sinfonietta.
Masterworks and services
Recent repertoire includes Mozart masses and sacred works, Handel's Messiah, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, Rutter's Magnificat, Vivaldi's Gloria, and Easter brass ensemble services.
Teaching bio
Spencer's teaching work is built for students, adult learners, percussion sections, front ensembles, and band directors who need clear priorities and practical systems.
Youth ensemble and school teaching
Spencer has taught through Civic Youth Ensembles with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and serves as percussion caption head at Garden City High School in Garden City, Michigan.
Front ensemble and private instruction
His teaching work includes Muir Middle School private instruction, front ensemble staff work with the Wayne-Westland Memorial High School Zebra Marching Band in Westland, Michigan, and front ensemble staff work with Huron Valley Percussion, a WGI Open Class independent percussion ensemble.
Director support
For school programs, Spencer focuses on practical percussion sectionals, timing, sound quality, technique, mallet fluency, audition preparation, and high-leverage fundamentals that directors can reuse after a clinic.
Teaching philosophy
Spencer's teaching emphasizes diagnosis, mental models, transferable skills, and self-correcting frameworks instead of disconnected tips. The goal is to help percussionists understand what is happening, why it is happening, and what to change next.
For students, that can mean reducing shift stress, stabilizing timing under pressure, and making practice more efficient. For directors, it means prioritizing the percussion fundamentals that create the most ensemble-wide improvement in limited rehearsal time.
Spencer's educational resources and digital products grow from the same approach: clear practice loops, faster diagnostic cycles, and musical concepts that transfer across snare drum, keyboard percussion, timpani, drum set, and ensemble playing.
Browse digital productsPublic resume and contractor details
The most useful contractor and director conversations usually start with the role, ensemble, repertoire, dates, location, instrumentation, and any recording or livestream details. Current performance details and a contractor resume can be shared through a direct inquiry.
Performance history
A dedicated performance history page lists selected professional orchestral, choral, sacred, theatre, and academic repertoire in a contractor-friendly format.
View Performance History