Parker Olson
Percussion
A dynamic percussionist, Parker Olson grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, where he studied with Bill Wilder, Charles Settle, and Tom Sherwood of the Atlanta Symphony. He was the tenured Principal Percussionist of the Billings Symphony Orchestra for the 2023–24 season and also performs as an extra percussionist with the Atlanta, Alabama, Toronto, Greenville, and New World symphonies. He has collaborated with notable conductors, including Hugh Wolff and Robert Spano.
A passionate performer of new works, he has premiered pieces such as Robbie Bui’s Tiers of Consciousness and performed the U.S. premieres of Salvatore Sciarrino’s Stupori and Kati Agócs’s FOMO for Solo Percussion. He holds degrees from the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Dan Bauch, Will Hudgins, and Matt McKay, and an Artist Diploma from the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory, where he studied with Charles Settle.
