Sonata for Timpani is composed in three movements – Mysteriously, Jazz-Like and Fast – and includes unusual techniques like striking the bowl of the timpani, rolling between two drums, striking the timpani with fingers and playing in the centre of the head. The work is now a standard in the solo timpani repertoire. American composer, Percussionist, conductor and educator John Beck is now Professor Emeritus of Percussion at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, after nearly fifty years on the faculty. In addition to his long performing, recording and teaching career, he has also published the Encyclopedia of Percussion.