Prof. John Spirtas

In the Fall of 2010 John Spirtas joined the faculty of the School of Music as Adjunct Professor in Percussion.

Prof. Spirtas joined the Washington National Opera Orchestra and  Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra in 2000 as Principal Percussionist.  In this capacity he has performed with Placido Domingo and many other stars in the world of opera.  He has accompanied the Bolshoi, Kirov, Royal, American Ballet Theater, and New York City Ballet Companies as well.

Prior to joining the WNOO/KCOHO Prof. Spirtas was a percussionist in the New World Symphony, in Miami Beach, Florida.  He performed with the NWS in the 2000 American Mavericks Festival in San Francisco under the batons of Michael Tilson Thomas and composer John Adams.  He was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center in 1998, and at the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo Japan in 1996 and 1997.  He also attended the Aspen, Eastern and Chautauqua festivals.

Prof. Spirtas is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the New England Conservatory of Music.  His teachers include Alan Abel, Will Hudgins, Salvatore Rabbio, Michael Udow and Nora Davenport.

Adjunct Applied Faculty 

• Percussion

Degrees

• MM, Percussion Performance, New England Conservatory of Music