Student of Distinction: Tyler Golding – Department of Music

“After graduating from the University of the Pacific with a degree in Percussion Performance in the spring of 2019, I have done my best to contribute to the community that helped raise me.”

Tyler Golding is a graduate student receiving his M.A. in percussion performance and is the graduate Student of Distinction from the Department of Music.

In the fall of 2021, Golding decided to quit his full-time job as Assistant Percussion Director at University High School to pursue a master’s degree in music, where he joined the Wind Orchestra and Percussion Ensemble through Open Enrollment. 

“Both of these ventures allowed me to polish my skills as a musician and an educator, preparing me for my eventual enrollment in the graduate program in the Fresno State Music Department,” said Golding.

Golding has served as secretary for the Fresno State Wind Orchestra, percussion manager for the Music Department, student assistant in the music office and teaching associate. He is currently in charge of updating the Music Department website.

“Tyler displays a strong commitment to his academic studies and has been focused on his musical craft,” said Cari Earnhart, director of choral activities. “He is a first-rate musician with great musical instincts. It has been my pleasure to work with him both inside and outside of the classroom. He has a strong work ethic and is meticulous in his approach to music.”

This semester Golding won the Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, the first ever percussionist to do so, and performed a timpani concerto with the Fresno State Symphony Orchestra in March.

Outside of school, Golding is the principal percussionist for the Clovis Community Concert Band, the Fresno Community Concert Band, a regular performer with the Sequoia Symphony and Merced Symphony and a member of the No Te Here O Te Hiroa Polynesian Club of Fresno. 

Golding was very involved in the Fresno State music community, spending the fall of 2022 and spring of 2023 preparing a xylophone solo with the Fresno State Percussion Ensemble as well as the Fresno and Clovis community bands. For two years in a row, he was one of the percussion managers for the Fresno Madera County Music Educators Association Honor Band.

“Once I graduate from Fresno State, I plan on entering the professional world as an administrative assistant, utilizing the knowledge I’ve gained from the past several years to make myself as marketable as possible to potential employers,” Golding said.

“His work ethic combined with his skillset as a player will bring him success through his career and life,” said Matthew H. Darling, chair of music. “Tyler’s ability to express himself through music performance is outstanding.”