Aaron McDonald is Principal Timpanist of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Classical Tahoe Orchestra. Prior to joining the VSO he was timpanist with the West Virginia Symphony. Aaron has performed and toured with the Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Calgary Philharmonic, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. As a soloist he has performed concertos with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, and the Classical Tahoe Orchestra.

He is currently Adjunct Professor of Percussion at the University of British Columbia School of Music and teaches at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra School of Music.

Aaron received his Masters in Orchestra Performance from the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Chris Lamb of the New York Philharmonic and Duncan Patton of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. He then moved to Cleveland to Study with Tom Freer of the Cleveland Orchestra. While in school, he attended the Music Academy of the West, Tanglewood, and the Israel International Symphony Orchestra. Aaron is endorsed by Freer Percussion and REMO.