Learning musical terms will be good for you because you're going to read some of them--"crescendo," "con vivace," and etc.--for the rest of your life.
A really well known percussionist is Brian Slawson, who was nominated for a Grammy in the '80's for his percussion-only album
Bach on Wood, which is remarkable. From a 1986 People article:
[It's an] an unusual LP that features the 29-year-old percussionist playing classical music on 50 instruments, including drums, xylophones, ratchet wrenches, a crosscut saw, an anvil and several alarm clocks. Issued last spring, the album has been on Billboard’s classical music chart for 39 weeks and earned Slawson a Grammy nomination for Best New Classical Artist. The award went to Chicago Pro Musica, but Slawson figures just getting nominated was “cool.”
Bach on Wood Percussionist Brian Slawson Goes Against the Grain to Carve a Classical Hit
Slawson was a street performer while at Juilliard, and this is how he was "discovered."