Wesley Strasser is the Director of Percussion Studies at the Greenville County Schools Fine Arts Center, and currently serves as the Acting Principal Percussionist of the Greenville Symphony Orchestra. Wesley grew up in Greenville, where he attended the Fine Arts Center and performed with both the Carolina Youth Symphony and the Greenville County Youth Orchestra’s Young Artists Orchestra as a percussionist, principal timpanist, and marimba soloist.
In addition to his work with the GSO, Wesley has performed with professional orchestras across the United States including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Asheville Symphony Orchestra, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Bach Festival Orchestra, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Augusta Symphony Orchestra, Downey Symphony Orchestra, Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Brevard Philharmonic Orchestra, Florida Lakes Symphony Orchestra, and Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra.
Wesley holds a master’s degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, and a bachelor’s degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Central Florida. While a student, Wesley served multiple seasons as Principal Timpanist with both the American Youth Symphony and the Debut Chamber Orchestra. He performed as a member of the Eastern Music Festival and Texas Music Festival Orchestras, and during the UCF Percussion Ensemble performance at the 2014 Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Indianapolis, he was featured as steel pan soloist. Wesley also performed as an auxiliary percussionist with Bob Mintzer’s Thornton Jazz Orchestra, and as a part of the USC Percussion Group. Wesley’s teachers have included Ron Schwartz, Gary Robinson, Jeff Moore, Kirk Gay, Thad Anderson, Marty Morell, Joseph Pereira, James Babor, Aaron Serfaty, and Peter Erskine.
Wesley was a guest faculty member at the UCF Percussion Summer Institute in July 2018, and has presented clinics at UCF, Furman University, and the Greenville County School’s All Arts Day. He is also a proud endorser of Zidjian cymbals.