As a percussionist with the Seattle Symphony, Eric Schweikert says you have to be willing to be silly.

“All the ridiculous stuff ends up in the percussion section. If you want bird whistles or pop guns, sound effects, trash cans falling on the ground, we're the guys that have to do it.”

But as the Seattle Symphony’s principal timpanist, Schweikert’s got chops. He’ll get to show off his musicality when the Seattle Symphony world premieres a timpani concerto on November 19, 2026, by composer Joseph Pereira. It’s called Virtù.

Schweikert tells KUOW’s Gabriel Spitzer how he explains his job to strangers – “The copper kettle drums, that's what I do.” And why some of his biggest influences have been high school drummers and Animal from The Muppets. 

He also shares some of his all-time favorite timpani parts, including the theme from the 1960s television show, George In The Jungle. And of course, the theme from “2001: A Space Odyssey”, which is a tone poem originally composed by Richard Strauss.