Performer Biography

Torrell Moss

A newcomer to the Cleveland music scene, percussionist and timpanist Torrell Moss grew up in Buffalo, NY where his love of music first developed. He began his musical studies as a cellist at eight years old before ultimately choosing to study percussion at the ripe age of 18.

He has attended and taught at numerous festivals, clinics, seminars, and masterclasses over the years. In 2015, Moss was the winner of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s (PSO) Orchestral Training Program for African-American Musicians audition. Subsequently, he spent two years performing alongside and studying with the members of the 2015-2017 PSO percussion section: Andrew Reamer, Jeremy Branson, Chris Allen, and Ed Stephan.

Moss used much of this time to perform outreach programs and to teach in Pittsburgh City Schools. Now a Cleveland resident, he continues to teach through the Rainey Institute, an El Sistema-based after-school music program designed to serve the underprivileged communities in Cleveland.

Moss earned his Artist Diploma from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, his Master of Music degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, and his Bachelor of Music from SUNY Fredonia. His primary teachers have been Dr. Kay Stonefelt, Richard Brown, Matthew Strauss, Andrew Reamer, Chris Allen, and Svetoslav Stoyanov.