Benjamin Stiers

Biography

Ben Stiers is Assistant Instructional Professor at Illinois State University, where teaches applied percussion, co-directs the ISU Percussion Ensemble, and teaches music theory. He has also served as assistant director and acting director of the ISU Big Red Marching Machine, instructor and arranger for the ISU PULSE Drumline, and director of the ISU Pep Band. Prior to his time at ISU, Ben served as Instructor of Percussion at Centre College in Danville, KY.

Ben earned his Doctor of Musical Arts in Percussion Performance from the University of Kentucky, where he also received a certificate in music theory pedagogy. He holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and a Bachelor’s Degree from Illinois State University. His teachers include James B. Campbell, Paul Deatherage, John Willmarth, Dean Gronemeier, Timothy Jones, David Collier, and Tom Marko.

Ben performs frequently with the Peoria Symphony Orchestra, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, the Heartland Festival Orchestra, and the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, as well as in numerous chamber and solo settings. His performance of Jennifer Higdon’s Percussion Concerto with the ISU Wind Symphony can be heard on the Naxos Records recording Point Blank. From 2015-2019 he served on the inaugural editorial team of the PAS Educators’ Companion, a publication of the Percussive Arts Society focused on providing percussion-related information to non-percussionist music educators. A frequent adjudicator and clinician, Ben is an artist-endorser for Innovative Percussion, Inc., and Grover Pro Percussion.