Quick Links
Ron Coulter
Senior Lecturer
0009 Altgeld
618-453-2823
coulter@siu.edu
Ron Coulter is currently Senior Lecturer of Percussion, Improvisation, and Jazz Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and Adjunct Instructor of Percussion at John A. Logan College in Carterville, IL. He previously taught at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Westminster College, Youngstown State University, and has presented clinics, master classes, performances, and/or lectures at more than 70 colleges and universities internationally. In 2006 Ron was invited to become an Educational Endorser with the Promark Corporation and Black Swamp Percussion.
Ron has been a free-lance percussionist since 1997, performing in a wide range of musical situations from burlesque cabaret to live electronica. As a performer, he has toured internationally appearing in 44 U.S. states, Europe, and most major cities in Canada and Japan. He has performed with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Harry James Orchestra, Tone Road Ramblers, Four Aces, L2Ork, Tatsuya Nakatani, Michael Zerang, Sean Jones, Al Martino, One-Off Radiophonic Orchestra, Donadi, Julia Rich, The Gaylords, New Arts Jazztet, Galen Abdur-Razzaq, Marvin Stamm, Dominick Farinacci, Joanne Brackeen, Sony Holland, Maria Schneider, Sandy Duncan, Lucy Shelton, Susan Botti, Beat Kastley, Nick Hilscher, Robert Van Sice, Sylvia Smith, Steve Lippia, Dick Johnson, Eric Mandat, James Falzone, Bolokada Condé, Erica Azim, Marvin Hamlisch, HaZMaT Percussion Group, The Chance Operations Collective of Kalamazoo, Rapture 7, Christina Fontanelli, and the Rum Runners, among others.
He is a co-founder of the Percussion Art Ensemble and the Youngstown Percussion Collective, and in 2005 he founded the Perkusiv Arts Elektronik; an ongoing series of sound events exploring the performance of existing, and the creation of new, electro-acoustic music, including 69 world premiers to date. Other performance credits include the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, Paducah Symphony, Music from China, Southern Illinois Music Festival Orchestra, Warren Philharmonic, Warren Packard Band, Altgeld Chamber Players, and the Shenango Valley Lyric Opera.
Ron has presented at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (2002 & 2003), International Society for Improvised Music Symposium (2008 & 2009), Montreal Jazz Festival, JVC Jazz Festival, International Clarinetfest, ReVIEWING Black Mountain College 3–John Cage, NIME, LiWoLi, Blurred Edges Festival, Athena Festival VI, Futurisms Centennial Conference, Sound Lines, RadiaLx, a.pe.ri.od.ic Music Series-John Cage Festival, nief-norf’s John Cage Research Summit, St. Louis New Music Circle (2010 & 2012), Jazz Education Network International Conference, Big Muddy Film Festival (2010 & 2011), UNCG New Music Festival, Outside the Box New Music Festivals (2007-2012), U.S. Army Band Tuba/Euphonium International Conference, College Music Society National Convention (2008 & 2012), Music Educators National Convention, and numerous state and regional Music Education Association conferences, among others. Ron was also selected as a finalist in the Percussive Arts Society International Multiple Percussion Competition.
Interests in noise, intermedia, performance art, acoustic ecology, radio art, interdisciplinary collaboration, and non-idiomatic improvisation have led to the creation of the Southern Illinois Improvisation Series (SiiS), Improvisation Unit, organizing Fluxusconcerts, co-founding REDVIXA and duende entendre, and collaborative projects with artists specializing in performance art, video, spoken word, and sound art. The SiiS is a monthly series presenting sound events that explore interdisciplinary collaboration, technology integration, site-specific work, sound installations, sound empowerment, education, and documentation. REDVIXA is a sound-performance art duo with performancer Violet Juno, and duende entendre is a collaboration with poet and bassist, Sam West. Additional interdisciplinary collaborators include Mary Beth Edelson, Terry Adkins, Kerry Laitala, Jay Needham, Craig Gingrich-Philbrook, and Boris Chesakov.
As a composer, Ron has created more than 200 original compositions for various media encompassing numerous genres. His compositions have been performed throughout North America, South America, and Europe.
As a curator, Ron has organized more than 230 public presentations of music and intermedia art involving more than 70 artists across a multitude of disciplines.
Originally from Hermitage, Pennsylvania, Ron Coulter (b. 1978) was raised on a dairy farm and eventually earned M.M. and B.M. degrees in Percussion Performance from Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. His principle teachers include Dr. Glenn Schaft, Tony Leonardi, Dr. Stephen Gage, Feza Zweifel, John Riley, Fred Morris, Bolokada Condé, Caution Shonhai, Erica Azim, and Nina DeCiancio.
Sound/Video Clips
- Varez Remixxx
- Vibolet version 3
- Groovelocity
- Canned Heat
- Ron Coulter
Personal Statement
My philosophy of music education is based on the following concepts: integration vs. exclusion; generative vs. reproductive; facilitation vs. teaching; individual vs. standardized curriculum; and comprehensive fundamental concepts with direct application. If you are interested in the SIUC Percussion Program and would like more information please contact me at any time via phone or email.
Percussion Studies
Link to web page here.
Courses
- MUS 011 - Marching Band Drum Line
- MUS 035 – Percussion Techniques
- MUS 040K-540K – Applied Percussion
- MUS 365E – SIUC Percussion Group
- MUS 365H – siu Improvisation Unit
- MUS 398 – Undergraduate Junior Recital
- MUS 461 – Applied Music Pedagogy
- MUS 479G – Percussion Literature
- MUS 498 – Undergraduate Senior Recital
- MUS 499 – Independent Study
- MUS 598 – Graduate Recital
- UHON 351 (F, I, U) – Sound Empowerment (University Honors Program)
