Bryce Leafman is a percussionist, timpanist, and avid educator. In February 2020, Bryce won the position of Assistant Principal Timpanist/Section Percussionist with the San Francisco Symphony, a position he held until 2023. Previously, he held the position of principal percussionist and drum set with the Billings Symphony Orchestra. Bryce has performed across the country with orchestras including the Omaha, Berkeley, Marin, and New World symphonies, the Boston Philharmonic, and Symphony New Hampshire, to name a few. Bryce is equally at home playing chamber and contemporary music, having performed in recital with Yuja Wang, Orli Shaham, Bela Fleck, Nico Muhly, and Zakir Hussain, as well as with the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble and the Bay Area based groups Earplay and the Empyrean Ensemble, among others. Additionally, Bryce has attended the Aspen, Brevard, and Colorado College summer music festivals. In 2017, Bryce was the first percussionist to win a solo concerto competition at the Aspen Music Festival, and he returned to Aspen in 2019 as the Charles Owen Memorial Percussion Fellow.
Passionate about teaching, Bryce served as the Director of Percussion Studies at San José State University from 2021 through 2023. Additionally, Bryce has been awarded teaching fellowships at the New England Conservatory, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, whom he toured Germany with, and the Aspen Music Festival. Bryce has also taught for the New England Conservatory Preparatory School, the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra, Oakland Symphony Youth Orchestra, and served as music director of the U Music Education Foundation where he coached chamber groups and taught private lessons. Bryce holds a Bachelor of Music with Honors from New England Conservatory, a Master of Music from Boston University, and a Professional Studies Diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His main teachers include Edward Stephan and Jacob Nissly of the San Francisco Symphony and Tim Genis, Daniel Bauch, and Kyle Brightwell of the Boston Symphony. A native of Agoura Hills, California, Bryce also loves reading, cooking, and spending time outdoors.