Dean Anderson
Berklee College of Music / Boston Ballet Orchestra - United States
Overview
Percussionist Dean Anderson is experienced in many musical styles, including orchestral, avant-garde, multimedia, and commercial music. Currently retired and living in Sarasota, Florida, Mr. Anderson performs percussion with the Venice Symphony Orchestra, Southwest Florida Symphony, timpani with Anna Maria Island Orchestra and Chorus, and is an active drumset artist in Southwest Florida.
Mr. Anderson was first member then Principal Percussionist with the Boston Ballet Orchestra for 25 years and a member of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra from from 1972 to 2013. He has also performed extensively with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Pops, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Cantata Singers Orchestra, and the Boston Opera Company. In addition he has performed as soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra.
A great lover of contemporary chamber music, Mr. Anderson was the percussionist in the contemporary music ensemble, Boston Musica Viva from 1972 to 2012. Throughout his membership he premiered 72 new music works, recorded eight albums, and performed on four European tours through 14 different countries. He has also performed internationally as an electronic percussion specialist with Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Audiovisual Lab artists and with the Berklee Virtual Orchestra. In 1996, Mr. Anderson recorded Divinations, a solo percussion album available on Neuma records.
In addition to his extensive performing career, Mr. Anderson was Chair of the Percussion Department at Berklee College of Music in Boston from 1974 to 2010 where he led the world's largest percussion educational program. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Percussive Arts Society.
Mr. Anderson’s studies include a Bachelor of Music from the University of Miami and a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He is a performing artist for Avedis Zildjian™ cymbals, Pearl™ drums and percussion, Gibralter™ hardware, Remo™world percussion, and Vic Firth, Inc.™ sticks.