Percussionist, Composer, Improviser

Tim DeCillis was born and raised in Rochester, NY, and holds a Bachelor's Degree in music performance from the State University of New York at Fredonia, where he studied classical percussion, jazz drum set and vibraphone, mallet music of Central America, and West African drumming and gyil. From there he went on to earn a Master's Degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he also worked as a part time instructor, teaching lecture courses and private lessons. After maintaining an active playing schedule for several years in Chicago, where he performed with artists including Frank Rosaly, Nu Directions Chamber Brass, the Jarvis Raymond Trio, Lionel O, and Project Film, Tim relocated to Oakland in 2014 and has since forged working relationships with many members of the vibrant Bay Area music scene, including Phillip Greenlief, Karl Evangelista, Jordan Glenn, Tom Weeks, William Winant, Andrew Jamieson, and Nathan Clevenger, and explores his compositions as a leader in his quintet Harbinger, as well as the chamber trio Vertebrate.