Thomas Scott Schneller

So sorry to hear of Tom's passing. My sincere condolences go out to your family for your loss. (Hosea 13:14)

As a Rochester Symphony Orchestra stage manager, I worked with Tom for almost 8 years, helping him off- and on-load his drums and other equipment, helping him get ready for our concerts. From my location in the wings during concerts, I loved watching and hearing him play his timpani, adding so much to every piece he played on. It's hard to imagine concerts without him.

Tom was my percussion teacher at Interlochen the one year I attended (and graduated) there. He was a great teacher for percussion lessons and percussion ensemble. One of my memories of him was an assignment to compose a piece for percussion ensemble. I´d been playing music for years, but had never tried to compose. I didn´t know I could. I credit that one assignment with inspiring me to eventually compose hundreds of songs. Another memory was during the blizzard of 78, which utterly...