In Memoriam
Remembering Tom Terreri
Vice President, United States Association of Rudimental Drummers
November 13, 1953 — October 16, 2026
USARD is deeply saddened to share that longtime Vice President, Tom Terreri, has passed away. His passion and dedication to spreading the awareness of rudimental drumming inspired us all. While his presence in our community will be missed, it will not be forgotten.
Remembering Tom
Tom was instrumental to USARD. He created many of the audio and visual productions for our conventions, played a key role in the logistics that made those events run, and curated much of the video you'll find from USARD events — including the archive below.
Right up until his passing, Tom remained deeply active in the organization. His dedication was unmistakable — he joined a recent Board meeting over Zoom from his hospital bed. We'll remember his easy-going personality, his generosity, and his tireless efforts to help USARD succeed.
- •Longtime Vice President and board member of USARD
- •Recipient of a USARD Lifetime Membership
- •Created the audio and visual productions for USARD conventions
- •Key to the logistics behind the USARD convention
- •Curated much of the video archive from USARD events
A life in music
From Tom's USARD board profile
Tom started playing snare in Fife & Drum at age 8 and continued playing through the late 1970s. From 1967 through 1970 Tom also played in Drum and Bugle with St. Lucy's Cadets and Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights. From 1965 through 1985, he played the drum kit with several Rock and Jazz groups.
Tom began Piano and Cello Studies in 1970 and played with various community orchestras through to the early 2000s including The Pittsburgh Youth Symphony for the '75–'76 season. He attended The Manhattan School of Music from '71 through '76 majoring in music composition.
In 2017, Tom returned to rudimental drumming in both F&D and D&B and the St. Lucy Snare Drum Ensemble. Since then, Tom performed with The New Jersey Field Music F&D, The Colonial Musketeers Senior F&D Corps, The Rough Riders F&D and three legacy alumni drum & bugle corps: Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights, St. Lucy's Cadets and The Archer-Epler Musketeers. Tom was the drum instructor and arranger for St. Lucy's and BSGK and performed on cello with the Tim Keyes Consort Orchestra and Chorus. Tom continued to write for all flavors of music, composing and arranging from small ensembles to large orchestral works.
Video archive
A collection of Tom's work. More to come — see the full USARD on YouTube (@usarddrummer).
USARD 2018 — Tribute to Duke Terreri
United States Association of Rudimental Drummers
Tom performs a tribute to his father, Duke Terreri, at the 2018 USARD Convention.
Three Little Drummers Suite — for Fife and Drum
thomas terreri
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Tributes will open once the page is published with the family's blessing.