Dave Gerhart holds a D.M.A. from the University of Southern California in Percussion Performance with a secondary emphasis in Music Education, Ethnomusicology, and Music Industry & Technology. Dr. Gerhart received a M.M. in Percussion Performance and Instrumental Conducting and a B.M. in Music Education from California State University, Long Beach. He has been featured on CDs with the Robin Cox Ensemble and Steven Hartke on Sonic Scenery for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. As a freelance musician, Dave has performed under Zubin Mehta, Mehli Mehta, and has performed with Yo-Yo Ma, Bobby McFerrin, Michael Kamen, Yefim Bronfman, Ray Holman, and Robert Greenidge. His principle teachers include Dr. Michael Carney, Erik Forrester, Brad Dutz, and Raynor Carroll, principal percussionist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Dave is currently the director of the CSULB University Percussion Ensemble and the CSULB Steel Drum Band. He is also a member of the applied music faculty at CSULB. His compositions and arrangements for percussion ensemble and steel drum orchestra are published by Bachovich Music Publications. Dr. Gerhart is a founding member of the Island Hoppin’ Steel Drum Band and the IronWorks Percussion Duo and proudly endorses Yamaha Percussion Instruments, Zildjian Cymbals, Innovative Percussion, and Evans Drumheads.