Jeffrey Luft
Applied Music Studies, Percussion
Jeffrey M. Luft has been a member of the Dayton Philharmonic percussion section since 2005 and began teaching at the University of Louisville in the Fall of 2008. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Mr. Luft received his Bachelor’s and Master’s in percussion performance, studying under Timothy K. Adams of the Pittsburgh Symphony and Mr. Paul Evans of the River City Brass Band. He also spent three summers at the Brevard Music Center, and an additional two summers in Santa Barbara, California at the Music Academy of the West. He has studied with members of the San Francisco Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Boston Symphony, and The Cleveland Orchestra.
While in college, Mr. Luft played extra percussion with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and toured the U.S. with the River City Brass Band playing timpani and percussion. Also during his graduate studies he won positions as a percussionist with the Ann Arbor Symphony, Canton Symphony Orchestra, and the Dayton Philharmonic. Mr. Luft has been the recipient of significant scholarships from Carnegie Mellon University, Brevard Music Center, and The Music Academy of the West.
An active teacher and performer, Mr. Luft is committed to education and helping students advance their careers and skills. He teaches privately at home and also works with Kindergarten students through the Dayton Philharmonic’s SPARK program. Mr. Luft also plays hand drums and various percussion instruments with the modern dance company, MamLuft&Co Dance, which is based in Cincinnati, Ohio and directed by wife, Jeanne S. Mam-Luft. Also a craftsman, he makes custom timpani mallets that are used by professional musicians throughout the United States, South America, and Europe.
