After graduating Tenafly High School, Ross Chu decided to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Music Education degree from Penn State University where his primary teachers were Dan Armstrong and Gifford Howarth. During his time there, he participated in many music ensembles including the Wind Ensemble, Philharmonic Orchestra, Percussion Ensemble, Mallet Ensemble, and Marching Blue Band. He also won several performance awards including the Golumbic, Beene, Atherton and Brewster Scholarships. Ross is also a recipient of the Performers Recognition Award based on a recital he performed with works by Keiko Abe, Eric Ewazen, Guy Gauthreaux, Claude Debussy, and Joseph Schwantner.
After his time at Penn State, Ross enrolled at Rutgers University for a Master of Music in Percussion Performance degree. His primary teachers at Rutgers were She-e Wu, Joseph Tompkins, and Markus Rhoten. He participated in Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Percussion Ensemble, and the Afro-Cuban Ensemble. He held teaching assistant responsibilities for the Rutgers University Marching Band where he shared instructing and arranging duties for the drumline, and the Rutgers Concert Band where he was the percussion coordinator and guest conductor. His degree recital included works by Askell Masson, J. S. Bach, Maki Ishii, Pius Cheung, and Andrew Thomas.
Ross has been the pit instructor and arranger for the Edison High School Marching Band and the Edison HS Indoor Drumline since 2009 and Northern Valley Regional HS- Demarest Marching Band since 2011 where his students consistently achieve high levels of performance and musicianship. He was a pit member and in-line technician of the Bushwackers Drum and Bugle Corps in the 2011 season. Ross continued to serve as a Front Ensemble instructor for 2012 and 2013, and is looking forward to a great season in 2014!