Timothy Van Cleave is a Vancouver based collaborative musical artist and music educator. He pursues a variety of performing opportunities with orchestras, chamber ensembles, jazz ensembles, indie-classical-pop, and Indian Classical Music. He has performed as a contemporary improvisor at the Chautauqua Institute in western New York, the Greencastle Summer Music Festival in Greencastle, Indiana, and the Columbia Chamber Players in Chatham, New York.
The challenge of performing with a wide variety of groups in many styles is present each day in his career as a collaborative musical artist. As a contemporary chamber musician Timothy has performed with Ethos Collective, Fringe Percussion, Erato Ensemble, RedShift Music Society, and Vancouver New Music. As an orchestral percussionist he has performed with the Vancouver, Kamloops, and Vancouver Island Symphony Orchestras. As a recording artist he has been a featured guest of Clara Shandler The Sidewalk Cellist, Anita Eccleston, and Dutch Robinson.
As a music educator in the Greater Vancouver Region, Timothy has worked with students from several different organizations including the Salina Cheng Academy of Music, One Thousand Rivers Academy of Art and Learning, Tom Lee Music Learning Centre, as a guest Artist in Residence for the Seycove Music Department, and as a guest instructor at the West Coast Amateur Musicians Society annual summer camp. Timothy has a Doctorate of Arts degree in percussion performance and music theory and composition from Ball State University in his home town of Muncie, Indiana. His principle teachers were Dr. Erwin C. Mueller, Dr. Jody Nagel, and Mr. Frank Puzzullo. In addition to his studies Timothy taught private percussion lessons, directed the Latin Percussion Ensemble, and worked with music education majors. As a vibraphone soloist with the Jazz Lab Ensemble he was awarded an award for being an Outstanding Jazz Soloist at the Elmhurst Jazz Festival in Elmhurst, Illinois.