Dr. Robert LedBetter is Professor of Music at The University of Montana where he is Director of Percussion Studies. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Percussion Performance from the University of North Texas, a M.M. in Percussion Performance from the University of Akron, and a B.M. in Music Education from Mars Hill College. he is currently serving as President of the Montana Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society and is active on the regional and national level as a performer, clinician and adjudicator. Prior to his appointment at UM in 1990, Dr. LedBetter taught at Eastern New Mexico University, Tarleton State University, Navarro College and held a Teaching Fellowship at the University of North Texas for a total of four years. Orchestral experience includes positions with symphony orchestras in North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Texas, New Mexico and he currently serves as Principal Timpanist and Percussionist with the Missoula Symphony Orchestra. Whle living in Dallas, he was lead player and soloist with the "Panhandlers," a professional steel drum band, and performed in a variety of performing situations as a freelance percussionist including several recording sessions. Dr. LedBetter is very active as a drumset artist performing regularly with such groups as Blue Talk & Love, Eden Atwood & the David Morgenroth Trio, Critical Martini, Salsa Loca, and the Ed Norton Big Band. As a member of the All-Star Trio at the UM Jazz Festivals, he has performed with such artists as Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Paquito D'Rivera, John Fedchock, Andy Narell, Ernie Watts, Bobby Shew, Terry Gibbs, Slide Hampton, Clark Terry, Eddie Daniels, and Buddy DeFranco. Dr. LedBetter is also an active composer/arranger for percussion ensemble and steel band with numerous works under publication with Panyard, Inc. and Honeyrock Publishing and is currently completing a new method book for steel band soon to be published with Drop6 Media. He is also an Educational Endorser for Zildjian Cymbals and LP, Inc.