Active as a performer, scholar and pedagogue, Andrew M. Bliss is currently the Percussion Professor at Centre College, where he has taught since 2005. He has extensive experience in a wide-variety of musical ensembles, while specializing in contemporary solo and chamber performance. He has performed at the College Music Society’s National Conference, the Music for All National Percussion Symposium, and at several Percussive Arts Society International Conventions. He has collaborated with composers such as Christopher Deane, John Supko, Kyle Gann, and Ben Wahlund and regularly performs the music of John Luther Adams, David Lang, Steve Reich, Paul Lansky, and Iannis Xenakis. Since 2000, he has been a member of the Base4 Percussion Quartet , whose album, [one], has received outstanding critical acclaim. Bliss currently plays double tenor pans in the Lexington steel pan combo Blue Steel, and he has performed with many orchestras including the Lexington Philharmonic, the Elmhurst Symphony, and the Beloit Symphony.

Recently serving a Percussion Professor sabbatical replacement at the University of Kentucky, Bliss has also held teaching positions at Benet Academy (IL) and Lafayette High School (KY). He has presented master classes throughout parts of the United States and Sweden and has been published in Percussive Notes. As a committed supporter of the Percussive Arts Society, he is a member of the PAS Scholarly Research and Music Technology Committees and is a founding member of the PAS Collegiate Committee. As the Vice-President of the PAS Kentucky Chapter, Bliss has co-hosted four state-wide Days of Percussion and has, thus, hosted more than a dozen guest artists.

He has served as the Front Ensemble Caption Head for the Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps and recently adjudicated the 4th Annual Thailand National Drumline Contest in Bangkok. Previously, he has served on the faculty for the Bands of America Summer Symposium and arranged and / or instructed for the Capital Sound Drum & Bugle Corps, Yamaha Sounds of Summer Clinics, and several university marching bands including the University of Kentucky, Northern Illinois University, the University of Tennessee @ Martin, and the University of Texas @ Arlington.

Mr. Bliss is currently completing a Percussion Performance DMA at the University of Kentucky, where he studies with James Campbell. Before receiving his MM at UK, he completed a BM at Northern Illinois University, where he worked closely with Rich Holly, Robert Chappell, Orlando Cotto and Liam Teague. He is proud to be an artist endorser and clinician for Innovative Percussion, Evans Drumheads, Black Swamp Percussion Instruments and Accessories, and Sibelius Notational Software. He resides in Lexington, KY with his wife Erin, and enjoys spending his free time with their dog Chloe, and their cats Bo, Dora, and Fiona.