VIC FIRTH ARTIST
JAMES DEITZ

James Deitz hails from Forked River, New Jersey. Mr. Deitz performs in diverse areas of the percussive discipline, including solo and chamber settings. He has performed throughout the United States, as well as on the continents of Europe and Asia. His particular passion for the theatrical percussion art form has led him to commission new works for this genre. Mr. Deitz made his concerto debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra in 2003 at Philadelphia's Verizon Hall under the baton of Rosen Milanov. He made his Carnegie Hall debut performing Martin Bresnick's double marimba concerto, Grace, with marimbist Robert van Sice and maestro Shinik Hahm. Mr. Deitz has had the great fortune to share the stage with such legendary percussionists as Emmanuel Sejourne, William Cahn, and Keiko Abe.

Recent collaborations have led to performances of Bartok’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion with pianist Lisa Moore at the 2006 Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and pianists Jonathan Biss and Benjamin Hochman at the 92nd Street Y. Of Mr. Deitz’s performance of Bartok, the New York Times wrote, “[he is] a timpanist of elegant technique [with] an accurate ear for negotiating the composer’s tricky tuning changes.”