Principal Timpanist for the Houston Symphony (TX) Leonardo Soto stops by to talk about his main gig, teaching at the University of Miami (FL), working at summer festivals, secrets of auditioning, and maintaining a busy schedule (03:35), his previous orchestral jobs at the Detroit Opera (MI) and Charlotte Symphony (NC) and his experiences on the audition circuit later in his career (33:45), growing up in Chile, his father the drummer and pop musician, the legacy of Chilean orchestral percussionists, studying percussion in Chile, and the challenges of equipment and music resources in the country (45:20), his master’s degree work at Carnegie-Mellon University (PA), studying with Tim Adams and (later) Tom Freer, early audition experiences, and learning English through Seinfeld and the Rush Hour movies (01:04:05), and finishes with the Random Ass Questions, including segments on student learning styles, his sporting activities and doing cardio, playing athletic timpani music, Rafa Nadal, Chilean soccer, cooking mishaps, great books, and seeing the artwork in The Vatican (01:27:20).
Finishing with a Rave on the 2026 documentary Cookie Queens (02:04:55).
Leonardo Soto links:
Leonardo Soto’s Houston Symphony page
Leonardo Soto’s University of Miami page
Timpani Concerto - Andy Akiho (Leonardo Soto, soloist)
Previous Podcast Guests mentioned:
Other Links:
The All-American Drummer: 150 Rudimental Solos - Charley Wilcoxin
Etudes for Timpani - Richard Hochrainer
The Inner Game of Music - Barry Green
The Undefeated Mind - Alex Lickerman
Raves:
