Adam Hopper (b.1985) is an active percussion educator, composer, and performer in southeast Kentucky. He currently serves as an Adjunct Percussion Instructor at Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky.

Dr. Hopper is involved in many aspects of both the percussion and music education landscape. An active performer and clinician, he has performed with Grammy award winning artist Wes Hampton, Dove award winner TaRanda Greene, Tiffany Coburn of Voctave, Phil Nitz, The Orquesta Sinfonica Cristiana de El Salvador, A Una Voz, The Almeida Duo, The Campbellsville Fusion Ensemble, as well as many others. Dr. Hopper also serves as the principal percussionist and percussion coordinator for Sacred Winds and the Somerset Big Band.

Dr. Hopper is also an active composer with a variety of published works. His compositions “Right Track,” “Ghost Garden,” “Bolado,” and “You Can’t Get There From Here,” as well as his collection of snare drum solos, “Five on 5,” and his first book of drum set etudes, "Wheels Up,” are published through C. Alan Publications. In 2015, Dr. Hopper was named the winner of the Heartland Marimba Festival’s Young Composer Competition for his piece, “Island Market.” An in demand clinician and speaker, Dr. Hopper has presented clinics at a variety of schools and Universities in the United States, El Salvador, and Brazil. Presentations on percussion and music education have been given at the Kentucky Music Educators Association Conference, the Elk Grove Percussion Symposium, The University of Arkansas, Sacramento State University, Morehead State University, Campbellsville University, The West Kentucky Percussion Festival, University of the Cumberlands, Hannibal-Lagrange University, and many others. Dr. Hopper has published academic writings for The Bluegrass Music News, and Totalpercussionist.com. In 2023, Dr. Hopper was a featured presenter with his session on the importance of percussion education in under served schools at the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy at the University of Memphis.

From 2009-2024 Dr. Hopper directed the award winning Southwestern High School Percussion Ensemble, and oversaw the marching and symphonic percussion sections. During his tenure, Dr. Hopper’s groups performed at the Elk Grove Percussion Festival in Chicago, Illinois; The Lassiter Percussion Symposium in Atlanta, Georgia; The KASA Conference in Louisville, Kentucky; the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina; the 2017 and 2022 Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana; and the 2020 Kentucky Music Educators Association Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.

Dr. Hopper holds a Bachelor’s in Music Education as well as a Master’s in Percussion Performance from Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky. In 2023, he received his Doctorate of Music Education from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He has professional affiliations with the NAFME, The Kentucky Music Educators Association, and the Percussive Arts Society. Mr. Hopper is a proud endorser of Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets, Mapex/Majestic Percussion, Beetle Practice Pads, Black Swamp Percussion, and Vertical Snare Drums. He currently resides in Somerset, Kentucky with his wife Sarah, his son Jack, and their cats, Bossa and Thelonious.