A respected educator, accomplished percussionist, and internationally recognized composer, Josh Gottry has been working with and creating music for the next generation of percussionists for over 25 years. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Percussion Performance from Northern Arizona University and his Master of Music in Composition from Arizona State University.
Mr. Gottry has been on faculty at several colleges and universities around the Phoenix metropolitan area, including Arizona State University, Chandler-Gilbert Community College, and Grand Canyon University, directing various performance ensembles as well as teaching courses in percussion, music business, music theory and composition, and music humanities. Additionally, he works regularly with ensembles and students at all grade levels as a clinician and percussion specialist. He has been on the percussion staff at a number of schools throughout the valley, including his current position at Highland High School. Mr. Gottry maintains an active studio, and his private students consistently earn top honors at the state solo and ensemble festival and top chairs in regional and state honor ensemble auditions. His graduates have successfully continued their music studies at universities including Arizona State University, Berklee College of Music, Eastman School of Music, Grand Canyon University, New York University, Northern Arizona University, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and University of Arizona.
Mr. Gottry’s performance record includes professional orchestras, musical theater, worship teams, jazz combos, community and chamber ensembles, as well as solo performances and recitals. He has performed with the Chandler Children’s Choir, the Flagstaff Symphony, the Phoenix Boys Choir, the Phoenix Girls Chorus, the Phoenix Symphony, Salt River Brass, Symphony of the Southwest, and the West Valley Symphony. Additionally, he has played percussion for numerous regional and national conferences, both in Arizona and California, including the ACDA Western Division Honor Choir and the OAKE National Conference Choirs. He performs regularly for music theater productions at Chandler-Gilbert Community College and spent ten years as the first-call percussion alternate for the Broadway Palm Dinner Theater.
Mr. Gottry is an ASCAP award-winning composer whose works have been performed internationally at colleges and universities, junior high and high schools, and multiple national conferences. He has been selected for numerous ASCAP Plus awards and has composed over 100 published works. Having come to composition through his musical pursuits as a percussionist, he is uniquely able to create works for percussion that have been called engaging, pedagogical, and brilliantly creative.
Mr. Gottry is a member of the Percussive Arts Society and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, has been published in Percussive Notes, Rhythm! Scene. He is also a former committee chair for the PAS Composition Committee, new literature reviewer for Percussive Notes, and past president of the Arizona Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society, honored with the PAS Outstanding Chapter Award in 2010.
Mr. Gottry is a clinician/endorser for Meinl Percussion, Remo Drumheads, Vic Firth/Balter Drumsticks & Mallets, and Yamaha Percussion, and he has presented clinics at the Arizona Music Educators Association Conference, multiple state PAS days of percussion, and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention.