THOMAS RANEY is currently the principal timpanist and percussionist of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, as well as principal timpanist of the Pasadena Symphony, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

An active Los Angeles freelancer, Raney has extensive experience in motion picture/television recording, Broadway musicals, ballet, opera, and chamber music. He has solo recordings of William Kraft's Encounters I on Delos Records and Roger Reynolds' From Behind the Unreasoning Mask on New World Records. He has also recorded chamber ensemble music with the Los Angeles Percussion Ensemble, the Los Angeles Brass Society, and the Pacific Percussion Ensemble. During the '70s he performed with Frank Zappa's band "Grand Wazoo" on a European and East Coast tour, and later participated in an experimental 43-piece electronic/acoustical orchestra that performed two concerts and made a recording at Royce Hall. In addition to percussion, Raney also plays the cimbalom, a Hungarian folk instrument of the dulcimer family, and has been featured at the Aspen Music Festival, the Ojai Music Festival, and the Monday Evening Concerts at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

A Southern California native, Raney studied music at the University of Southern California School of Music under the tutelage of Ken Watson and Earl Hatch and continued his studies after college with William Kraft and Mitchell Peters. He has taught percussion performance and percussion education at USC, California State University Northridge, and the University of California Santa Barbara. He currently resides in Pasadena with his wife Eileen and two cats. He enjoys golf, travel, cooking, and photography in his spare time.