Welcome to the UAFS Percussion Studio Family

Welcome to the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith Percussion Studio Page! We are happy you are here and hope you enjoy exploring what we have been up to. For more information about our program, please contact

 our percussion professor, Dr. Tommy Dobbs, or follow us on social media. 

Meet The Studio

The University of Arkansas - Fort Smith Percussion Studio is home to one of the most diverse percussion studios in the state, with students hailing from from Vietnam and Mexico as well as Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Florida, and other states throughout the Great Plains region. This diversity is what makes us special. While we all come from different backgrounds and cultures, we are united behind a common ideology: Good People First and Good Players Second. Fortunately, we happen to have both here at UAFS!

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The studio is very active, boasting a 100 percent employment rate as percussion specialists in the Northwest Arkansas and Oklahoma area every year. These part-time positions have led to full-time teaching positions as percussion specialists and band directors in the Fort Smith Public Schools.

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Likewise, our students are actively performing and competing around the country and internationally. Students have placed and won The Great Plains International Marimba Competition, placed in the International Modern Snare Drum Competition, placed in the top four at the International Percussion Institute's Marimba Competition in Scotland, and had compositions premiered at the College Music Society's International Conference in Vancouver and the International Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructor's Conference. 

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Graduates of this studio have been accepted to top-tier music programs, including The Florida State University, The University of North Texas, The University of Texas in Austin, and the University of South Carolina. Current and previous students have also won positions with or advanced in auditions for professional performing ensembles, including The Air Force Band of The Golden West, the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, The Fort Smith Symphony, and the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas. 

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For more information or to schedule an audition, please contact Dr. Dobbs using the portal at the end of this page. 

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Listen To The Studio

Setup Audition