Conner Viets is a dynamic, multi-faceted percussionist active as an educator, soloist, chamber musician, and adjudicator. He currently serves as Instructor of Percussion at Murray State University where he teaches applied lessons, directs the percussion ensemble, and assists with the renowned Racer Band marching percussion section.

An in-demand educator, Conner has appeared as a featured clinician at the East Tennessee State University Percussion Ensemble Festival and West Kentucky Percussion Festival, in addition to numerous universities and high schools throughout the Midwest and Kentucky Quad State regions. His students have consistently earned placements in all-state and all-district ensembles, received superior ratings at solo and ensemble festivals, and gained admission to competitive undergraduate and graduate programs.

As a solo performer, Conner explores an eclectic blend of contemporary and canonical repertoire across a myriad of instruments. An ardent advocate of new music, he has commissioned or premiered more than 20 works, including collaborations with emerging composers such as Hippocrates Chang, Younje Cho, Kian Ravaei, Ariel Sol and Huan Sun. Recent highlights include performances at the Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States National Conference (SEAMUS), National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy, and as a featured soloist with the Murray State University Wind Ensemble. Additionally, Conner was awarded 1st Place in the 2020 Black Swamp Collegiate Snare Drum Solo Competition.

Happiest when collaborating with others, Conner is the co-founder of CHannel2 Percussion Duo, an award-winning ensemble that has performed at the Nebraska Day of Percussion, TEDx UMKC Conference, North Star Music Festival, and on tours throughout the St. Louis and Kansas City metropolitan areas. He has also served as a core member of the Argos Percussion Collective and presented a series of recitals alongside Thomas Frost as the Frost-Viets Duo.

Conner is a Doctor of Music candidate at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where he studies with Professors Kevin Bobo, Joseph Gramley, Andy Miller, and John Tafoya. He received his Master of Music degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he studied with Dr. Dave Hall. He received his Bachelor of Arts (Education) and Bachelor of Music Degrees from Truman State University, where he studied with Dr. Michael Bump.