Don Bowyer • Musician

Since retiring from a full-time career in higher education in July 2021, Don Bowyer (b. 1958) continues to be active composing and performing, presenting master classes and recitals, and serving as a consultant on matters from accreditation to curricular development and higher ed administration. One of his compositions, Lockdown Themes, was recorded in 2022 by the London Symphony Orchestra.

Academically, Bowyer served as a Visiting Professor in the College of Music at the University of the Philippines in 2022. His last full-time position was as Professor of Music and Dean of the School of Arts at Sunway University (Malaysia). Having previously served as Dean of the College of Fine Arts at Arkansas State University (USA) and Chair of the Department of Music at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (USA), Bowyer has taught at every level from pre-kindergarten through PhD in the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Sweden, and Malaysia. He received his Doctor of Arts from the University of Northern Colorado, Master of Arts from California State University-Northridge, and Bachelor of Arts from West Virginia Wesleyan College.

Active in the fields of composition, music technology, and performance, Bowyer has published more than 100 pieces of music, developed an educational computer program that has been used in at least 120 countries, and has performed as a trombonist in nearly 50 countries. Among other performing credits, he spent five years playing trombone on eleven cruise ships in the Caribbean Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Gulf of Alaska. The first ten didn’t sink. (See this link for an account of the eleventh.)

Bowyer and his wife have also served as foster parents, having provided a home to eighteen foster children between 2003 and 2010.

Copyright © 2020  Don Bowyer